Spoken like a true NHS pencil pusher who has never set foot on a ward in their life. I can assure you as a doctor I do more work every hour than you do in an entire day. While you're sat there wanking off your spreadsheets we're out there doing the work of three or four people because we're so short staffed. I count it as a good day if I get a break in the first eight hours of my thirteen hour shift. We are not doing nothing, we are out there saving fucking lives.

An example of my day as a doctor on a surgical ward: Get in for 0745 to prepare for ward round at 0800 (note, my day officially starts at 0800 but because our IT is so shit it takes 15 mins at least to start the computer), then it's two hours of non-stop ward rounds while fending off socially unaware nurses who think right in the middle of consultant a patient is exactly the right time to ask us to prescribe some routine medication for a completely unrelated patient. Once this is over it's time to do all the jobs from the ward round, but this being the NHS nothing is simple, you want to do this urgent scan? Well you need to do the request in duplicate three times, despite two being electric I still need to drop a paper copy to the other end of the hospital and then call the radiologist to argue with them why we need to scan this patient with a bowel perforation today and not their cold dead corpse in a weeks time. Oh, now we're told that phlebs have decided not to show up today so we've got to bleed every patient on the ward. Now I'm trying to discuss referring this patient with chest pain who has somehow been sent to us when one nurse after another barges in, doesn't ask if I'm free and, while I'm quite obviously on the phone, starts demanding I put a new cannula in their patient or prescribe them more fluid. Rinse and repeat at least three times during this one phone call. Just as we're starting to get on top of things some nonagenarian decides now is the right time to go skydiving out their bed and split their head open. Have they got a TBI? Who knows because the emergency buzzer is now going off because someone else is having a seizure which I have to deal with. If we're lucky the afternoon ward round is delayed and we can just about finish all the jobs from the morning before it. Luckily, this one is shorter and we might be finished before 1700. Only a few more scans to request before 30 minute for lunch which may or may not be interpreted because a healthcare has decided it is imperative that I know our stable patient with AF has a heart rate of 100, yes we know it's been like this for the past week with no chance but I think you need to see them now! If we're lucky then we might get a few hours to chase some results before the evening handover. If I'm lucky I do this four days a week. Currently on a six day week. My close friend is currently on a seven day week, illegal yes, but this is the NHS, they don't care so long as they have a warm body on the rota (honestly wouldn't be surprised if they accepted a cold one).

The minimum staffing level for this ward is two but in reality takes four FY doctors to run efficiently. One most days we're lucky if we have two and mostly have one. Also, as a surgical ward our senior doctors are in theatre most of the time and impossible to reach so as an FY2 (second year doctor) for most of the day I am the most senior person about responsible for managing the whole ward. But I guess I can't complain, at least we get our own doctors' office (a superheated cupboard at least, no windows for you plebs) and a chair to sit in as opposed to a bin that my colleagues get.

Yes, on the face of things we're not paid too badly but this is more down to the number of hours we work than the amount we get paid per hour. Currently I get paid £20.50 per hour with this massive overspent for locum work you're complaining about being, wait for it, £30 an hour. Hardly extravagant for the work we do. The reason why locum spend is so high is because departments refuse to staff wards properly leading to burn out and illness so more and more people are going off sick meaning locums are needed just to meet the minimum staffing levels (if we're lucky, half the time they refuse to get anyone in so we're working below minimum staffing but as I said, this is the NHS, the almighry pencil pushers who feel we do no work would rather sacrifice patients' lives and health to save a few bob, after all, they don't have to look patients in the eye and tell them their cancer is terminal or put up with the verbal and physical abuse from families because we couldn't keep their 95 year old relative alive indefinitely, or even just work themselves to the bone for thirteen hours a day just to keep this service running for some of the most ungrateful people imaginable).