Stressed senior doctors at breaking point

Half of senior doctors on the front lines of our public health system are at breaking point – and there has been no improvement in five years.

The findings are from a survey of burnout among members of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) Toi Mata Hauora, a union representing doctors and dentists working for health boards.

The ASMS survey measured members’ physical and psychological exhaustion in relation to their work, their clients or patients and themselves. It found half of senior doctors in 11 of 20 district health boards (DHBs) are at breaking point. The survey, last carried out in 2015, measured the impact of staffing shortages, growing patient demand and clinical pressures.

More than 2100 ASMS members took part, the results detailed in a new report, My Employer is Exhausting – Burnout in the senior medical workforce five years on.

The survey found high levels of burnout caused by work-related stress and exhaustion were now an entrenched feature of the senior medical and dental workforce.

‘‘As myriad studies have demonstrated, there are close associations between burnout and intentions to leave work, suicidal ideation, and quality of patient care.’’

The report noticed burnout was associated with sleep deprivation, which was related to the likelihood of making ‘‘clinically significant errors’’.

It did not provide a breakdown by ethnicity and acknowledged this was a limitation.

Among the survey’s findings were:

■ 50 per cent of respondents reported burnout

■ Burnout affects female doctors more than male doctors

■ More than half of the respondents in 11 of the 20 DHBs said they were ‘‘likely to be suffering from burnout’’

Radiation oncologists, rural hospital specialists, respiratory physicians and emergency department specialists recorded the highest burnout levels.

Respondents emphasised huge and growing patient demand, frustrations with the system, being pushed to do more with less, staffing shortages and overstretched specialist services which cannot provide patients with the level of care required.

One respondent summed up the frustrations over unrealistic expectations by management.

‘‘I love my work, I love dealing with the patients, I wish I had more time to do my job properly.

‘‘But I and my colleagues are frustrated by the unrealistic expectations of the management teams of our capability within the constraints of time and budgets.’’

The ASMS estimates a staffing shortage of 24 per cent in public hospital specialists.

Director of policy and research Dr Charlotte Chambers said the survey highlighted that not enough was being done to manage clinical workloads and burnout risk.

‘‘Wellbeing is a formal responsibility of an employer and DHBs have not been meeting their obligations,’’ Chambers said.