Latest news with #Doctors
The Independent
19 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
Fact check: How much do resident doctors earn, and what do they want?
This roundup of claims has been compiled by Full Fact, the UK's largest fact checking charity working to find, expose and counter the harms of bad information. In May, the Government accepted recommendations from the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration to give resident doctors (previously called 'junior' doctors) a pay rise of 4% plus £750. But the British Medical Association (BMA) says this is not enough to make up for the 'erosion' in the value of their pay that it says has happened since 2008. It is therefore balloting resident doctors about whether to strike. This fact check looks at what NHS resident doctors in England earn and what the BMA is asking for, and explores some of the claims currently circulating about their pay. Doctors have just been awarded a pay rise, so why are they threatening to strike? The BMA argues that the value of resident doctors' pay has been eroded by inflation since 2008/09, and it has published hourly pay figures showing what the pay 'restoration' it is asking for would look like. These pay figures amount to a 29% rise on the basic rates from 2024/25, instead of the 5-6% pay rise the Government announced. The Government, by contrast, says resident doctors have received the highest pay rise in the public sector for 2025/26, and that it expects average full-time basic pay for a resident doctor to reach about £54,300 in 2025/26 following the new deal. What resident doctors currently earn In the latest data for February 2025, there were 77,287 resident doctors working for NHS England. (Although a few are part-time, making this the equivalent of 74,666 full-time doctors.) These are working, qualified doctors who are also in the process of training towards a specialty, which can take a decade or more. They do not include consultants, GPs, surgeons or other senior doctors who have completed their specialist training. Resident doctors begin work after graduating with a medical degree. They are supervised by a more senior doctor, but as they gain experience some may also begin to supervise their more junior colleagues. Resident doctors need to pass exams at various points. In short, there are many different types of resident doctor, with different levels of seniority and pay. When speaking about basic pay only, for a 40-hour week, resident doctors currently earn between £38,831 and £73,992 a year, as recommended by the pay review body in May. At the time of writing however, they are still being paid at last year's rates while they wait for the new level to be applied. The Government has said they will receive the extra money, backdated to April, in August, at which point their actual pay will shift to the higher rate. The new rate amounts to a rise of about 5-6% on last year, depending on a doctor's pay grade, with the higher grades receiving slightly smaller rises in percentage terms. What about extra earnings? Basic pay does not cover everything that resident doctors earn. In the latest data for staff earnings, which covers the year ending March 2025, NHS England estimates how much different types of medical staff earned in that period. In practice, resident doctors typically earn almost a third more than their basic salary from other sources. Most of the extra pay comes from working extra hours and working unsocial hours, but it also includes geographic differences and other considerations. So does the average resident doctor now earn £54,300, as the Government says? The Government says: 'We expect the average full-time basic pay of a resident doctor will reach about £54,300 in 2025-26.' We asked the Department of Health and Social Care how this figure was calculated, and it shared its method with us. We were not able to replicate its calculations exactly, but we do know there are more resident doctors on the higher pay grades than on the lower ones, so an average in the higher part of the range seems plausible. According to NHS England workforce figures for February 2025, the resident doctor workforce breaks down as follows: – Foundation Doctor Year 1: 8,265 doctors, 11% of the total – Foundation Doctor Year 2: 7,394 doctors, 10% of the total – Core Training: 24,839 doctors, 32% of the total – Specialty Registrar: 36,789 doctors, 48% of the total It is difficult to say precisely how much the average resident doctor earns, because we can't exactly match the pay data we have to the numbers in each pay grade – and the latest NHS estimates cover earnings in the year to December 2024, before the latest pay rise was announced. Do resident doctors really earn £17/hour, as claimed by some? We've seen some claims on social media about resident doctors being paid £17 an hour. For example, one post on X which was shared by the BMA said: '£17/hr to save your life. That's the reality for NHS resident doctors in England'. This is potentially misleading, as the £17 figure seems to refer to the hourly rate of £17.56 cited by the BMA, which refers to basic pay only, for first-year doctors only, and for the last pay deal before the 2025/26 rise was announced – and the figure should in any case be £18, if rounding to the nearest pound. After the backdated pay rise, the BMA says the lowest hourly rate of basic pay will be £18.62. Full Fact has written in the past about claims which may appear to be about the pay of junior doctors in general, but are based on figures that apply only to the minority of them who are in their first year (about 11%). A BMA spokesperson told us: 'BMA publishes clear hourly rates which clearly show £17.56 as the wage per hour earned by a FY1 doctor in England. This is a fair comparison for use against other 40-hour per week jobs. FY1 doctors work on teams that save people's lives daily in the NHS. Their basic rate of pay is not affected by additional hours they might take on.'
