‘Superheroes’ soldier on through illness

Nearly nine out of 10 New Zealand doctors go to work despite knowing they are too unwell to be helpful to patients.

A survey of senior doctors found sickness rarely kept them at home, with most turning up to work while sick in the past two years.

Of the 1800 doctors who responded to the survey, three out of four also said they had gone to work despite having an infectious illness, presenting a potential risk to patients and co-workers.

Nearly half the doctors who turned up sick had done so at least three times in the past year.

No single district health board stood out, with sick doctors turning up to work across the country when they should not have done so.

The survey was conducted by the senior doctors’ union, the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, which is holding its annual conference in Wellington this week.

For the most part, doctors are turning up for the noblest of reasons, with a ‘‘duty to patients’’ the most common, followed by sessions already booked and trying to avoid placing a burden on colleagues who would have to pick up the slack.

Comments from doctors who responded to the survey talked about a ‘‘superhero’’ culture, in which they were not expected to show any signs of weakness. Others spoke about having to work through illness because there was no-one to cover for them.

One hospital doctor talked about doing a shift while in the emergency department themselves with ‘‘very bad pneumonia’’.

‘‘Not something to be proud of, I know, but I didn’t feel like I could call in sick.

‘‘It was the middle of winter, a super-busy time for our department and I kept thinking: I am not too bad.

‘‘Put it this way, I am not needing ICU [intensive care].’’

Another doctor reported working with whooping cough, while another talked about treating patients with a mask to prevent the spread their infection.

The report recommended better investment in senior doctors, more short-term sick cover and reframing sick leave as ‘‘legitimate’’ and ‘‘healthy’’.

‘‘The situation reported in this study is simply not sustainable for our members.

‘‘They are holding the health system together at the expense of their own wellbeing, and they cannot do that indefinitely,’’ Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Ian Powell said.