Scotland’s NHS is facing a retention crisis

Junior doctors in Scotland want change. They want better pay, kinder working conditions and for the Scottish government to take their demands for full pay restoration of just under 35 per cent seriously. Otherwise, they say, they’ll simply up and leave to greener pastures – or hotter beaches, as the exodus to Australia continues.

It was revealed last week that 97 per cent of those medics who had voted in the BMA strike ballot cast their votes in favour of industrial action. The turnout was high at 71 per cent but could have been higher still, as it is understood that Civica, the external organisation in charge of posting ballot papers, ran into problems meaning an as yet unquantified number of medics never received their voting cards.

While the BMA has been criticised for choosing to focus entirely on pay as the sole negotiating ground in these disputes, the bigger picture should not be overlooked: the toll that poor working conditions is having on NHS workers is significant.