Metro
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
Legendary ITV star ‘can't shake off' role in show watched by 25 million viewers
A former ITV soap star has said she 'can't shake off' a role that projected her into millions of living rooms each week – despite leaving 41 years ago. Actress and broadcaster JoAnne Good rose to fame in 1981 when she joined the cast of legendary serial drama Crossroads. As viewers will remember, the axed show followed the lives of staff and residents at a fictional Midlands hotel of the same name and aired between 1964 and 1988. It was later revived in 2001, though ended two years later. By this point, Crossroads was a plush hotel. Certainly a far cry from original owner Meg Mortimer's (Noelle Gordon) day! JoAnne played rebellious Carole Sands, who was David Hunter (Ronald Allen) and his wife Barbara's (Sue Lloyd) housekeeper. Rough and ready, she caused a small riot on the streets of Kings Oak, had an affair with Kevin Banks (David Moran) and later worked at the local garage. Following her departure in 1984, she's gone on to appear in Casualty, Last of the Summer Wine, Heartbeat and Doctors. Despite that, JoAnne still holds the role very close to her heart. 'I can't shake Carole off,' she told the Suddenly Single podcast. 'I'm quite proud of it because my character was the forerunner to Kylie Minogue's character (Charlene Robinson) on Neighbours. 'I played the car mechanic in the motel garage. It had a viewership of 25 million a night.' In 2021 she recalled her time on the series with the Crossroads Appreciation Society, saying it was 'the best job [she's] ever had in [her] life.' Speaking of her exit storyline, she added: 'It was like being kicked out of your family and you always believe you'll be asked back. 'And I think probably the problem with me is that I ended up having an affair with someone in it and I don't think they liked that, I think they felt that you should keep the two things separate. So that was probably my downfall!' To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Want to be the first to hear shocking EastEnders spoilers? Who's leaving Coronation Street? The latest gossip from Emmerdale? Join 10,000 soaps fans on Metro's WhatsApp Soaps community and get access to spoiler galleries, must-watch videos, and exclusive interviews. Simply click on this link, select 'Join Chat' and you're in! Don't forget to turn on notifications so you can see when we've just dropped the latest spoilers! A dramatisation based upon leading actress Noelle's time at the motel hit our screens in 2023. Nolly, written by Russell T Davies, saw Helena Bonham Carter step into the iconic actress' shoes. Last year, a selection of archive episodes hit streaming service ITVX – but were hit with a guidance notice before each episode: 'Contains broadcast standards, language and attitudes of its time.' Although not uncommon for older programmes, one former actor branded the move 'pathetic.' More Trending Fiona Curzon, who appeared in 13 episodes of the show in the 1970s, didn't think viewers would find anything offensive in the episodes. 'I don't think anyone sitting down and watching Crossroads would be shocked by anything. On the contrary I think they would think, 'what is the matter with the people who are issuing these warnings?'' she was quoted as saying in the Daily Mail. 'I just think it is absolutely pathetic. I am so sick of all of this. You cannot say boo these days.' View More » Classic episodes of Crossroads can be watched on ITVX. If you've got a soap or TV story, video or pictures get in touch by emailing us soaps@ – we'd love to hear from you. Join the community by leaving a comment below and stay updated on all things soaps on our homepage. MORE: Chris Tarrant reveals heartbreaking reason he left TV career after 52 years MORE: EastEnders confirms another major exit as star leaves after two years MORE: Eni Aluko returns to ITV for Euro 2025 as reason for Ian Wright absence revealed
ABC News
2 days ago
- Health
- ABC News
Baby formula runs low in Gaza
While Israel spent 12 days fighting Iran, its war in Gaza raged on, with local health authorities saying more than 800 Palestinians were killed during that time. Dozens were shot as they scrambled to access aid delivery sites, scattered across the strip, amid severe shortages of food and many other supplies. Doctors in Gaza are warning the crisis facing young children and babies is getting worse by the day, as formula and food run desperately low.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Health
- Telegraph
How the BMA became a vessel for Middle East politics
