CLOSER NEWS REPORT
A staggering 500 doctors are off with stress every day and experts are worried the NHS won’t survive without massive changes. Closer talks to the doctors who are struggling…
Last year, paediatricdoctor Aishah Iqbal knew she couldn’t carry on the way she was. After months of long shifts, her stress levels were crippling her. She dreaded going to work and struggled to sleep.
Eventually, in April 2022, she was signed off sick with stress. It was two months before she was well enough to go back to the job she loves, and she had to rearrange her schedule – rather than having a contract, she now signs up for the available shifts she can do.
PRESSURE
Aishah, 31, who lives with her husband and two-year-old daughter in Leicester, explains, “I felt so guilty that I couldn’t do my job – my whole adult life was centred around being a doctor and then suddenly I couldn’t cope.
“There was so much pressure, with long hours, constantly changing shift patterns and the sheer volume of work. And while it’s very rewarding, the work is physically and emotionally draining, the amount you see in terms of sadness is more than most people see in a lifetime and there aren’t proper systems in place to debrief and get if off your chest. We can’t look after patients properly unless we are well ourselves. But cuts to the NHS mean so many of us are struggling.”
Aishah’s story is being played out in hospitals and surgeries throughout the UK. Figures show that more medics are off ill with stress than ever before. The number of days doctors are absent due to stress has doubled in the last seven years – last year 185,664 days were lost to it – eight per cent more than in 2021.
LACK OF SUPPORT
Dr Latifa Patel, chair of the representative body and workforce lead at the British Medical Association, says, “These figures add to a growing amount of deeply concerning evidence that doctors are at breaking point, and the impact that the unprecedented crisis within the NHS is having on the health of our profession.
“The lack of support for the wellbeing of doctors is causing staff burnout, while the complete lack of investment in the workforce and their working environments is causing further stress, anxiety and depression, which means doctors will continue to suffer with their health.
HIT THE WALL
“The NHS is in the worst state it has ever been in, yet ministers continue to fail to resource the health service properly, threatening patient safety and putting doctors’ health at serious risk.”
Junior doctors have even felt compelled to strike for better pay and conditions. Talking to Closer, Dr Zoe Watson, GP and Founder o
