A newly qualified doctor is leaving the NHS and moving to Australia for “better pay and support”.
Jack Tagg, 23, worked as a junior doctor in two hospitals in Wales and said: “Morale within the NHS is at rock bottom.” He wants to join his friends where he says: “The pressure doesn’t feel as overwhelming as it does in the NHS.”
Mr Tagg said wages, support and working hours were better in other parts of the world and that only “good will” could keep the NHS going.
Speaking to Welsh news program Y Byd ar Bedwar, he said: “It’s never an easy decision to take full power and move to the other side of the world, but I think it just shows how dramatic the situation is in the NHS was.” receive.
“If I’m the only junior for 40 patients, I physically can’t complete all the tasks in the time I have a contract.”
Jack Tagg, 23, worked as a junior doctor at two hospitals in Wales but says he is moving Down Under for “better pay and support”.
He added: “There’s just not enough staff, the NHS is literally relying on goodwill at the moment.”
“If you didn’t allow employees to stay for half an hour on top of their contractual hours, an extra hour every day, for free, then I think you would have even less of an impact.”
“As someone who ends up having their life on the line and having to do all these complex, stressful and demanding jobs and earning less than £14, these pay levels are simply demeaning and really off-putting to prospective students.”
First year junior doctors in Wales earn a basic annual salary of around £29,895.
A freedom of information request to the General Medical Council has revealed that 729 doctors have left the Welsh NHS in the past five years.
In England, trainee doctors earn £32,398 – around £15.58 an hour – in their first year after this year’s pay rise.
An analysis by FullFact last year found that young doctors in England earn between £20 and £30 an hour when they opt for overtime and night or weekend shifts.
After around ten years as junior doctors – during which their salary rises to £63,000 – doctors can become consultants and earn a basic salary of up to £126,000 for a 40-hour week.
At this point, they may also choose to work additional hours and take on management or teaching roles to further increase their salary.
Jack Tagg wants to join his friends down under, where he says: “The pressure doesn’t feel as crushing as it does in the NHS.”
Dr Lloyd Evans, who now lives in Perth, Western Australia, said: “Here I get almost three times the salary of a GP in the UK.”
“I feel I can only provide the service I trained so hard to provide.”
He added: “I feel that my patients value me here and that I am valued in the system that I work for.
“This is something that the Welsh Government and the NHS really need to think about: to ensure that doctors feel valued and feel that they are really rewarded for the sacrifices they make.”
Next month, trainee doctors will vote on strike action after the Welsh Government offered a 5 per cent pay rise – the lowest of any government in the UK.
If a strike were to take place, it would be the first strike of its kind in Wales.
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “We really appreciate the work that all doctors – and all healthcare workers – do every day.”
“Retaining employees is just as important as recruiting new employees. Our National Workforce Implementation Plan sets out actions to improve employee retention, including improving employee well-being and continued investment in training and development.
Australian figures show that around half of British doctors who apply to work in Australia are successful. In the calendar year 2022, there were almost 950 who found work, compared to 1,800.
“The number of doctors, including consultants, employed directly by the NHS in Wales has increased every year for the past eight years and we now have a record number of doctors.” There was a 21% increase in aspiring doctors in March this year compared to March 2020.
“The number of GPs in Wales has remained stable over the past year, while the number of GPs in training has increased significantly.
“While we recognize that NHS Wales doctors may be disappointed with pay this year, this is the most difficult financial situation we have faced since devolution.”
“We will work with employers and unions to create the working environment and working conditions that our NHS staff deserve and must continue to provide high quality care to the people of Wales.”
You can watch Y Byd ar Bedwar on S4C Clic and BBC iPlayer – available with English subtitles.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