There is slightly more to the Hippocratic Oath than many non-medical professionals realise. The full text contains all the well-known bits – do no harm, don't administer poison, maintain the confidentiality of your patients – but over the course of more than 300 words, there are also pledges about pessaries, kidney stones and dietary regimes. It is a broad, ancient expression of ethics for an industry that has to adapt and modernise all the time. The role of a medical professional, of course, touches on almost all aspects of life, so recent renderings of the oath might tinker with the translation a bit. Yet, what no version touches on, so far as we can tell, is anything to do with solving the conflict in the Middle East, a call to political activism, or prolonged discussions about Zionism. Attendees at the annual conference of the British Medical Association (BMA), the doctors' trade union, could have been forgiven for thinking otherwise this week. Meeting in Liverpool for three days to establish policies and priorities for the industry in the coming year – of which, given the state of the NHS, there would have been lots to discuss – members instead found that 43 motions, around 10 per cent of the total, related to Israel, Gaza, Palestine, anti-Semitism or Zionism. One claimed that Israel is establishing a 'system of apartheid', another called for a boycott of Israeli medical institutions and universities. A third called on the BMA to support doctors who refuse to pay taxes because the UK is 'complicit in genocide'. The slew of motions prompted the Jewish Medical Association (JMA) to warn that Jewish members attending the conference felt 'intimidated, unsafe and excluded'. Speaking anonymously for fear of reprisals, several other BMA members The Telegraph has spoken to were, at best, perplexed and exasperated so much attention was being paid to global politics ahead of matters relating to British medicine. Others saw it as typical of a union they view as 'institutionally anti-Semitic ', and now 'overtaken by Left-wing entryists'. 'It was a disappointing conference in lots of ways, especially in relation to how much time was given to talking about Gaza,' says one doctor and longstanding BMA member, after returning from Liverpool. 'There are so many other conflicts around the world where doctors and healthcare professionals are involved, so it seems a shame we didn't think about them as well. 'Also, because it was spoken about at such length, it stopped us getting on with some of the work I hoped we might have done as a trade union. And then there's the question of how welcome our Jewish colleagues might have felt, when there's so much emphasis given to a subject like that.' The answer to that final question can be given by Prof David Katz, professor of immunopathology at University College London, and executive chairman of the JMA, who also attended. 'In Liverpool, there was a hostility in the atmosphere,' Prof Katz says. 'How could it be otherwise with these motions? [With] the depth of venom that has been allowed to evolve?' Established in 1832, the BMA represents some 190,000 doctors and medical students across the UK, and lists its mission simply: 'We look after doctors so they can look after you'. Over its long history, it has occasionally taken stances on overseas conflicts, usually advocating for the safety of healthcare workers. Given the Israeli attacks on hospitals in Gaza, plus the reels of social media footage taken from inside those institutions, often by doctors, the conflict there is an understandably distressing one for BMA members – and has included acts the union would be expected to condemn. Critics, though, believe its interest is now neither balanced nor proportionate. 'When it [the union] used to stray into international issues, it did so with an equal hand,' says one retired GP, who was a BMA member for 45 years. '[But] it doesn't involve itself much now in Ukraine, or Sudan, or with the Uyghurs, or any other oppressed minority. It doesn't comment on US aid cuts. No, it is absolutely obsessed with the Palestinian cause.' It is, he alleges, a situation that has developed 'rapidly in the last four or five years, when the junior doctors committee [now known as the resident doctors committee] started to become very radical, and those making policy were very Left-wing. This was roughly at the end of the Corbyn years, when that sort of politics was becoming very mainstream.' Though it's often characterised as 'student politics' largely conducted online, the retired GP stresses that 'many of the very Left-wing older members are fully signed-up as well'. Just last week, the BMA was accused of a 'cover-up' when it dropped an investigation into its president, the highly experienced GP Dr Mary McCarthy, for social media posts about the Middle East conflict. Having initially decided there was a case for McCarthy to answer, after an independent review into a complaint by Labour Against Antisemitism, the BMA decided not to take it further because the issue had not been raised by a member or employee of the union. She is one of several BMA leaders who have had their online posts scrutinised. In 2023, Dr Martin Whyte, a paediatrician and then deputy co-chair of the BMA's junior doctors' committee, was suspended after joking online about 'gas[sing] the Jews', the 'holohoax', and writing that people should boycott Israel 'out of spite'. One London-based consultant – who was a BMA member until a year ago, when he was one of several doctors to resign his membership after the union published a controversial open letter to the Foreign Secretary urging the Government to call for an 'immediate ceasefire' in Gaza – claims the union is now practically run by its far-Left members. 'I was very fond of the BMA. My father was a doctor, his obituary was published in the British Medical Journal [owned by the BMA], but it seems to have been hijacked in the last few years. It's probably been under the surface for a long time, but they seem to prioritise things that aren't health-related.' he says. 