‘My colleagues are all going to Australia for better pay,’ says resident doctor

A resident doctor on strike said many of his colleagues are leaving for Australia in search of better pay and job opportunities. Thousands of resident doctors have launched a five-day strike across England on Friday (14 November) in a dispute over pay and employment prospects. “All I see is more and more doctors going unemployed, doctors that have seven years of high-quality taxpayer subsidised training,” Arthur Joustra, a resident doctor based in Nottingham, told The Independent. He added doctors in the NHS are now leaving the country for Australia: “The system is better for doctors working out there, in terms of the strains and also the pay.” Health Secretary Wes Streeting said on Friday doctors would be holding patients to “ransom” by going on strike.