{"id":43677,"date":"2025-11-14T13:16:04","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T13:16:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwejournalism.net\/bowernews\/?p=43677"},"modified":"2026-06-15T14:42:04","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T13:42:04","slug":"striking-doctor-i-fear-for-my-job-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwejournalism.net\/bowernews\/2025\/11\/14\/striking-doctor-i-fear-for-my-job-security\/","title":{"rendered":"Striking doctor: &#8216;I fear for my job security&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video height=\"1080\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1920 \/ 1080;\" width=\"1920\" controls src=\"https:\/\/uwejournalism.net\/bowernews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/strikes-chanting-video.mp4\"><\/video><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A striking doctor has claimed &#8220;I fear for my job security&#8221; as doctors walk out amid a five-day strike across England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">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).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">William Johnson is a first-year resident doctor at the BRI, who participated in the strikes due to his concerns about &#8220;what my job will look like in five or 10 years&#8217; time, if it&#8217;s still there&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> He added that &#8220;pay restoration and job security&#8221; are his reasons for walking out today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" src=\"https:\/\/uwejournalism.net\/bowernews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_8728-700x394.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-43745\" style=\"width:1021px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uwejournalism.net\/bowernews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_8728-700x394.jpg 700w, https:\/\/uwejournalism.net\/bowernews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_8728-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/uwejournalism.net\/bowernews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_8728-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/uwejournalism.net\/bowernews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_8728-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/uwejournalism.net\/bowernews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_8728-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/uwejournalism.net\/bowernews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_8728-747x420.jpg 747w, https:\/\/uwejournalism.net\/bowernews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_8728-640x360.jpg 640w, https:\/\/uwejournalism.net\/bowernews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_8728-681x383.jpg 681w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The BMA gave out signs and flags to those on the picket line<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr Samuel Taylor-Smith is the Chair of the BMA&#8217;s Regional Resident Doctors Committee and voiced that the NHS is &#8220;dangerously, thinly stretched.&#8221; He added that &#8220;if we don&#8217;t make radical changes to address that, it&#8217;s only going to get worse&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He stressed the importance of these strikes to &#8220;fight to try and safeguard the NHS of the future and to ensure that it&#8217;s adequately staffed&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" src=\"https:\/\/uwejournalism.net\/bowernews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_8753-700x394.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-43746\" style=\"width:1021px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uwejournalism.net\/bowernews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_8753-700x394.jpg 700w, https:\/\/uwejournalism.net\/bowernews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_8753-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/uwejournalism.net\/bowernews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_8753-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/uwejournalism.net\/bowernews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_8753-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/uwejournalism.net\/bowernews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_8753-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/uwejournalism.net\/bowernews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_8753-747x420.jpg 747w, https:\/\/uwejournalism.net\/bowernews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_8753-640x360.jpg 640w, https:\/\/uwejournalism.net\/bowernews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_8753-681x383.jpg 681w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Resident doctors gathered outside the BRI to mark the start of a five-day walkout over pay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Doctors are also taking action over training jobs as there are &#8220;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&#8217;t available&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Regarding the strikes, Wes Streeting issued a public statement voicing his concerns about the strikes, with claims that the BMA is &#8220;no longer a professional voice for doctors.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> His statement came from worries that the action may cause &#8220;untold misery in disruptions to patients who could do without it&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-media-max-width=\"560\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The BMA have to take responsibility for the pain they are causing patients.<br><br>I\u2019ve given them a 28.9% pay rise, and offered more jobs, career progression, and help with expenses.<br><br>Have the courage to put the offer to your members, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BMAResidents?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@BMAResidents<\/a>. <br><br> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/JtzMkcOjpb\">pic.twitter.com\/JtzMkcOjpb<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Wes Streeting (@wesstreeting) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wesstreeting\/status\/1989284905721929806?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 14, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Addressing the disruption to patients, Dr Taylor-Smith said that the BMA &#8220;work with hospitals to ensure that during industrial action, they are safely staffed and emergency services are delivered&#8221;. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He added: &#8220;To those who have had procedures cancelled, this is something we don&#8217;t take lightly.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mr Streeting went further in his statement to say that the BMA &#8220;threaten the future of the NHS.&#8221; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mr Johnson responded to this with claims that &#8220;the government are threatening the NHS because of poor workforce planning, lack of funding and probably wasted financial management&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Industrial action is planned to continue across England until Wednesday 19 November. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a public statement, Jim Mackey, the Chief Executive of the NHS, said: &#8220;Our goal is to maintain the level of service we provide to the public and keep patients safe.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A striking doctor has claimed &#8220;I fear for my job security&#8221; 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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":326,"featured_media":43697,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1763,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwejournalism.net\/bowernews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwejournalism.net\/bowernews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwejournalism.net\/bowernews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwejournalism.net\/bowernews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/326"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwejournalism.net\/bowernews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43677"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/uwejournalism.net\/bowernews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43677\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43749,"href":"https:\/\/uwejournalism.net\/bowernews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43677\/revisions\/43749"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwejournalism.net\/bowernews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwejournalism.net\/bowernews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwejournalism.net\/bowernews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwejournalism.net\/bowernews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}