Junior doctor says she can't afford to start family

A junior doctor says she will have to put off starting a family because she cannot afford to on her current wage.

Salma Khatun from Chorley is a first year junior doctor in a Lancashire hospital, currently working in the cardiology department.

Her base pay is just over £29,000 a year, which works out at £14 an hour.

Dr Khatun, 31, said: "I'm a second degree graduate, so I had to pay for my own tuition fees. So I have more than £80,000 of debt."

"I came out with personal debts as well," she said. "It's not sustainable as a way of living."

Dr Khatun said she would "love" to start a family but would not be able to cover the costs.

"At this moment in time I don't think I could start a family on this wage at all," she continued.

"I'm a little bit older and it pains me that I have to wait a little big longer, and even do extra jobs just to cover my own costs.

"I actually work two additional jobs on top of my full time job as a junior doctor just to be able to pay my bills.

"I know my colleagues who do have children, or who are maybe less than full time or have chronic illnesses, they do struggle."

Junior doctors in England staged a four-day walkout this week and Dr Khatun spent time on the picket line in Lancashire with her colleagues.

She said she did not want to strike but felt she had no other option.

"Morale is low, we feel de-valued," she said.

"We have hidden costs, which I think a lot of people aren't aware of.

"We have to pay for things like the GMC register to be able to work. We have to pay for our own exams.

"Then on top of that you've got a cost of living crisis, you're worrying about whether you can afford to put the heating on, whether you're eating adequately. £14 an hour is not a fair wage."

She added: "People think we come out of medical school and in a year or two become a consultant earning £100,000. That's just not that case at all.

"I want to become a surgeon but in order to be able to progress you have to pay for the exams.

"So I just paid nearly £600 towards my first set of surgical exams. The second part is close to £1,000."

The British Medical Association wants a 35% pay rise for junior doctors. It said the increase would make up for 15 years of below-inflation wage rises which has caused a recruitment and retention crisis.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said on Saturday the demand was "unrealistic" and out of step with pay settlements in other parts of the public sector, but the association said Mr Barclay was yet to put a serious offer on the table.

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