Junior doctors have said the profession "can't go on like this" as thousands of medics across England went on strike on Wednesday.
Members of the British Medical Association (BMA) began a 72-hour walkout from 7am in a bitter dispute over pay.
The Standard spoke with several junior doctors on the picket line who claimed that many NHS medics are struggling with the cost of living and exam fees.
Dr Lily Huang, a 39-year-old mother and junior doctor, was among those gathered at the picket line at University College London Hospital (UCLH).
She said: "Junior doctors are leaving in droves for other countries. There are no longer enough doctors to provide safe levels of care for patients. There are trolleys stacking up in A&E and there are not enough beds for patients.
"It takes 10 hours for an ambulance to come to the hospital and it's just not good enough. People are dying for reasons they shouldn't be.
"Doctors aren't paid enough to make ends meet or to pay for childcare so we're losing smart people from the profession. They go off to do other things and become consultants for pharmaceutical companies. These are people who join data companies that will pay them much much more."
She added: "I want this job to be able to attract people who are smart and love doing what they do whilst also getting a good standard of living. I pay my nanny more than first year doctors get paid. My child's tutor, who is actually a junior doctor, earns more from tutoring… we need the government to know that we cannot go on like this."
Hospital bosses said the strike comes at "the worst possible time" with rising demand for emergency services during the festive season. However, many junior doctors believe the disruption is necessary for the Government to recognise their calls for a better wage. The latest NHS figures show that more than 6 million individual patients in the UK are waiting for treatment.
Asked whether disruption to services would only be worsened by strike action, Dr Huang said: "Our aim is to cause disruption so we can get the Government's attention and the only thing that can get their attention is by hitting them where it hurts them. But I would actually argue that it's not the strikes that are causing the disruption: it is already there.
"Waiting lists are already too long and that's what we're fighting for. We want better care for patients and the only way you can get that is to pay enough to keep them from moving abroad, into different professions and to get the smartest people into medicine."
The Government has recently come under fire after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said strikes were "very disappointing", while Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting said they were "a disaster for the NHS".
In response, doctors on the picket line were heard chanting "pay for doctors, pay for schools, not for Rishi's swimming pools".
Deputy chair of the BMA junior doctors committee, Sumi Manirajan said: "Junior doctors are out on strike because our pay's been cut by 26 per cent over the last 15 years and you see the effects of that every single day in the NHS. Our colleagues have left to go to Australia, New Zealand and Canada where they can put their expertise to good use and be appropriately remunerated.
"My colleagues who have left are now being treated better than they were treated in the NHS. It's making me want to leave and it's making thousands of doctors leave because they are actively seeking better opportunities abroad."
Joseph Kendall, 30, from the BMA south Thames committee, said that failing to pay first year doctors more than £15 an hour was unreasonable.
He continued: "I would apologise to anyone affected by strikes. Nobody wants to be on strike. And ultimately it is really disappointing we have to take this action again. The issues we've got at the NHS right now is long waiting lists, but it's hasn't occurred overnight. It's occurred from massive underfunding. We need to sort out these issues by training junior doctors."
Medical Registrar Hamish Bain, 30, held a poster measuring the cost of Freddo chocolate bars against doctor's pay that said "the frog has it all".
"We're here because despite multiple rounds of strikes, we're still not reaching an acceptable pay settlement that reflects years of pay reduction measured against inflation", he explained.
"So with our pay being docked by 26 per cent over that time period, we're attempting to rebalance that and to go back to something akin to where we were many years ago. Strikes matter to me because I think we need to do something to retain staff.
"Lots and lots of colleagues have taken time off because of burnout. Some get migraines which are related to running your battery dry. It's the same sort of thing for us. We're working really hard. the more you invest your time and energy, once you go home and your pay doesn't reflect the time you've put in, then you just get a bit of defeated and deflated."
