Amandip Sidhu

A recent report has set out recommendations that could prevent doctors from taking their own lives. Adele Waters speaks to doctors and families touched by suicide

Female doctors are at higher risk than non medical peers

A monk dancer in a monastery in the Himalayas fits their mask to take on another form in the Cham dance, known as the god dance, performed by monks in Tibetan Buddhism in the Himalayan regions. Before the performance, gods and deities of Buddhism are invoked. The dance is a ceremony, inspired by tradition and performed for the greater good of all sentient beings. The mask signifies peace, compassion, and unity and is thought of as a meditation for dancers as well as the audience. In many ways… Show more

A monk dancer in a monastery in the Himalayas fits their mask to take on another form in the Cham dance, known as the god dance, performed by monks in Tibetan Buddhism in the Himalayan regions. Before the performance, gods and deities of Buddhism are invoked. The dance is a ceremony, inspired by tradition and performed for the greater good of all sentient beings. The mask signifies peace, compassion, and unity and is thought of as a meditation for dancers as well as the audience. In many ways, health-care workers all wear masks in different areas in life, hiding our feelings as we dart and dodge between high workloads in health care, with little time for self-care. Mental health masking can refer to suppressing or hiding a symptom, behaviour, or difficulty. Doctors in Distress was set up by Amandip Sidhu after the death of his brother, a British-Indian consultant cardiologist, by suicide attributed to burnout; it is a UK charity with a mission to help reduce mental health problems and suicide by providing mental wellbeing support to health-care workers. We must all take care to provide better care, not only to our patients but also to ourselves and our colleagues. Show less

When duty, burnout, fear of failure, exhaustion, a blame culture and a lack of support collide, the effects can be lethal. And, sadly, this toxic combination of factors is not uncommon among NHS healthcare professionals.

Physicians are at higher risk for burnout than workers in other fields. Burnout negatively impacts physician health, care delivery and healthcare cost. Existing studies quantify the workforce affected by burnout whilst qualitative studies use specific specialty groups limiting generalisability of solutions. This is important given increased stress during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: The study aimed to understand the causes of work-related burnout, identify what supportive resources… Show more

Physicians are at higher risk for burnout than workers in other fields. Burnout negatively impacts physician health, care delivery and healthcare cost. Existing studies quantify the workforce affected by burnout whilst qualitative studies use specific specialty groups limiting generalisability of solutions. This is important given increased stress during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: The study aimed to understand the causes of work-related burnout, identify what supportive resources physicians utilise, and to propose solutions.

Methods: A questionnaire was circulated between March and May 2019 via the 'Doctors' Association UK' website and social media. Results: 721 responses were received. 94%of respondents worked in the NHS, with over half being either general practitioners (GPs) or consultants. One in two (53%) respondents felt unable to raise workplace concerns regarding wellbeing, stress or workload. Almost all respondents (97%) felt the NHS has a culture of viewing excessive stress and workload as the norm. Three themes emerged from qualitative analysis: negative workplace culture; high workload and lack of resources; and generational change.

Conclusions: Respondents described system-level factors which negatively impacted their wellbeing whilst organisations focused on physician-level factors. The research literature supports multi-level change beyond the individual tackling work unit and organisational factors. These include providing infrastructure to allow delegation of administrative work and physical space for relaxation and flexible work with time for leave. At a national level, there is greater urgency for an increase in healthcare funding and resourcing especially during increased clinician workloads during a pandemic where burnout rates will increase. Show less

Amandip Sidhu’s brother was a consultant cardiologist until November 2018. He was overworked, stressed and eventually burnt out. In this piece, Amandip talks about the important lessons he learned from his brother’s experience, and how he’s putting those into practice through his charity Doctors in Distress.

With healthcare staff facing stress and burn-out in a stretched out healthcare system, NHS leaders can take simple steps to foster a workplace culture that enables staff to raise issues without fear.