Joe Ebbs, Junior Doctor

 “The staff crisis is going to worsen and invariably this is going to mean increased waiting time and it’s true that levels of care will deteriorate, because you do need the human resources to deliver the care.”

“I’m finding as a junior doctor that the cover, particularly on the wards and out of hours and on call is just dwindling and there are gaps in the rotas.”

“For trainee [doctors], there’s not enough training but there’s not enough money to bring in other junior doctors who can cover…..there are holes [in rotas] everywhere, and what that leads to is a stretched service, and more tired and more stretched junior doctors that can’t perform the job that they want to do in the first place. It’s not just the junior doctors, it’s the nursing staff, and HCAs – there are constantly gaps [in rotas].”

“I absolutely love my job and I want to be doing this job for the rest of my life…..but I think that doctor morale is at an all time low. This leads to a strain on the services because we are totally stretched and are unable to perform the jobs we love so much. There is just not enough in the way of financial support from the government and they are fully relying on the goodwill of the medical profession and I’m afraid at some point that’s going to come to breaking point.”

Tell us your experience

Help explain how pressure on resources affects your job.

  • What is it like working under pressure in the NHS? What kind of compromises do you have to make? Do patients suffer as a result of lack of resources? How does it feel to work in the NHS at the moment? Are you optimistic about the future?
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