the
medicalstudent The voice of London’s Medical Students
December 2011
International MedSoc Conference report Page 4
Civic Hospital - medical students in Pakistan Page 8
Summer in the Sahara - a heated guide Page 12
The NHS Strikes Back Rhys Davies
On Wednesday November 30th, two million (according to their unions) public sector workers went on strike to protest the government’s planned changes to their pensions. The chang- es include workers paying more into their pensions, retiring later, and only receiving a ‘career average,’ effec- tively reducing how much they will be paid. If the amendments go ahead as intended, a junior doctor can ex- pect to pay in the region of £200 000 over their working life. These were the biggest strikes for a generation. The last time the nation witnessed strikes of this scale was back in 1979. The NHS is the one of the largest employers in the world and, for the time being, is still very much a part of the public sector. Ultimately, the
BMA decided not to strike but some hospital services were affected. Near- ly a quarter of all elective operations were cancelled and many nurses, am- bulance staff, radiographers, porters and cleaners joined the picket lines. Hospital chiropodists also walked out but their absence was less noticeable. The strikes that took place in Lon- don and across the country were in response to proposed changes to most public sector pension schemes. The NHS pension scheme that doctors pay into was not included in these chang- es. However, they are subject to a dif- ferent set of changes that are equally unpopular with the physicians on the ward. These changes still include the unpopular ‘career average’ pay-out. In response to these changes, at their annual conference in Cardiff back in June, the BMA voted overwhelmingly in favour of a referendum on wheth-
er doctors should strike. As a result of this, they will ballot their 140 000 members on their views on all forms of industrial actions including the ex- treme decision of striking. Doctors see no need to reform their pensions as cur- rently the NHS pension scheme comes in under-budget annually, providing £2 billion surplus for the government. Many students may not have noted the recent strikes if, depending on their lecturers, their day carried on as normal. However, this is an is- sue that students should be concerned about. As the future workforce of the NHS, they will likely be affected by the changes first. With many personal pensions paying out more for less, the government-required pension is ef- fectively a tax on the public sector. Medical students have already proven themselves keenly inter- ested in the political machinations
about them with the massive pro- tests over tuition fee rises last year. These changes may not affect them quite so immediately or directly but they are still important. Doctors can- not in conscience abandon their pa- tients in times of protest. However, a cynical government could use this as- pect of the caring profession against them, and strong-arm doctors’ lead- ers into unfair deals knowing that they have no threat of action to fall back on. Furthermore, strike action by doctors could lose them the trust of their pa- tients and the wider public. This would be tragic as polls consistently place doctors as the most trusted profession. Whether or not it is ethical for doctors to strike, medical students must step in to support to their seniors and tutors. 2011 has proven itself to be a busy year for public demonstrations and protest. (cont’d on page 2)
Christmas in London - a guide to festivities Page 18
Can cancer cause a cackle? Page 22