It’s been a worrying week for the NHS with numbers of hospitalised Covid patients at an all time high. Yesterday, an Essex trust called in the army after declaring a major incident,…
Dr Ashburner commented: "Prioritising the wellbeing of NHS staff must be at the forefront of the action plan to tackle the second wave of this pandemic."
A recent Doctors’ Association survey found that more than 1,000 doctors have seriously considered quitting this year, with 45 per cent of those asked citing the crisis’ impact on their mental health. Gruelling 12-hour shifts, exhaustion and burnout are also leading growing numbers of nurses to quit within three years of joining the profession.
One way to make workplaces safer is to provide secure channels for reporting wrongdoing. In the UK, organisations including the whistleblowing charity Protect, WhistleblowersUK, and the Doctors’ Association UK are campaigning for change. Reform is also the goal of a private members’ bill sponsored by the MP Philippa Whitford and of a House of Lords’ bill sponsored by Baroness Kramer.
Dolin Bhagawati writes for The Independent about the government’s need for duty of candour in regards to lack of PPE.
In an article in the BMJ, David Oliver examines the issue raised by DAUK of medics being told not to speak out about concerns on social media or mainstream media. “Threatening, disciplining, demoralising, or suspending the very staff we need most to get us through the next few months is a spectacular own goal and reputationally disastrous. It must stop”.
