Doctors Strike Amid NHS Crisis Revelations
Resident doctors across England have taken unprecedented strike action, downing their instruments in a major dispute over pay, employment conditions, and the deepening crisis within the National Health Service. The five-day walkout, organised by the British Medical Association (BMA), began on Friday, November 14, 2025, and is set to continue until Wednesday.
Despite the industrial action, the NHS is striving to maintain most services and has urged patients to attend appointments unless specifically advised otherwise.
Harrowing Accounts from the Frontline
Dr Arthur Joustra, a 27-year-old SD1 paediatrics trainee from Nottinghamshire, travelled to London to join the protests at St Thomas' Hospital, Westminster, just a stone's throw from the Houses of Parliament. Armed with orange BMA umbrellas and placards, doctors and their supporters braved cold, wet weather while chanting for pay restoration.
Dr Joustra, who previously worked in A&E for a year, shared chilling accounts of the conditions facing NHS staff and patients. "It was not uncommon to see patients endure a 12-hour wait," he revealed. "It was not uncommon to see people dying in corridors. It was not uncommon to be doing CPR in rooms that are not fully equipped because all other rooms are full with equally unwell patients."
He emphasised that the strike action addresses two critical issues: "The employment crisis currently unfolding in medicine and pay restoration." Dr Joustra clarified that doctors aren't seeking a pay rise but rather restoration to 2008 levels when adjusted for inflation.
Systemic Failures and Training Crisis
Dr Tom Dolphin, chair of the BMA, highlighted the scale of the employment crisis, revealing that 30,000 applications have been received this year for just 10,000 training posts. This significant shortfall means thousands of resident doctors may be unable to progress their training and become future consultants and GPs.
"If we don't solve this problem," Dr Dolphin warned, "we're going to have thousands and thousands of resident doctors unable to progress in their training, unable to become consultants and GPs in future, which is a big issue."
He called for a better system to prioritise doctors' training and retain talented medical professionals within the UK, stressing the need to value the workforce that forms the backbone of the NHS.
Dr Joustra echoed this sentiment, stating: "We all want a fantastic NHS that remains free at the point of access and delivers a world standard of quality care. We can't get there without valuing the people who make the NHS what it is."
