SCANDAL OVER £14-AN-HOUR WAGE: Junior docs paid same as coffee shop staff

New medics forced to take extra shifts to pay their bills

- BY VIVIENNE AITKEN

JUNIOR doctors are paid the same as sandwich shop baristas and are having to take on second jobs to get by, their union has warned.

Even though they take life or death decisions every day, some new medics are paid just over £27,500 a year - which works out at £14 an hour, the same as some staff at Pret a Manger.

A new survey by union the BMA shows more than 55 per cent of junior doctors have taken on extra shifts to help pay their bills.

And a fifth of those surveyed said they have experienced difficulties paying their rent or mortgage in the past year.

BMA chiefs warned that only 15 per cent say they are sure they will stay in the UK and work for the NHS long term.