There’s also frustration among other frontline staff who are having to make do with much less. Staff such as nurses, midwives, paramedics and physios have received a little more than half the rise junior doctors have won.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has said it will now be consulting its members to see what they want to do – and industrial action is not being ruled out.
“We do not begrudge doctors their pay rise,” RCN leader Prof Nicola Ranger says. “What we ask for is the same fair treatment from government.”
Prof Len Shackleton, an economist at the University of Buckingham and research fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs, believes this could be just the start of a fresh round of pay demands.
“The government is naïve if it thinks this is over – other unions will look at this deal and think they can get more, not just those in the NHS but across the public sector. This could spiral out of control.”
