This article is from page 14 of the 2013-10-15 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 14 JPG
PATIENTS’ lives are being put in jeopardy every day because Non Consultants Hospital Doctors (NCHD) are being forced to work up to 40 hours straight before undertaking complex medical procedures.
That is the opinion of one Clareborn NCHD who says that he himself has carried out spinal taps and other complex procedures while severely sleep deprived. The doctor, who has asked not to be identified, also says that a number of NCHD’s are suffering from depression brought about by the mental and physical pressure of the job and a mass emigration of Irish doctors could soon take place.
“When you hear people calling them Junior Doctors it gives the impression that they are young people and inexperienced. The reality is that a lot of the most senior people in hospitals, and the most senior people in hospitals at night are NCHDs,” he said.
“The person who would look after you if you present with a heart attack at night is a NCHD, who could easily have been working for the previous 40 hours straight. If you go into A&E with a severe headache and you need a lumbar puncture [spinal tap], that will be done by a NCHD. The hospitals are pretty much staffed by NCHDs at weekend and out of hours. I myself have done lumbar punctures after being awake for 30 hours straight; it is not best practice but it’s the situation that we are placed in.
“I don’t think a lot of people believe the working hours. Under the European Work Time Directive we should be limited to 48 hours and we should never work more than a 13 hour shift.
“The hours that NCHDs are doing varies a lot. If you are in a peripheral hospital, which has only four medical registrars, they will often have to do two 24-hour shifts per week on top of their normal working week. So they will frequently be doing 80 or 90 hours weeks. Sometimes people will do on-call for an entire weekend and you would work 72 hours straight.
“It sounds preposterous, but it happens. I’ve done it myself. I’ve come into work on a Friday morning and I’ve left on a Monday afternoon. I’ve nearly crashed the car driving home on a number of occasions, just falling asleep at the wheel. I’m sure we’ve all made countless errors that we don’t even realise.
“After working 24 hours straight the first thing that goes is your patience and your ability to deal with people. The next thing then is your concentration. After a while it get too much, I’ve seen doctors burst into tears, quit, walk out, everything. If you go into hospital and you are met by a doctor, a lot of those doctors have been working for 24 or 36 hours before they see you.
“Mistakes are being made all the time; it’s almost an accepted practice now. There is a culture that you are supposed to perk yourself up and get on with it. I have seen people make mistakes and I have made mistakes myself.”
A number of recent cases of NCHDs suffering from depression, including a spate of recent suicides, have prompted the doctors to take their recent action.
“It is inhumane and people [NCHD’s] have drawn a line under it because of recent events and we are not going to put up with it anymore. There have been a couple of suicides in recent times and I think really sparked the campaign,” he continued.
“Burn out is a huge thing. Some people take on all the hours as a challenge. Some of the senior doctors encourage this; they say it’s a right of passage and things like that. So there is a bit of peer pressure involved.
“I think this [protest] is a desperate, last attempt for a lot of people. If this doesn’t work I think we will see a lot of doctors packing up and leaving the country. No one wants to leave but a lot of people feel they don’t have a choice. Morale is at an all time low.
“A lot of people are moving to other areas of medicines, becoming GPs and things like that. People are getting burned out, a lot are getting depressed and some are even emigrating. People who have families hardly ever get to see their children. When they come home, they are exhausted. A lot of people are emigrating but nobody really wants to.”