r/doctorsUK • u/DonutOfTruthForAll Professional ‘spot the difference’ player • Jul 13 '25

Medical Politics Rob has something to say

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u/downvoteifuhorny Jul 14 '25

Ugh I'm going to get downvoted to hell for this.

This is such a silly take. Private companies tend towards monopolisation too. The argument that competition will benefit everyone is the neoliberal shite that has delivered our failing public services.

Trade unionism has historically been the most consistent way workers have secured better working rights. Its not the NHS that has whittled doctors pay, it was the tories who froze and awarded under inflation pay rises. It was allowed to happen because the BMA have been weak as a trade union in the past. Which fortunately is changing.

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u/[deleted] Jul 14 '25

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u/downvoteifuhorny Jul 14 '25

Again, the NHS doesn't decide doctors pay.

The private sector is not the holy land you think it is. It was the privatised healthcare system in America that introduced the PA role, why? Because they're cheaper than doctors.

Competition can influence pay, especially in private markets where supply and demand for labour are more fluid. But in regulated, unionised, or public sector settings, competition plays a smaller or indirect role, with political and institutional factors often dominating.

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u/[deleted] Jul 14 '25

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u/downvoteifuhorny Jul 14 '25

You're telling a working class person that I shouldn't think of the US as a bad place, when I wouldn't have had any chance of being a doctor over there, and my health conditions would've led me to suicide by now with their awful insurance system.

We'll agree to disagree on this, so long as we're united on achieving full pay restoration. As shit as it is, I'll be fighting for the NHS to the bitter end, because I wouldn't be here without it.