A junior doctor in Stoke-on-Trent says walkouts at hospitals could continue for months if pay demands aren't met.

Dr Akbar Hashmi and colleagues were on the picket line outside the Royal Stoke University Hospital and has said junior doctors' wages had been in decline for over 15 years.

He said: "Since 2008 there's been a progressive decline in real-terms wages. There's been pay erosion year upon year.

"We're not able to keep staff, and as a result that compromises patient care – and that's been going on for the past 10 years."

He conceded the strikes were causing disruption and making waiting lists longer, but said this was a drop in the ocean compared with the backlog that was already being stored up prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said: "Patient care is not being compromised at the moment.

Dr Akbar Hashmi said despite strike action, patient care is not being compromised (LDRS).

"During strike action the BMA meets regularly with the NHS – on strike days – and in the event patient care might be compromised there are plans in place for us to support with that.

"We will not allow patient care to be compromised, and at the moment we're being covered by all sorts of clinical staff.

"Obviously on strike days, there will be disruption to the NHS, and waiting lists do increase, but it's a drop in the ocean compared with the waiting lists that have been there for the past 10 years.

"This problem has been here for ages and ages, every single year doctors have advocated for better staff retention, for better working conditions, to address the waiting lists – but we've been ignored time and time again.

"Now that we've made a stand it seems the blame is put towards our strikes but in reality the blame is towards the government for not addressing this for years.

He said financial stresses were adding to the pressure doctors are already under at work, and that some are finding it hard to cover their bills.

Dr Hashmi said: "Doctors are facing increased pressures at work, they're having all sorts of issues in the workplace.

"Real terms pay has gone down to the extent where people are finding it unaffordable to live. As a result, that leads to burnout.

"Doctors no longer have the will to continue working in a high pressure situation – it really reduces morale and encourages people to leave. It's not a good condition to be working in."

Junior doctors say their wages have been declining for the past 15 years (SWNS).

He feels it's something his patients have also noticed.

He said: "People are quite supportive of the strikes, people are noticing more and more the government are being quite unreasonable actually and they're quite surprised to hear about the conditions we're working in.

"They, too, are concerned about the lack of staff retention."

Dr Hashmi feels his and his colleagues' calls for pay restoration are not unreasonable, and that they're only asking for parity with previous pay rates.

He said: "We're not asking for a pay rise beyond what we used to have – we're asking to go back to the baseline and reverse the cuts that were made.

"I think the reason it's perceived to be a large value is because every year it's been eroded gradually – to reverse that amount of erosion is going to be a large amount, but that doesn't make it unfair.

"Until we have reasonable talks with the government, the BMA have advised there will be strikes each month – that dates of which are yet to be announced – but until we have a reasonable opening offer from the government we will be continuing."

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