Sorry I couldn’t join you on the picket line, I was too busy getting lipo: Glam, rabble-rousing medical student, 26, who thinks junior doctors should get MORE than a 35% pay rise missed 4-day strike to undergo surgery
- EXCLUSIVE: Eilidh Garrett previously joined doctors on the picket line in March
- But last week the 26-year-old underwent liposuction surgery
- Last year she co-founded #LiveableNHSbursary for medical students
A medical student and prolific campaigner for NHS strikes missed last week’s chaos — because she was recovering from liposuction.
Eilidh Garrett, who lives in Manchester, has spent months cheering on junior doctors through her influential social media presence, attacking the Government for its lack of ‘moral decency’, conduct during strike talks and refusal to budge on pay.
The 26-year-old believes junior doctors deserve more than 35 per cent — the huge sum that the British Medical Association (BMA) is demanding.
Miss Garrett joined tens of thousands of young medics on the picket line during the last walk-out in March, which led to 175,000 procedures and appointments getting cancelled.
But MailOnline can reveal Miss Garrett, who has racked up millions of views on her pro-strike Twitter posts, was unable to join colleagues during the four-day strike last week.
Eilidh Garrett has spent months cheering on junior doctors’ through her influential social media presence, attacking the Government for its lack of ‘moral decency’, conduct during strike talks and refusal to budge on pay
Ms Garrett told her thousands of followers on Saturday — after the unprecedented strike had finished — that she had undergone liposuction to her ‘upper and lower’ abdomen, ‘inner and outer thighs and flanks’ earlier in the week
This was despite it being branded the worst ever strike in the NHS’s 75-year-history, designed to bring the ailing health service to a standstill in order to get ministers to agree to the BMA’s pay demands.
Damning data yesterday revealed it led to more than 200,000 cancellations across the health service.
Miss Garrett, who has yet to qualify as a junior doctor, told her 7,000 followers on Saturday, after the unprecedented strike had finished, that she had undergone lipo to her ‘upper and lower’ abdomen, ‘inner and outer thighs and flanks’ earlier in the week.
She wrote: ‘Recovery isn’t supposed to be going this badly but clearly I’m a wuss. It wasn’t traditional lipo so usually a much faster turn around.
Read more: We’re junior doctors who went on strike… these are our reasons why
‘Before anyone says, I didn’t do it to lose weight,’ she added.
‘I was happy with my weight but I carried a fair bit of weight on my thighs and my hips, that I felt was disproportionate, so this was just the right decision for me.’
Miss Garrett told her Twitter followers on April 11, the first day of the 96-hour strike, that she was ‘excited’ to try the anaesthetic drug propofol ‘tomorrow’, suggesting her op was on April 12.
That day, she updated her social media to say she was ‘recovering well’ and was at home.
In the UK, private liposuction surgery can cost between £2,000 and £6,000.
The op, which tends to last a few hours, can sometimes be offered on the NHS to treat certain health conditions, such as lymphoedema and lipoedema.
Recovery can take weeks.
Miss Garrett, who the BMA has previously said is estranged from her parents, described her surgery as ‘traumatic’ during the final full day of strike action and detailed how she almost fainted four to five times.
The Newcastle University student last year co-founded the BMA-backed campaign #LiveableNHSbursary, which calls for a review of the financial aid medical students receive during their training.
Currently, medical students are provided with full funding for their first four years of study, as Student Finance England funds students for up to four years.
After this, the NHS bursary provides eligible full-time undergraduate students with a non means-tested grant of £1,000 and a means-tested grant of up to £3,191 for those in London or £2,643 outside of London.
The campaign calls on the Government to allow medical students immediate access to full maintenance loans for the duration of their degree programme, alongside access to the NHS Learning Support Fund.
It also asks for a review of the travel and accommodation expenses, granted to those undertaking practical training on a clinical placement.
In May 2022, speaking about the launch of the campaign, she told The Guardian her £10 hourly wages barely touch her £4,000 credit card debt.
