Six in 10 doctors in Scotland plan to vote against independence

A snapshot survey conducted by The BMJ, to which 311 doctors working in Scotland responded, has found that most plan to vote against separation from the United Kingdom in the independence referendum on 18 September.

The survey found that 60% (185) planned to vote “no” to independence in next month’s ballot, and just a third (33%; 104) intended to vote “yes.” A further 6% (20) were undecided, and 1% (2) said that they did not plan to vote.

The results suggested that the doctors surveyed were more staunchly opposed to independence than the overall population of Scotland. The latest national poll by Ipsos MORI showed that 37% favoured the “yes” vote, 52% favoured the “no” vote, and 11% were undecided.1

The BMJ’s survey was sent to 2297 doctors in Scotland and yielded a 14% response rate. It asked doctors to assess how their views on seven specific areas influenced their voting. These areas were the economy, the standard of …