A striking doctor has claimed “I fear for my job security” as doctors walk out amid a five-day strike across England.
This morning, the British Medical Association (BMA) and its members started their walk-out over pay, with a picket line of 25 people outside the Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI).
William Johnson is a first-year resident doctor at the BRI, who participated in the strikes due to his concerns about “what my job will look like in five or 10 years’ time, if it’s still there”.
He added that “pay restoration and job security” are his reasons for walking out today.
The national strikes come after pay rises for resident doctors totalling nearly 30% in the last three years, however the BMA argues that this pay is drastically lower in real terms than it was in 2008.
Dr Samuel Taylor-Smith is the Chair of the BMA’s Regional Resident Doctors Committee and voiced that the NHS is “dangerously, thinly stretched.” He added that “if we don’t make radical changes to address that, it’s only going to get worse”.
He stressed the importance of these strikes to “fight to try and safeguard the NHS of the future and to ensure that it’s adequately staffed”.
Doctors are also taking action over training jobs as there are “thousands of doctors who are applying for jobs to become the nurses and doctors of the future that are getting turned away because the jobs just aren’t available”.
Regarding the strikes, Wes Streeting issued a public statement voicing his concerns about the strikes, with claims that the BMA is “no longer a professional voice for doctors.”
His statement came from worries that the action may cause “untold misery in disruptions to patients who could do without it”.
The BMA have to take responsibility for the pain they are causing patients.
— Wes Streeting (@wesstreeting) November 14, 2025
I’ve given them a 28.9% pay rise, and offered more jobs, career progression, and help with expenses.
Have the courage to put the offer to your members, @BMAResidents.
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Addressing the disruption to patients, Dr Taylor-Smith said that the BMA “work with hospitals to ensure that during industrial action, they are safely staffed and emergency services are delivered”.
He added: “To those who have had procedures cancelled, this is something we don’t take lightly.”
Mr Streeting went further in his statement to say that the BMA “threaten the future of the NHS.”
Mr Johnson responded to this with claims that “the government are threatening the NHS because of poor workforce planning, lack of funding and probably wasted financial management”.
Industrial action is planned to continue across England until Wednesday 19 November.
In a public statement, Jim Mackey, the Chief Executive of the NHS, said: “Our goal is to maintain the level of service we provide to the public and keep patients safe.”
