There’s evidence that many hospital doctors and GPs suffer from ‘physician burnout’ and suicide rates are high, but while NHS England has recently funded a dedicated mental health service for GPs, there’s no similar provision for doctors working in our hospitals. 

Now the new Evelyn Trust Mental Health Service for Hospital Doctors offers a specialist, dedicated local service to doctors across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. This service, which is provided by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, started in November 2017.  It will run for one year initially and will develop the case for a service tailored to the needs of doctors. Referrals will be accepted from Occupational Health Services, GPs, and also from the Deanery for junior doctors in training. Doctors are also encouraged to self refer if they are reluctant to see their general practitioner or occupational health service.  Dr Rajini Ramana, a consultant psychiatrist, will be running the pilot service on the Addenbrooke’s site, along with clinical psychologist Dr Amanda Burren.  There’s also some budget to bring in specialist support, such as advice on substance misuse.

There’s no doubt that hospital doctors have stressful jobs due to heavy workloads and long hours, but doctors have also been shown to be very reluctant to seek help, because of issues with confidentiality and a culture of perfectionism in the medical profession. They fear stigma and falling foul of the regulatory requirements of ‘fitness to practice’. Many junior doctors move around the country during training and so may not even be registered with a GP. Increasing pressure within the NHS, linked to increasing demand, is also having an impact on the health and well being of hospital doctors.  Dr Ramana explains the approach that the pilot project is taking.

“Doctors can be quite challenging patients! They very rarely seek help, or take sick leave, so they are quite a vulnerable group. They suffer from a culture of ‘presenteeism’, which can be dangerous for their own health and safety and that of their patients.  Due to the stigma associated with mental illness, many doctors are particularly reluctant to ask for help. When they do, they struggle to navigate through or engage adequately with the ‘stepped care model’ of primary and secondary health care provision in the NHS.  Due to concerns about confidentiality, many are referred to out-of-area services that are often a considerable distance away. I believe that having a service that offers timely and specialist help will encourage doctors to both seek support and accept appropriate treatment. Lack of access to appropriate treatment for mental illness can have catastrophic consequences and it’s well worth investing in a suitable service that can improve outcomes. When you consider how long it takes to train a doctor and how much we invest in their training, it’s very worthwhile to offer them some dedicated support to prevent burnout and keep them in the profession. It’s also vital for patient safety that we enable doctors to take care of their own health and well being.”