NHS doctors' mental health meltdowns as A&E staff suffer panic attacks on shift
Half of hospital doctors are struggling with their OWN mental health as the NHS crisis puts more strain on them.
An investigation by the Sunday People has found that…
Panic attacks are happening among A&E medics who have no history of anxiety.
Shocking new figures show 52% suffered poor mental health in the past 12 months.
Burnout in the face of constant pressure is reported by more than three-quarters of hospital docs on the frontline.
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Terrified junior medics dread being on call because they know they can only deliver a substandard level of care.
Dr Matthew Lee, a junior doctor in North Wales who needed counselling after struggling with his mental health, told us: “Being present in an environment where people aren’t receiving the care they deserve is really difficult and takes a huge emotional toll.
Dr Matthew Lee has spoken of the emotional toll of working in a hospital (© Andrew Price / View Finder Pictures)“We’re in a place where treating patients in corridors and waiting rooms has been normalised – we’re being forced to deliver a substandard level of care due to a decade of poor government planning.”
The junior medic, who also acts as a representative for the Doctors Association UK (DAUK), said his colleagues regularly have panic attacks on shift.
Dr Lee, 26, added: “Some of them are terrified of being on call because of the stress they’re going to experience and knowing that they’ll witness traumatic scenes and likely deaths.
“Colleagues with no former mental health issues are having panic attacks on shift. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t cried or been extremely stressed because of work.”
Dr Rebecca Bates, 28, who works in paediatrics, said: “Having time with patients to explain what’s happening to them, and reassure them in the night when they’re worried, is very important but we’re not getting the time to do that.
“It’s difficult not to bring this home with you but you have to dismiss the feelings because you have to sleep, eat and be up ready for another shift in the morning.”
Dr Rebecca Bates says doctors often do 12-hour shifts without a break (Paul David Drabble)Rebecca, who lives in Lincolnshire, said it is now common to go a full 12-hour shift without a break, adding: “I was doing cover Monday through to Thursday and didn’t get a single break for four days.”
Figures from the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association show 52% suffered poor mental health in the last 12 months. Of those that took part, 77% blamed burnout while 73% said anxiety was the problem.
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Dr Bates said low pay for young doctors is another contributing factor. The junior medic is currently on £14.09 an hour, which leaves her strapped for cash at the end of each month.
“I feel guilty buying a £1.90 can of Coke on a night shift because of how little money I have,” she said. “We keep being told this is a vocation but it can only work as long as you don’t have doctors worried about heating and eating.”
Medics are so busy they often cannot spend enough time with patients, say doctors (PA)A wellbeing support service for doctors has seen a huge spike in calls.
The British Medical Association, which offers medics free mental health support, helped 13,047 members in the last two years – double the 6,224 aided between 2019 and 2020.
Dr Andrew Molodynski, mental health policy lead at the BMA, said: “Doctors are working at a time of unprecedented pressure amid serious staffing shortages, which can take an incredible toll on their wellbeing.
“Many doctors are feeling completely burnt out – with many considering leaving the NHS altogether.”
It comes as nearly half of junior doctors have struggled to pay their rent or mortgage and half have had difficulty paying energy bills in the past 12 months, according to a BMA poll.
Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting said a lack of staff and more than decade of Conservative rule were the key factors.
Speaking last night, the Labour MP said: “NHS staff are slogging their guts out but there simply aren’t enough of them. Thirteen years of Conservative failure to train enough doctors and nurses has left NHS staff overstretched and burnt out.”
Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting says a Labour government would fix the NHS staffing crisis (Getty Images)He added: “The cavalry is coming with Labour. We will launch the biggest expansion of NHS staff in history, paid for by abolishing the non-dom tax status.”
Early this week, NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard warned the service is under extreme pressure. On Wednesday, around 25,000 ambulance workers across England and Wales went on strike in a dispute over pay.
NHS England warned that some patients would have to make their own way to hospital as the Armed Forces were drafted in to cover shifts.
It comes as ambulance staff wrote to the PM accusing the Government of demonising workers in order to justify new anti strike legislation. Members of the Royal College of Nursing are expected to walk out next week over staffing, low pay and staff sick leave.
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