London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Aug 25, 2025

"Used And Abused": Britain's Burned Out Junior Doctors To Go On Strike

"Used And Abused": Britain's Burned Out Junior Doctors To Go On Strike

Fed up with a government he says doesn't care, Poh Wang plans to go on strike with tens of thousands of other British junior doctors next week, saying he is overworked, underpaid and burdened with a student loan he cannot imagine paying off.
Fed up with a government he says doesn't care, Poh Wang plans to go on strike with tens of thousands of other British junior doctors next week, saying he is overworked, underpaid and burdened with a student loan he cannot imagine paying off.

The 28-year-old says he and his colleagues have been pushed to the brink after below-inflation pay rises collided with the surging cost of living to leave him questioning how he can ever pay off his more than 85,000 pounds ($101,000) of student debt.

On top of that, he remains incensed at his treatment during the pandemic, when he felt powerless to cope with the onslaught of patients arriving in hospital with COVID-19 symptoms - saying public displays of support did not pay the bills.

He joins junior doctors across England who will go on strike on March 13 for three days, protesting over pay and burnout that risks driving staff out of the health service as it tackles record-high patient waiting lists.

"We've reached a boiling point where we have had enough," said Poh Wang - a council member of the British Medical Association (BMA), which represents doctors and medical students.

"The anger is palpable that we have been used and abused and devalued to this extent."

The son of Chinese immigrants who ran a takeaway restaurant in Chester, northern England, Poh Wang became a doctor because he enjoyed helping people. Having attended medical school for six years, he has worked for five, two in specialty training as a psychiatry doctor.

Junior doctors are qualified physicians, often with several years of experience, who work under the guidance of senior doctors and represent a large part of the country's medical community.

He is paid around 40,000 pounds a year for his base 40 hours a week, and works additional hours which can add up to around 48 hours a week. He rents a room in a shared flat in west London, an option that can cost around 1,000 pounds a month.

'ABOVE AND BEYOND'

Early on in the pandemic, Poh Wang worked as an emergency medicine doctor in south London where he and colleagues had to make difficult decisions, and comfort those patients who could not be admitted into intensive care units because they were full.

"We went above and beyond to do everything that we could," he said.

He said the fact that he is struggling to get by financially now, as food inflation hits 17% in Britain, leaves him and his colleagues increasingly bitter about the last few years.

"We hate the sound of clapping, applause, because it's empty," said Poh Wang, referring to Britain's Clap for Our Carers campaign for health workers during the height of the pandemic.

"If you value us and what we've gone through and in terms of the sacrifices that we've made then pay us properly."

The BMA says junior doctors' take-home pay has been cut by more than a quarter over the last 15 years, when using the Retail Price Index (RPI) gauge of inflation.

It says its members voted overwhelmingly to strike.

The walkouts by junior doctors will put more pressure on the state-funded National Health Service (NHS) which is experiencing waves of strike action by nurses, ambulance workers and other staff.

Daniel Zahedi, 27, is another junior doctor who plans to go on strike on Monday. He describes his hospital in Cambridge, eastern England, as chronically understaffed and struggling.

"A lot of the time there's not enough of us," Daniel Zahedi said.

As a first-year doctor after his medical degree, Daniel Zahedi said he gets around £29,000 per year as base pay for 40 hours a week minimum. He said he worked roughly 60 hours this week, which was a bit above the average but "not unusual". His student loan debt stands at around 100,000 pounds.

"It's not just 100 grand as a student, you've got to pay to be a member of your Royal College, you pay to do exams, to even progress in your career," he said.

Daniel Zahedi said, as things stand, he cannot see himself remaining in the profession in the long term, despite his love for the job.

"People are burning out left, right and centre - where pay is just getting eroded year after year, where conditions are getting worse, where patient care is being damaged," he said.

"They are feeling undervalued and people are leaving."

In January, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak outlined the need to cut hospital waiting times as one of his government's five priorities.

Battling strikes across multiple sectors including train drivers and teachers, the government has said public sector pay restraint is needed in order to get double-digit inflation under control.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
Labour set to freeze income tax thresholds in long-term 'stealth' tax raid
Coca‑Cola explores sale of Costa coffee chain
Trial hears dog walker was chased and fatally stabbed by trio
Restaurateur resigns from government hospitality council over tax criticism
Spanish City funfair shut after serious ride injury
Suspected arson at Ilford restaurant leaves three in critical condition
Tottenham beat Manchester City to go top of Premier League
Bank holiday heatwave to hit 30°C before remnants of Hurricane Erin arrive
UK to deploy immigration advisers to West Africa to block fake visas
Nurse who raped woman continued working for a year despite police alert
Drought forces closures of England’s canal routes, canceling boat holidays
Sweet tooth scents: food-inspired perfumes surge as weight-loss drugs suppress appetites
Experts warn Britain dangerously reliant on imported food
Family of Notting Hill Carnival murder victim call event unmanageable
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
×