Emma Runswick

Resident doctors in Scotland vote to accept pay offer After months of negotiations that culminated in a strike ballot and then ultimately an 11th hour breakthrough that saw strikes suspended, Scottish Resident Doctors have voted resoundingly to accept…

🚨PAY VOTE RESULT

Resident doctors in Scotland have voted overwhelmingly to accept the improved Scottish Government offer

YES – 97.1 %
TURNOUT – 62.4 %

For the full results and more details, read 👇

bmascotland.home.blog/2026/02/11/r...

Register now for the 2026 resident doctors conference. Places are limited, so don’t delay.

👉 bma.org.uk/rdc-conference

The same people who tell us “oh, dear boy, you don’t understand” when reassuring us about Palantir embedding itself in the British state were almost exactly the same people who told us Russian interference, Cambridge Analytica and phone hacking were just ‘conspiracy theories’

We've been welcoming delegates to the Junior Members Forum, a chance for grassroots members from all branches of practice to come together to talk about how we can win change locally and nationally. [1/2]

Stand for BMA Council Elections BMA Council Election Shape the future of our profession Your deadline to stand for election to BMA Council is 16 February

Members are at the heart of your BMA By standing for election, you can become a voice for your peers, and shape the direction of your BMA and the medical profession.

Stand for BMA Council Elections As an elected member, you’d be involved in influencing BMA policy and priorities for the next three years from 2026–29.

Nominations close at 4pm on Monday 16 February 2026 Find out more, and nominate yourself today at bma.org.uk/councilelections

There is one week remaining to stand for election to your BMA council.

Learn more: www.bma.org.uk/what-we-do/u...

A graph that shows doctors' earnings vs other sector earnings, in real terms since 2008 using RPI.

Using a single jobs site, one on which a small minority of NHS doctors' jobs will be posted, as an evidence base is a cheap attempt to get a headline. You just need to look at the real data... [2/2]

This is misleading reporting.

Doctors have had worse pay cuts in real terms since 2008 than other sectors - something easily confirmed by looking at NHS earnings data. [1/2] t.co/uGLLYqi7fX

Doctors/med students: fill in @bma.org.uk's survey on advanced practice roles and their potential impact on training and for employers to extend their scope into work only doctors should be doing.

It closes this Thurs at 4pm so be quick! (It takes ~10 mins)
www.surveymonkey.com/r/MVXCB99

Prakash Thiagarajan (Isle of Man Medical Society), Tim O’Neill (Chief Officer of DHSC), Claire Christian MHK (Health Minister) and me in the Isle of Man government office underneath the island government’s crest

Helen Robinson-Gordon (BMA head of media) and me crossing the road outside the Tynwald (IoM Parliament)

Prakash and me in Noble’s Hospital near Prakash’s department - behind us is the entrance to the children’s ward with an undersea-themed mural

After a stormy arrival on Friday, had a full day yesterday meeting members on the Isle of Man; followed by Manx Care’s Chief Exec & MD; then the Chief Minister, Treasury Minister, Health Minister and DHSC’s Chief Officer. Productive conversations, progress on important issues:

Since #bbclaurak is trending, let’s remind ourselves that ONE MONTH ago, the BBC invited Mandelson on for a soft-ball interview on her show. While HIS CLIENT , Palantir’s Louis Moseley appeared as a pundit

Both, as I wrote at time, were ‘abject failures of journalism’
1/

BMA responds to Palantir's involvement with ICE and questions their increasing centrality in the NHS

An excellent letter from @tomdolphin.bsky.social at BMA about why the NHS should stop end contracts with Palantir
www.bmj.com/content/392/...

Update for GPs in Scotland: Work to implement funding deal and rediscover the joy in our work continues Dear All, We have passed the point of saying happy new year so let’s open with congratulations for getting through January! Just as we are sure you will have been busy, we have been doing a lot of …

🩺NEW: GPs in Scotland

Read the latest blog from SGPC for updates on issues including:

👉Implementation of funding deal
👉Direct reimbursement of non-staff expenses
👉Response to GP walk-in centres

Link 👇

bmascotland.home.blog/2026/02/05/u...

It’s a YES.

An overwhelming 93.4% of resident doctors in England have voted for further strike action, giving a clear mandate to continue pressuring the Government on jobs and pay in 2026.

The overall turnout was 52.54%.

Stay tuned for updates on our next steps.

Get involved in shaping the direction of your BMA and campaigning to support your colleagues.

Nominations for the elections to BMA UK council are now open.
bma.org.uk/councilelections

We welcome the fact that this new Bill, prioritising UK medical graduates, tonight moves to the House of Lords. But without thousands of new training posts, doctors will keep being shut out of the careers they trained for.

