Doctors Should Never Strike
They ought to be ashamed of themselves
Dr Tom Dolphin, who bears more than a passing resemblance to John Cleese, star of Fawlty Towers and other popular British comedy shows, has recently been appointed Chair of the British Medical Association (BMA), replacing Professor Philip Banfield.
In August 2024 I wrote to Professor Banfield, protesting about doctors going on strike with the BMA’s support. And the reply from the the good professor? Silence. But since he has now taken well-earned retirement from his onerous post, I though I would make a final attmept to get the BMA to step back from the brink and call off this year’s strikes – yes, they’re at it again – or else I would resign my membership in protest. This is what I said:
Dear Dr Dolphin,
Are we doctors or dockers?
Last year I wrote to your predecessor, Professor Philip Banfield, about my disquiet over the matter of doctors going on strike. I never received a reply and that is why I am writing to you as the new Chair of the BMA.
I am shocked and disgusted that the BMA council should support and encourage doctors to strike. It makes me ashamed of my profession and to be a member of the BMA. Also, I understand that part of my subscription is used for a strike fund and I strongly object to this.
Doctors should never strike. It is unethical and dishonourable. Inevitably, patients will be harmed and some may even die as a result of what you cynically call industrial action. In effect, you’re holding a gun to the government’s head. So much for obeying the GMC injunction, ‘You must make the care of patients your first concern.’
Resident doctors are not exactly poor, and they knew what pay to expect when they signed up. I am well aware of the crisis in UK healthcare, but striking is not the way to deal with it.
I think you should call off all strike action immediately and stop holding the government and the public to ransom.
I shall look forward to your reply.
Yours sincerely,
Gabriel Symonds
The main benefit for me of belonging to the BMA is that The British Medical Journal (BMJ) is included in the membership fee. Anyone can subscribe to the BMJ but for me it’s now hardly worth doing so since there are few interesting medical articles. Instead, most of the BMJ is taken up with left-wing rants and criticism of the government for shortcomings in the NHS. Furthermore, it’s badly written with little evidence of editorial oversight to remove outworn clichés and grammatical infelicities. For example, the expression ‘roll out’ occurs far too often, such as in a recent headline, ‘Scheme to cut birth brain injuries to be rolled out [sic] in England.’ Unless one is talking about beer barrels or as a way of getting out of bed, this annoying phrase should be banished. Why not say instituted, provided, or started? And then there is the woke language, such as in a recent article on ante-natal care. The authors, instead of saying ‘women’ can’t resist saying ‘anyone who is planning to become pregnant’, ‘anyone who is pregnant’, and ‘people who are pregnant’.
A week later, having received no reply, I sent in my resignation:
Dear Dr Dolphin,
Resignation from the BMA
I wrote to you by email a week ago but have received no reply or even acknowledgement.
I cannot in all conscience continue to be a member of an organisation that facilitates doctors to go on strike.
Therefore, I regret to tell you that I hereby wish to resign from the BMA. Please refund my membership fee pro-rata.
Yours sincerely,
Gabriel Symonds
Text © Gabriel Symonds