Tired doctors ‘putting patients at risk’

SOME GPs are so tired and overworked they pose a threat to their patients, according to the head of their professional body.

Dr Maureen Baker, chairman of the Royal College of GPs, said such doctors were more prone to missing illnesses, prescribing the wrong medicines or mixing up patients.

She called for urgent measures to reduce workloads, including compulsory breaks and an early-warning system to flag up surgeries under pressure.

Although GPs benefited from a contract introduced in 2004 that led to their salaries soaring to £105,000 and allowed them to give up out-of-hours work, many say their workload has increased because the population is rising and becoming more elderly.

Dr Baker, whose organisation represents 50,000 GPs, said: ‘Few of us would voluntarily board a plane flown by a visibly tired pilot or get on a train where we knew the driver had spent too much time at the controls, yet there are no methods or systems for addressing doctor and staff fatigue in general practice. With waiting times to see a GP now a matter of national concern… our members are routinely working 11 and 12-hour days.’

She added: ‘You might be able to do this for a short time, but when it becomes the norm, mistakes are going to be made.

‘Fatigue among GPs is building up, to the detriment of their own health, and over time this could have a devastating impact on the care that our patients receive.’