'I would consider myself left-of-centre, but I don't really have a home in the BMA any more, and I think a lot of Jewish doctors feel that. The whole situation in the Middle East is tragic, I have every sympathy with Palestinians, as I do with the victims of October 7. But it's far from the only conflict going on in the world where innocent people are being killed, yet the BMA seems to have an obsession with the Palestinian issue, such that they are alienating a lot of Jewish doctors. They will end up having an organisation with very few Jewish doctors. And maybe some people in the BMA want that, I don't know. 'I can't really say exactly why they're so focused on Israel and Gaza, but it's a bit like the way that Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party was. They just don't seem to have a neutral approach to it, which I find very sad, and it does smack of anti-Semitism, the way they seem to be quite obsessed with this particular issue. The fact is: the huge number of motions at the BMA conference [to do with Israel] means Jewish doctors don't feel that safe in the BMA. I'm talking to you anonymously, and I'm not even a member any more. It's just not a safe or friendly environment for Jewish doctors.' As it is, many Jewish members of the BMA are now resigning in protest. One letter, shared with The Telegraph, accuses the union of being 'institutionally anti-Semitic [and] unable to represent me fairly or safely' any more. 'As an adult and a professional, I expect to be represented by an organisation that engenders respect, and represents me with professionalism and gravitas in keeping with the serious responsibilities and obligations we as doctors have to our patients, our colleagues and the wider community,' the doctor writes. 'Being represented by a group of irresponsible militants playing dog whistle student politics, indulging in rank and toxic racism (in the form of Jew hatred) and infusing this old and venerable institution with both, is not something I am prepared to be associated with.' The BMA points out that one of the motions put forward in Liverpool this week specifically called for support for Jewish people, and was proposed by a Jewish medical student, who urged that members 'differentiate between pro-Palestinianism and anti-Semitism'. That said, quite how the BMA came to have its annual conference so dominated by geopolitics and activism – as one member put it, 'in the same week that Nato is meeting, has the BMA picked up the wrong agenda?' – is a question many members might recall asking last year, too. It was reported in 2024 that one in 10 motions put forward for the Belfast-hosted event had to be removed from debates on legal grounds because they related to the Israel and Palestine conflict, and 'risked being perceived as discriminatory, more specifically, anti-Semitic'. At the time, Prof Katz wrote to the BMA to say JMA members 'are deeply concerned that the meeting environment could become itself a vehicle for discrimination and Jew hatred.' A year on, members attending the BMA conference were met with not only another agenda with a heavy emphasis on the situation in the Middle East, but a protest staged by the activist group Health Workers 4 Palestine outside the venue in Liverpool. The demonstration featured 'old shoes' representing healthcare workers killed in Gaza – a visual statement synonymous with the shoes of Jewish people killed at concentration camps during the Holocaust, and considered anti-Semitic by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. Inside, often hostile debates raged. Prof Katz, in attendance as ever, strode around attending as many as he could. A well-known figure at BMA conferences, he has never been shy to speak out about anti-Semitism in his profession, regardless of the crowd. One day this week, he says, he was having a quiet coffee when suddenly he had company. Sikh, Hindu and Christian colleagues in turn took seats next to him. 'We just wanted to make sure you didn't feel on your own here,' they told him. 'Under such circumstances,' Prof Katz says, 'small gestures count.' A BMA spokesperson said: 'We are totally clear that anti-Semitism is completely unacceptable. There is no place for it in the BMA, NHS, or wider society and we condemn anti-Semitism in the strongest possible terms, as we do with all discrimination based on race, religion, sexuality, gender or disability. 'The BMA's annual representative meeting is an inclusive space, where wellbeing of members and staff is our priority and we've put in place a number of measures and sources of support to ensure this. We are also confident that we are complying with all of our obligations under the Equality Act and our own EDI policies. 'The BMA has a long and proud history of advocating for human rights and access to healthcare around the world, and motions submitted to this year's conference by grassroots members from across the UK reflect the grave concerns doctors in the UK have about the Gaza conflict and the impact on civilians and healthcare. Resolutions passed at the conference made clear calls around the principles of medical neutrality and the need to respect international humanitarian law that are applicable to all conflicts. 'Motions were also submitted on the crises in Ukraine, Yemen, and Sudan, all of which the BMA has spoken out about and taken action on in recent years.'
