The NHS is Ill and The Medicine Students of St Andrews Are Worried

The study of medicine is a selfless dedication to a lifetime of learning, compassion, and problem solving. It is amongst some of the most admirable professions and is fundamental to any thriving society. Medicine has been taught at the University of St Andrews for almost 600 years, streaming out a steady supply of hardworking individuals ready to make a difference in the lives of others. However, this workforce has recently started to reveal some flaws and the medical students of St Andrews are worried about the future of their careers.

A recent ballot, directed at first-year doctors in England, has revealed that an overwhelming 97% (3950 doctors) have backed strike action over the poor working conditions and increasing levels of unemployment within the healthcare sector. According to a recent BMA study, 32% of resident doctors don’t have ‘substantive employment or regular work from August 2025,’ with this number rising to 52% when applied to FY2 doctors (BMA, 2025).

Source: EJ Li

Furthermore, in Scotland, a ballot is being outlined to begin strike action for resident doctors (BMA Scotland, 2025). This recent plan came into action after the Scottish government revoked its decision to raise the pay for these doctors by the amount that had been previously agreed on. In 2023, Scottish resident doctors backed away from strikes after the Government ‘pledged to make “credible progress” on the path towards pay restoration for each of the following three financial years. The breaking of this pledge has caused anger and frustration within the healthcare sector of Scotland, leading them to initiate action towards a ballot for strike action. The outcome is so far unknown. 

The post-pandemic strikes in England and the would-be strike in Scotland were caused by the low quality conditions that doctors were being forced to work under. Resident doctors were working chronically understaffed shifts, leading to feelings of anxiety, burn out, and insufficiency. When asked by the BMA about their morale, 60% recorded this to be ‘low’ or ‘very low’, and 51% described their desire to continue working for the NHS in the next 12 months as ‘low’ or ‘very low’ (BMA, 2023).

Source: Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona

Patient waiting lists have been rising, while the number of available healthcare staff decreases. The waiting list in England in August 2025 had 6.26 million individual patients on it(BMA, 2025). This number has been growing since the pandemic and cannot be properly cared for by the staff currently available. Within Scotland, these waiting list numbers are causing patients to feel ‘forgotten’ and forcing them to turn to private care. Within Scotland, 29% of patients reported that they had to turn to private care and a further 43% reported that they are likely to seek healthcare privately in the future. The BMA Scotland Chair issued a harrowing statement in response to this report, saying that the NHS is “dying before our eyes” (BMA, 2025). 

There is an unemployment crisis within the NHS: there aren’t enough places being filled despite the overwhelming  number of doctors and healthcare practitioners willing to fill them. This crisis is affecting patient safety, with the most recent New Workplace Experience report by the GMC finding that 73% of doctors in Scotland feel that understaffing has negatively affected patient care, and 46% saying they have witnessed risks to patient safety at work (healthandcare.scot, 2025). The chronic underinvestment in the NHS is causing a decrease in available training positions, causing many Scottish graduates to leave the UK to seek employment elsewhere. Dr Chris Smith, the chair of the BMA Scotland's Resident Doctor Committee, states that “an increasing number of resident doctors [are] facing unemployment at a time when the NHS is struggling with a workforce crisis and needs more doctors to keep up with the demands of an ageing, frailer population.” He goes on to say that “[w]hile some patients are struggling to get the appointments they need, there will be doctors who want to work but can’t.” (healthandcare.scot, 2025).

Source: University of St Andrews

The future for medical students who want to remain in the UK is looking precarious. They will have to face increased competition for limited positions, just to end up with a surplus of patients — a demand above their paygrade. The medical students of St Andrews are coming to terms with  this future and are increasingly concerned. Second year medical student, Hannah Boggon, tells The Stand: “I worry that after years of dreaming of working in surgery, I won't get to; not because I'm not good enough, but because the government cannot fund enough training places to meet the demands of waitlists.”  This reality is brewing feelings of ‘powerlessness’. How can those who aren’t in the NHS yet, hope to fix the problems within? Although this future is unknown, the students of St Andrews are continuing to strive for it, hoping they can make a difference somewhere.