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Hospital trainees share your views

The British Medical Association (BMA) plans to ballot its hospital trainee membership on industrial action. We are currently undertaking an indicative survey of our members to find out your views, act now to make sure your voice is heard.

Eddie Crouch
Eddie Crouch BDA Chair

Our hospitals committee is the voice of hospital grade dentists across the UK working as Consultants, Speciality and Associate Specialist (SAS), and hospital dentists in training. Our role remains vital to ensure that the working lives of hospital dentists are improved, especially considering the immense pressures and treatment backlogs that have been exacerbated by the pandemic.

Currently, we are representing hospital dental trainees via the hospital dentists committee by undertaking an indicative survey of our members regarding industrial action.

Inadequate pay uplift

The 2016 Junior Doctors and Dentists terms and conditions of service tied trainee hospital doctors and dentists into a multi-year pay deal. Consequently, hospital trainee doctors and dentists only received a two percent pay uplift in 2022, despite the Doctors’ and Dentists’ pay review body advising a 4.5 percent uplift for this cohort.

Your participation is crucial to ensuring that we are making the correct decision.

Your voice matters

In line with this and to ensure your voice is heard, we are currently undertaking an indicative survey of our England hospital trainee members to better understand your views on the possibility of industrial action. The outcome of this survey will inform our next steps, so your participation is crucial to ensuring that we are making the correct decision on behalf of our members and the wider hospital trainee workforce.

It’s not too late to participate and ensure your views are heard loud and clear.

Our FAQ document offers further background information regarding the purpose of our indicative survey and the legislation surrounding industrial action. If you are a hospital trainee and a member working in England, please check your inbox now for an invite to the survey, which only takes between four and five minutes to complete. If you fall into this category, but haven’t received your invite to take part, please contact [email protected] or [email protected].

If you’re not yet a member but want to make sure that your voice is heard on this matter, it’s not too late to participate and ensure your views are heard loud and clear. You can join us and become a member to receive a link to complete the survey before 4 December, when the indicative survey will close.

Future engagement

We recognise the amazing work you do day in and day out despite all the pressures currently facing dentistry. We aim to make a real difference for you and improve your working life as dental health professionals. While pay is an integral part of your working lives and the future viability of the hospital dental service, we know that other issues related to education, career progression and working conditions are, and will continue to be, of paramount importance moving forward.

Our ability to negotiate alongside the BMA on behalf of hospital dentists and in the interests of hospital dentists is only made possible through the strength of our membership base and ensuring we represent your views. To help us accurately represent your voice on all these matters, and to strengthen our position in negotiations with NHS Employers, the Department of Health, and the Government, join us today. Together we are stronger.