She wrote: ‘Recovery isn’t supposed to be going this badly but clearly I’m a wuss. It wasn’t traditional lipo so usually a much faster turn around. ‘Before anyone says, I didn’t do it to lose weight,’ she added. ‘I was happy with my weight but I carried a fair bit of weight on my thighs and my hips, that I felt was disproportionate, so this was just the right decision for me.’ In the UK, liposuction surgery costs around £4,850 on average
The 26-year-old, who has yet to qualify, believes junior doctors deserve more than 35 per cent, which is what the British Medical Association is demanding in its push for full ‘pay restoration’
Miss Garrett even joined thousands of young medics on the picket line during their previous walk-out in March, which led to 175,000 ops and appointments needing to be cancelled
On Saturday Eilidh Garrett updated her 7,500 followers on her condition post surgery. Faja compression garments are used for healthy recovery after cosmetic surgery such as liposuction
In the days after her surgery, she took to Twitter to share her recovery process. ‘Not how I wanted to spend Saturday’, she tweeted
A fourth year graduate medicine student, she is due to graduate from the University of Newcastle this summer
Miss Garrett, who has also told her followers she only wanted to become a doctor for the money, did not want to comment when approached directly by MailOnline
Miss Garrett, who grew up in Hampshire, also worked part-time in car finance during her studies.
She attended the first junior doctor strikes this year in March in London, posting a picture of herself on her way to the picket line.
She is due to graduate this summer.
After a five year medical degree — or four years for a graduate entry programme — students become junior doctors, starting their foundation year one.
Miss Garrett has however publicly questioned, however, on Twitter whether she will begin the process.
Miss Garrett, who has also told her followers she only wanted to become a doctor for the money, did not want to comment when approached directly by MailOnline.
However, she complained on social media that our story was ‘scraping the bottom of the barrel’ because her medical placement was cancelled and that she is ‘completely cool with what I do in my own time’.
But writing on Twitter yesterday evening, she said: ‘I chose to get surgery and I’m not gunna feel ashamed about it.
‘I don’t think anyone here doubts how much I support the strikes despite my absence from the picket line.’
Miss Garrett added: ‘I was also absent from the picket line one of the days during the last strikes because I was busy seeing mates.’
Last week’s junior doctor walk-out involved up over 20,000 young medics across the country and saw some 196,225 hospital appointments and operations cancelled over the four days.
The BMA is seeking a 35 per cent pay rise to address the 26 per cent real terms pay cut junior doctors have faced over the last 15 years.
It has said it is ‘willing to negotiate on how to achieve pay restoration’ but attempts to begin talks have so far failed.
After a five year medical degree – or four years for a graduate entry programme – students become junior doctors, starting their foundation year one. Ms Garrett has however publicly questioned however on Twitter whether she will begin her foundation year
Last week Eilidh Garrett attacked the Government for its lack of ‘moral decency’ during junior doctor strike action
The Newcastle University medical student last year co-founded the campaign #LiveableNHSbursary which calls for a review of the financial aid medical students receive during their training. In May 2022, speaking about the launch of the campaign, she told The Guardian her £10 hourly wages barely touch her £4,000 credit card debt
Last week, on the day strike action began, she also wrote: ‘Do I deserve to be paid £14 per hour? To be paid less than I was as a medical secretary? To be paid less than a doctor ten years ago? I think not’
The BMA is seeking a 35 per cent pay rise to address the 26 per cent real terms pay cut junior doctors have faced over the last 15 years. It has said it is ‘willing to negotiate on how to achieve pay restoration’. Health Secretary Steve Barclay has repeatedly insisted the demand is unaffordable
Base salaries for junior doctors, who can spend up to 10 years in the position before reaching a senior title, can be up to £58,000 per year. But in their first year — known as foundation doctor year one — they can expect just over £29,000 annually
Health Secretary Steve Barclay has repeatedly said the demand is unaffordable.
If ministers were to cave in, some medics would get more than £20,000.
Base salaries for junior doctors, who can spend up to 10 years in the position before reaching a senior title, can be up to £58,000 per year.
But in their first year — known as foundation doctor year one — they can expect just over £29,000 annually.
Writing on Twitter in March, Miss Garrett claimed: ’35 per cent is a negotiating point because we deserve more than 35 per cent.’
Last week, on the day strike action began, she also wrote: ‘Do I deserve to be paid £14 per hour? To be paid less than I was as a medical secretary? To be paid less than a doctor ten years ago? I think not.’
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