Huge rise in stressed GPs seeking help
More doctors hit by mental health issues END THE GP CRISIS Inches from saw suicide
said the programme was a “lifeline to doctors who are struggling” and “made it acceptable to ask for help before we crash and burn”. She said the Government needed to look beyond
“v o te wi n n i n g gimmicks” and recruit more GPs. The revelations come as the Sunday Mirror’s End The GPs Crisis campaign calls for funding for at least 5,000 trainee doctors a year to replace 1,600 places axed by the To r i e s . Two weeks ago we revealed thousands of patients are being limited to just five minutes with their GP.
A Department of Health spokesman said GP trainees had “increased for the fifth year in a row”. He added: “We’re backing primary and community care with an extra £ 4.5 billion by 2023/ 24, and are working hard to recruit and retain more family doctors.”
A SENIOR GP has told how he was nearly driven to suicide by his surgery workload.
Joe McGilligan came close to killing himself with a chainsaw while cutting logs. The chilling moment convinced him to quit two years ago after 25 years as a doctor.
The married dad said he was “drinking every night to relieve stress” after 14 to 15 hour days – and could not do his job properly.
“It got to the point where I was chopping logs with a chainsaw and about to put it through my leg. I felt it would be easier to end it.”
Joe wanted to make it look like an accident but realised he had his mobile on him. “I thought if I didn’t call somebody they’d think I hadn’t tried to get help.”
Joe – then at a surgery in Redhill, Surrey – said the level of stress was “unsustainable”.
He said: “We’re our own worst enemies. We try so hard to work very hard for our patients at the expense of our own health.”