The creation of a union fund to boost the income of striking doctors has proven a failure after attracting donations worth just £2.40 per member.
The British Medical Association launched the strike fund with great fanfare, saying it would help doctors win their fight for more pay and supplement their income on days when they go on strike.
But Daily Mail analysis reveals that its fundraising website has received an average of just four donations per day since its launch more than a year ago, in September 2022.
The union boasts of having 190,366 members, but has only received 6,134 online donations from 2,144 donors.
This suggests that fewer than 12 in 1,000 have contributed to help their colleagues.
The British Medical Association launched the strike fund with great fanfare, saying it would help doctors win their fight for more pay and supplement their income on days when they go on strike. But Daily Mail analysis reveals that its fundraising website has received an average of just four donations per day since its launch more than a year ago, in September 2022.
The union boasts of having 190,366 members, but has only received 6,134 online donations from 2,144 donors. This suggests that fewer than 12 in 1,000 have contributed to help their colleagues. Pictured, young doctors picket outside Manchester Royal Infirmary last week, February 26.
The revelation will be an embarrassment to union leaders, who regularly use crab emojis on their social media profiles and messages as a sign of “solidarity and unity.” Pictured, junior doctors attend their picket at St Thomas’ Hospital in Westminster, last week, February 26.
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The actual figure will be even lower as the fund is open to donations from the public, who can commit to making recurring payments.
The revelation will be an embarrassment to union leaders, who regularly use crab emojis on their social media profiles and messages as a sign of “solidarity and unity.”
An MP, who is also a doctor, said last night that BMA members are unlikely to have reached deep into their pockets because they know their colleagues are not usually “poor”.
Health chiefs have been forced to cancel more than 1.4 million appointments and operations as a result of strike action by doctors, consultants and trainee nurses.
The disruption has hampered efforts to eliminate waiting lists, left patients in pain for longer and cost the NHS an estimated £3bn.
The BMA admits on its website that it was concerned that doctors would grow tired of losing pay on strike days and undermine their campaign by returning to work.
He launched the fund in a bid to “keep workers on the picket line” and “support doctors to take regular industrial action”.
Donations are distributed to members who are in “precarious financial situations,” he adds.
Junior doctors, seeking a 35 per cent pay rise, earn a basic salary of up to £63,152 a year and consultants up to £126,281.
However, the online fund has raised just £458,270, which equates to just £2.40 per member.
The union was forced to apologize to donors after initially stating that “100 per cent of donations” would go to members, but has since revealed that the website hosting the fundraiser charges a fee of up to 3.25 percent.
The smallest donation received so far is 50p and the largest is £19,000.
In a BMA blog in March last year, BMA board member Joanna Sutton-Klein wrote: ‘The current BMA strike fund is still in its infancy, and in the future we would love it to be able to support more people. .
“However, we are optimistic that it will grow rapidly.”
Optimism proved unfounded as donations peaked that month, at £85,211, and have since plummeted 70 per cent to £25,924 in January, the last full month analysed.
Professor Philip Banfield, chair of the BMA council, encouraged members to contribute to the fund, saying: ‘This is the first time in our long history that the BMA has set up a strike fund.
“It represents an important step forward in our ability to support members to take action in defense of the NHS and the profession.”
Donors can post a message when making their donation.
These reveal the militant nature of the strike, and many attacked the government.
Young doctors in their first year now have a basic salary of £32,300, while those with three years’ experience earn £43,900. The oldest wins £63,100
Ministers have given junior doctors a pay rise of 8.8 per cent, on average, for the 2023/24 financial year. However, the increase was largest for first-year doctors, who were given a 10.3 percent raise. Pictured is a black cocker spaniel wearing a BMA cap on the picket line outside St Thomas’ Hospital on February 26.
One wrote “united crabs”, another said “united, attack together, let’s win together.” Together we are stronger’, while a third said ‘give them a sock’ and a fourth ‘don’t let those bitches crush you!’
Conservative MP Dr James Davies told the Mail: ‘The BMA might be happy to inflict seemingly endless attacks, but these figures suggest doctors are getting tired.
‘The government has already given doctors generous pay rises of up to 10 per cent, so it is disappointing to see the BMA pursuing the strike above all else, especially when support for the strikes appears to be waning.
“It is time for the BMA to end the strikes, come to the negotiating table and reach an agreement that is fair for doctors, patients and taxpayers.”
Conservative MP Caroline Johnson, a doctor and member of the House of Commons health and social care committee, said: “Doctors should not go on strike because they have patients who need care, including children and pregnant women.”
“It’s understandable that they want to make more money, as most people do, and there are credible reasons why they may deserve more, but in my opinion, for doctors, being surprising is morally wrong.”
‘There will be some exceptions, but most doctors are not usually in trouble, and other doctors know this, and perhaps that is why they have not rushed to put their hands in their pockets for many large donations.
“Ultimately, the best way for doctors to pay their bills and avoid hardship is to go to work.”
The BMA said donations made through the Raisely website only represent part of the money raised by the strike fund, but declined to say how much was received through other sources.