'Walkout is drop in ocean compared to NHS crisis'
BBCA resident doctor who is part of a five-day walkout over pay has said the strike's impact is "a drop in the ocean" compared to the "crisis" of NHS waiting lists.
The action by resident doctors across England began at 07:00 on Wednesday, despite last-minute talks between the British Medical Association (BMA) and the government.
Liam Miller, who works at County Hospital in Stafford, defended the walkout and said where the government was concerned, he had not seen a "serious offer on pay".
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said resident doctors had received the largest pay rises of any public sector employees over the last three years - totalling nearly 30%.
Speaking to BBC Radio Stoke, Mr Miller said the impact of the walkout on clinics and operations did not compare to the regular cancellations that patients experienced.
"There are people having their operations cancelled every day, strike days or not, there are people who are not having their clinic appointments met as well."
He added that he understood that patients would be frustrated, but said "just as good or even better care" would be offered by senior doctors who were covering resident doctors' shifts during the walkout.
'We don't want to strike'
The prime minister called the action "dangerous and utterly irresponsible" on Wednesday, amid fears the health service could be overwhelmed after flu-case admissions hit a record high last week for this time of year.
This is the 14th walkout by resident doctors, the new name for junior doctors, in the long-running pay dispute.
Mr Miller, who joined the picket line at the Royal Stoke University Hospital on Wednesday, said resident doctors did not want to strike, but he felt there was no other option.
"There is a crisis going on here, our pay is still down significantly, 21% down compared to 2008 and we've got a crisis of training posts as well.
"We want to be at work, we want to see patients, we enjoy our job, but this is the measures we've had to take in order to get the changes that we need," he said.
Training posts
Mr Miller said a "lack of speciality training posts" meant from August he expected to "get a precarious 12-month contract" or work "from shift to shift".
"Yes pay is important, but we really need something to address the problems with us not being able to get into training and progress in our careers", he said.
The government's latest offer promised to accelerate the expansion of specialist training posts.
The government said it would increase the number of posts by 4,000 by 2028 – with the first 1,000 available from 2026.
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