According to a survey by the British Medical Association, four in 10 doctors are planning to leave the NHS as soon as they can find another job.
The survey, published as part of BMA council chairman Professor Philip Banfield’s New Year message, found that poor pay and working conditions were among the main reasons young doctors wanted to leave.
A third of those looking to leave the NHS plan to work overseas in the next 12 months, with Australia the top destination choice.
Banfield warned that the NHS “simply won’t be able to cope” if there was an exodus of young doctors next year.
His message comes before young doctors in England are due to vote for industrial action on January 9. They have faced some of the steepest pay cuts of any public sector worker over the past 15 years, falling by more than a quarter in real terms since 2008-09.
Banfield added: “The situation is dire. A third of young doctors plan to work in another country. Four in 10 say that as soon as they can find another job, they will leave the NHS. The health service simply cannot to cope
“For decades the NHS was the envy of the world. But without the expertise of our doctors, the country will get sicker. We will not accept impoverished healthcare for our nation, nor will we accept those who seek to cut wages and reduce the living standards of NHS staff. By 2023 we will be united with patients, an organized workforce ready to act.”
The NHS faces months of disruption early next year with public service union Unison and the Royal College of Nursing stepping up their strike campaign in protest against the government’s pay award and refusal to improve it.
The BMA survey of young doctors in England, conducted between November and December, received 4,553 responses.
Dr Vivek Trivedi, co-chair of the BMA’s junior doctors committee, said the survey results were “very concerning”.
“If our government doesn’t act now, it doesn’t take a genius to see where this will lead: an exodus of young doctors to foreign countries, with those who stay in the NHS facing an ever-increasing workload , until they feel they have no choice but to leave too or burn themselves.
“If the government wants the government to move to Australia to stay off young doctors’ New Year’s resolution lists this year, it will have to start by reversing the 26% pay cut they have suffered since 2008, or At the very least, start talking to us and stop ignoring our repeated calls to address our salary.”
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Faced with a growing cost of living crisis, a recent BMA survey found that junior doctors were cutting back on food shopping and heating their homes to make ends meet.
A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “The Health and Social Care Secretary has been clear that supporting and retaining the NHS workforce is one of his key priorities, and that includes our hardworking junior doctors .
“Our multi-year pay deal with the British Medical Association is increasing pay for junior doctors by a cumulative 8.2% by 2023. We’ve also invested an extra £90m to give more experienced junior doctors higher pay, higher allowances for those who work longer, often at weekends, and increased rates of pay for night shifts.
“There are record numbers of staff working in the NHS and we are committed to publishing a comprehensive workforce strategy next year.”