March 27th 2024

By Ailsa Colquhoun

Wales should prepare for junior doctor exodus, BMA warns

Over a third of medical students plan to leave Wales after they graduate, a BMA Cymru Wales survey states.

In the survey, 39 per cent said pay and working conditions were their main reasons not to stay.

The survey of students at Cardiff, Swansea, and Bangor’s medical schools revealed that 80 per cent of those who intend to leave Wales plan to begin foundation training in England and 15 per cent in Scotland where junior doctors receive higher pay.

Out of the students who intend to stay in Wales after graduation, just one in four are currently planning to stay beyond their foundation training. For those who are looking to leave, most plan on working in Australia and New Zealand.

Lack of financial support during education and training, and the poor state of the NHS in Wales were cited alongside pay and conditions as factors in the decision to leave Wales.

Other findings included 98% of students support the current strikes by junior doctors seeking to restore their pay which has been cut by 29.6% in real terms since 2008/9.

Erin Flaherty, chair of the BMA’s Medical Students Committee in Wales said: “A doctor starting their career in Wales will earn as little as £13.65 an hour.”