I've been lucky enough to get the job that I wanted as an F1 (a junior doctor, the first job a doctor does after graduating). Many of my friends have not, particularly the ones that wanted to work in London. But I am one of the lucky ones. So that's really great, the new system has worked for me.

I have, however, just recieved the papers from the hospital I will (if I pass my finals!) be working at. They are going to charge me £485 a month for staying in the hospital accomodation, which would mean more like £550 with council tax and bills. Not in central London, not in London at all, not a big house, not in a nice area of town, not even a nice building. No, just a room. One room! For this price, in the city I will be working in, you could rent a house for this price. Considering I will be moving to the same hospital as the boy, we can get a mortgage for a three bedroomed house - for about £600-£700 a month between us. How can they possibly justify these prices? I always saw myself living in hospital accomodation, even if you did have to pay for it. But there's no chance that this makes any sort of financial sense at all. I don't understand how they think that this is reasonable.

Another reason that this has got everyone pissy is that last year (or the year before that in some places) junior doctors didn't have to pay for accomodation at all. This amounts to getting on for a 20% pay cut. I don't think I am special because I am going to be a doctor. I don't think I am any more deserving than another profession. But without any consultation to cut effective pay by 20% - I don't believe that this is fair.

One of my favourite blogs, http://nhsblogdoc.blogspot.com/ , has just done a great piece on this - even showing a picture of a typical hospital accomodation. One I stayed in in December I had to clean the cockroaches out of my room, and the bathroom. The one I have at the moment has boards over some doors warning me about asbestos. I'm off to propertyfinder.com.