IOL News
2 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Dr Iqbal Survé Pays Tribute to Jazz Legends Louis and Mpumi Moholo: Icons of Music, Struggle and South African Heritage
Louis and Mpumi Moholo, more than just jazz legends, embodied the spirit of South Africa's struggle and hope. Dr Iqbal Survé's tribute reflects on their lasting impact and legacy. Image: Supplied There are some people you meet in life who leave a lasting impression—not because of their fame, but because of the spirit they carry. Louis Moholo and his wife Mpumi were such people. Gentle, principled, and full of life, they were more than musical legends. They were fellow South Africans in exile, friends of the struggle, and vessels of a sound that carried our country's deepest hopes and truths. In January 1989, Amnesty International invited me to deliver one of the keynote addresses at a global conference of Doctors Against Torture, held at UNESCO in Paris. This was in recognition of the work I was doing at the time with detainees and political prisoners in South Africa. As part of the discussions at that conference—and in a particularly meaningful meeting I had with the former First Lady of France, Madame Danielle Mitterrand—we explored how to isolate the then South African Medical Association from the World Medical Association. The purpose was clear: if the association refused to take a public stand against doctors who were either directly or indirectly involved in the torture of political prisoners, they could not be allowed to remain part of the global medical fraternity. The urgency was sharpened by the devastating deaths of many activists in detention at the hands of the apartheid state. Following the conference in Paris, I travelled to London to engage with members of the ANC in exile. It was during this visit that I had the honour of being hosted by Louis and Mpumi in their flat in London. That evening left a deep impression on me. Their home was filled with warmth and generosity, the smell of Mpumi's cooking, and the unmistakable essence of artistry and resistance. Mpumi was working as a nurse at the time, and despite her long hours, she welcomed us with incredible grace. Louis, with his sharp humour and deep musical insight, spoke passionately about jazz, about South Africa, about exile, and about the future. Their love for each other, for our country, was evident in every word and every shared memory. What touched me most was how grounded they remained. They had endured the hardship of exile, but their hearts were still firmly rooted in South Africa. That night, we spoke about the struggle and the dream of freedom. None of us could have imagined that within a few short years, that dream would become reality. I still have a vinyl record from Louis, inscribed with a personal message. It hangs framed in my office as a constant reminder that art and activism are inseparable. For them, music was never just performance—it was protest, memory, healing. Over the years, we stayed in touch. There were discussions to honour Louis with a special performance at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival. Sadly, due to health reasons, that tribute never came to life. But his influence—his rhythm—never left us. Through Survé Philanthropies, we later had the privilege of awarding both Louis and Mpumi the Imagination Award at a ceremony at the Artscape Theatre. It was a moment to recognise not only musical brilliance but also their courage, their journey, and their contribution to the soul of South Africa. They also received a stipend, an expression of our deep gratitude. Mpumi passed away in 2021. Louis followed in June 2025. With their passing, a unique and beautiful chapter in our country's story came to a close. They lived through injustice and exile. But they never let go of their purpose. They loved this country. They gave us their rhythm. And they reminded us that struggle and beauty can coexist. Today, as we mourn the loss of yet another jazz great, Feya Faku, we are reminded just how much we owe to the artists of that era—those who turned pain into melody, and memory into movement. Louis and Mpumi, your rhythm lives on. Your spirit lives on. And you will never be forgotten. * Dr Iqbal Survé is the executive chairman of Independent Media and Sekunjalo. ** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Independent Media or IOL.
