Exhausted Doctors Act 'Like Drunks': Surgeon Claims Patients' Lives at Risk as Overworked

Medics have raised fears doctors’ concentration levels are being hampered due to the knock-on effects of working 12-hour shifts – hitting them the same way as if they had drunk too much.



Research suggests that, due to the conditions they are working under, doctors fail to realise how much they are suffering under the strain of long hours. And one surgeon has warned patients’ lives could even be at risk.

The crisis led to members of the British Medical Association voting to back a motion yesterday which sets out their serious concerns “about the number of doctors suffering from burnout and stress related to an unsafe workload burden”.

Tired and overworked doctors “have an adverse effect on patient safety” and the NHS must “shift” how it looks after the physical and mental health of its workforce, the BMA said during a conference in Brighton.

Major concerns were expressed over the impact of the shifts on doctors in a separate motion, put forward by the City and Hackney BMA division, in London, which was not voted on by members.

The motion said: “After 12 hours, doctors have been tested and behave as if they are drunk in terms of concentration and judgment.The doctors tested had no idea their judgment was impaired.”

Salisbury-based surgeon Dr Satish Jayagopal told the conference patients who were under the care of doctors who put in such long stints were 27 per cent more likely to suffer an adverse incident.

Doctors have said nurses working 12-hour shifts had a 200 per cent higher risk of making mistakes compared to those who were only working eight hours.



Research has shown that doctors' concentration is being severely affected by overworking (Image: GETTY IMAGES)

Medical work is psychologically demanding. Physicians should not be expected to heal themselves

Dr Satish Jayagopal, surgeon

Dr Jayagopal said: “Medical work is psychologically demanding. Physicians should not be expected to heal themselves.” Poor sleep, negative attitudes and impaired judgement in doctors were all linked by the medic to working long hours.

Meanwhile, Dr Vijoy Singh said doctors were not getting enough help from the NHS. He said: “The NHS stands out alone as a major institution that does very little to support the workers from whom, under extreme stress, it requires elite performance.

“This is in contrast to the sports industry, the aviation industry and any other decent employer. What we need is a universal NHSwide support mechanism for every doctor in the NHS, regardless of speciality and age.”

One frustrated hospital doctor has revealed his team felt like a “failure” and “terrified” after working two exhausting 13-hour shifts in a row and struggled to treat the level of patients coming through the doors.

The doctor, who works at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, said they were on the verge of resigning because of the situation they faced.

In an email, he said: “Morale among staff is currently very low – we are doing our best but are getting very tired and fed-up with the system.

“We are aware substandard care is being given, but on the frontline there is very little we can do about it. I worked 8am to 9pm both days and had a 10-minute break for a sandwich during that time because I insisted on eating.

“I found it difficult to concentrate towards the end and was terrified of making a mistake that would cause harm to a patient, which could result in a legal case if they decided to sue, or losing my medical registration.



The NHS could be about to face year-round crisis (Image: GETTY IMAGES)

“I had relatives shouting at me constantly because their loved one had not been seen. This damage limitation medicine is dangerous for both me and the patient.”

The NHS, which celebrates its 70th anniversary next month, is in the midst of an all-year crisis, leading doctors have warned. Prime Minister Theresa May has pledged to inject £20billion into NHS England a year by 2023 as a “birthday present” during its landmark anniversary year.

During the Brighton conference, Dr Chaand Nagpaul said: “We know the NHS has been systematically and scandalously starved of resources for years.

It lacks doctors, it lacks nurses, it lacks beds. “It’s not just the Channel that separates us from our European neighbours, but a vast funding gap equating to 35,000 hospital beds or 10,000 doctors. We’re being run ragged.”

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