Junior doctors already face intense pressure, but new contracts slashing pay - which penalise women in particular - have sparked mass protests. We have reported on the reality of working in the NHS, speaking to a number of junior doctors.
Here is 62 hours in the life of a junior doctor...
Monday: 12 hours
08.00 Arrive for ward round.
14.30 Eat while writing discharge letters. Check results and tests.
16.55 Admit any patients the team are concerned about overnight,.
18.30 Discharge letters/referrals.
19.00 A patient’s family members want to speak to a doctor. I explain how we plan to help their loved one.
20.00 Finally, I go home.
Tuesday: 12 hours
08.00 Ward round. We spend an hour and a half treating an unwell patient who thankfully stabilises.
14.00 Order scans/manage patients.
16:30 The patient from this morning is sick again. The family feel further intervention would do more harm than good. The patient is unlikely to recover. I comfort the family. Then I take five minutes to cry – being part of someone’s most vulnerable moments can be very emotional. A nurse gets me a cup of tea. I carry on.
18:30 I bleep the on-call doctor about another patient of concern.
19:15 I visit the morning patient, now unlikely to get through 48 hours.
20.00 I leave. Exhausted.
Wednesday: 13 hours
08.30 Ward round
12:00 Discharge letters, referrals.
14:00 I look in on the patient who is dying. This patient is lucky, a family member is by their side at all times. Sad to think often this isn’t the case.
17:00 I’m on call. Check bloods, examine patients, do prescriptions.
18.15 Crash bleep goes off. Cardiac arrest. Patient’s heart is beating by itself again. We work to decipher the cause. Back to assessing patients.
21:45 Do a hand-over and leave.
Thursday: 13 hours
08:30 Ward round attended by consultants, so more pressure.
10:00 Patient mentioned earlier has died. I give family my condolences. They are devastated. I feel so sad for them. Continue with my round.
17:00 On call.
20:30 Crash call: patient collapsed and hit their head.
21:45 Go home.
Friday: 12.5 hours
07:30 Come in early and write death certificate for patient who died.
08:30 Ward round. Fridays are busy: MDTs (deciding how we’ll manage a patient) generate many jobs.
16:00 Patient’s blood results are worrying. Start treatment, recheck bloods. Refer patients who’ll need reviewing. Update family members.
20:00 Leave work emotionally, physically and mentally exhausted, but happy because I love my job.
Read more about the junior doctors protests here.