"GP underemployment is the scandal that's not going away" At a time of huge patient need, is there is an ever increasing number of GPs who are not able to find enough work.

Watch Dr James Booth explain how practice funding needs to change.

‼️Time is running out to vote YES‼️

Use Special Delivery now:
1. Buy your Royal Mail Special Delivery online or at the Post Office.
2. Print your label or take your QR code to any post office.
3. Make sure your envelope reaches Civica by 1pm the next day.

Council update January 2026 - Tom Dolphin, Peter Holden, Amit Kochhar, Emma Runswick An update to council from chair of council Tom Dolphin, deputy chair of council Emma Runswick, chair of RB Amit Kochhar and treasurer Peter Holden. A transcript of this episode can be found attached t

The latest episode of the Chief Officers' Podcast is out now.

Get your update on some of the key issues facing medical students and doctors today, including the BMA's ongoing negotiations and the international doctor exploitation scandal engulfing Birmingham Hospitals Trust.

🔊Listen now

REMINDER - SAS doctors in Scotland

❗Important deadline looming ❗

Read full details 👇

There are just hours for resident doctors to get their YES ballot in 🗳️

If you’ve already sent yours back, take a moment today to check in with colleagues and friends. A quick convo can make the difference. Share why you voted YES, help find their nearest post box, or remind them to post theirs.

Division and racism harm our NHS, our profession, and patient care. That’s why the BMA stands with the
Together Alliance against the far right.

We'll see as many of you as possible at the anti-racism demonstration in London on 28 March. Find out more 👉 togetheralliance.org.uk

‼️Resident doctors in Scotland

🗳️Your vote on pay is now open
📨Check your inbox for your voting email today

For more information, read the blog from SRDC chair @chrissmith2211.bsky.social 👇

bmascotland.home.blog/2026/01/21/s...

Worth remembering when looking at the horrific scenes in the US right now that both Reform and the Tories have pledged to bring in ICE-style organisations to the UK if they win power

It was great to see so many of you at the Ulster Hospital yesterday to discuss pensions!

Find our BMA NI pop up here next:

📅26 Jan, South West Acute Hospital, outside canteen, from 12-2pm

📅27 Jan, Daisy Hill Hospital, outside canteen, 12-2pm

📅09 Feb, Craigavon Hospital, outside canteen, 12-2pm

UNISON will be a union that 'puts members first and fights for all public service workers,' says new UNISON general secretary Andrea Egan.

‘We can be an incredible force for change,’ says Andrea and urges members to get involved with their branch.
@andreaegangs.bsky.social

Image of raised arms in silhouette in front or an Iranian flag painted on a wall. The text below reads: The BMA calls on Iranian authorities to respect medical neutrality and international human rights law.

The text on the slide reads: The BMA is gravely concerned that medical neutrality and the health-related human rights of protestors are being violated in Iran. Since the protests erupted in Iran, verified accounts of attacks on multiple hospitals have been reported – including reports of patients and medical workers being attacked and security forces arbitrarily arresting protestors from hospitals.

The text on the slide reads: Under international human rights law, medical facilities and healthcare workers must not be attacked or impeded from being able to carry out their duties, those who require treatment and care must be able to access healthcare services and doctors must be allowed to treat all patients according to their medical needs.

The text on the slide reads: Protestors must be allowed to access medical care without fear of arbitrary arrest and doctors must be allowed to treat them without fear of repercussions. We call on Iranian authorities to ensure respect for medical neutrality and the human rights of its people.

The BMA is gravely concerned about reports of violations of medical neutrality in Iran. Read our statement below.

Health should not depend on postcode, income or background, but too often it does.

Widening health inequalities are damaging patients’ lives and placing an unsustainable burden on the NHS and its staff. Doctors are left treating the fallout of problems they can’t fix alone.

Member survey on advanced practitioners Take this survey powered by surveymonkey.com. Create your own surveys for free.

We are exploring the use of advanced practice roles by NHS employers. To help inform our work, please complete our survey, which is open to all UK doctors and medical students. www.surveymonkey.com/r/MVXCB99

SAS doctors in Scotland: important deadline approaching I fear it is far too late to wish you all a happy new year. However, given this is the first time I have been in touch in 2026, I will wish you all the best for the rest of the year to come, combin…

🗓️DEADLINE REMINDER: SAS doctors in Scotland

❗New regrading process

If you apply before 31 January & are successful then your regrading and the associated pay will be backdated to 1 August 2025.

Read the blog ⬇️ for more details & info on support available

bmascotland.home.blog/2026/01/23/s...

Where's the outrage we saw when Angela Rayner, who paid the wrong amount of tax on a property for her disabled son, & followed poor advice? She had a single breach of code for an amount ~10% of what Farage has tried to tax dodge.

When is he going to be made to resign due to media pressure?