4 ms·

The UK government also artificially limits the number of doctors that can be trained each year. Doctors obviously support this to boost their wages. https://ww

The UK government also artificially limits the number of doctors that can be trained each year. Doctors obviously support this to boost their wages. https://www.bbc.com/news/health-62594141 https://www.bbc.com/news/health-62594141

arethuza 3y ago
I don't think its lack of suitably qualified people leaving school - I know someone whose parter was responsible for selection of students for entry to one of the UK's top medical schools and they said they really struggled to find fair ways of selecting people given the oversupply of "perfect" candidates for a relatively small number of places.
walthamstow 3y ago
The NHS is a monopsony employer and has hardly any competition, I don't think the limit on trainees has any effect on salary. Surely if what you're saying is true, junior doctors would not be paid less per hour than someone working in Aldi. A friend of mine runs a successful business bringing over doctors from the Philippines, Pakistan, etc to work in the NHS, so the gap gets filled that way.
- shaftoe444 3y ago
  If that's true why aren't they going to work at Aldi?
  - walthamstow 3y ago
    Salary progression is the most obvious reason but don't discount the effect of morality and ethics. I know two junior doctors, one is working in Australia and the other is still in the NHS and would never countenance leaving no matter how rational a decision it may appear.
- hathchip 3y ago
  > I don't think the limit on trainees has any effect on salary This is far from true. On the margin, doctors can work in the private sector or leave the country. Only a few choose to do so, but this is (among other reasons) because the NHS always has to respond to price pressure to keep that small number from growing to where it causes shortages. Recently a change in how pension contributions are taxed was pushed through almost entirely because it affected senior doctors. If the NHS had pricing power as you suggest, why wouldn't they just tell doctors to pay up?

arethuza 3y ago

I don't think its lack of suitably qualified people leaving school - I know someone whose parter was responsible for selection of students for entry to one of the UK's top medical schools and they said they really struggled to find fair ways of selecting people given the oversupply of "perfect" candidates for a relatively small number of places.

walthamstow 3y ago

The NHS is a monopsony employer and has hardly any competition, I don't think the limit on trainees has any effect on salary. Surely if what you're saying is true, junior doctors would not be paid less per hour than someone working in Aldi. A friend of mine runs a successful business bringing over doctors from the Philippines, Pakistan, etc to work in the NHS, so the gap gets filled that way.

shaftoe444 3y ago
If that's true why aren't they going to work at Aldi?
- walthamstow 3y ago
  Salary progression is the most obvious reason but don't discount the effect of morality and ethics. I know two junior doctors, one is working in Australia and the other is still in the NHS and would never countenance leaving no matter how rational a decision it may appear.
hathchip 3y ago
> I don't think the limit on trainees has any effect on salary This is far from true. On the margin, doctors can work in the private sector or leave the country. Only a few choose to do so, but this is (among other reasons) because the NHS always has to respond to price pressure to keep that small number from growing to where it causes shortages. Recently a change in how pension contributions are taxed was pushed through almost entirely because it affected senior doctors. If the NHS had pricing power as you suggest, why wouldn't they just tell doctors to pay up?