Deep Rooted Issues within Healthcare
The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the deadliest global outbreaks in the history of healthcare, but what pandemic is even greater than that of COVID-19? There is an epidemic which has claimed millions of lives, left even more people devastated and is the underlying effect of our education system – the suicide pandemic amongst our healthcare professionals.
Our doctors, nurses and allied health workers reel under the breadth of work that they are expected to master. From physiology to surgery, and everything in between, medical practitioners are continually lamenting over the sheer volume of work set to them.
The Hippocratic Oath, “I will use my power to help the sick to the best of my ability and judgement; I will abstain from harming or wronging any man by it,” requires doctors to use their skill and scientific knowledge to benefit patients. Doctors care for patients, diagnose diseases, lay out a treatment plan and act as a confidant for their patients but one key thing that will lead to the downfall of the healthcare system is the lack of doctors receiving the care that they deserve.
Statistics of doctor suicide illustrate that 430 health professionals died by suicide in England between 2011 and 2015. This equates to roughly two healthcare professionals every week. (Source: BMJ). The path of becoming and being a doctor is a lonely one; this truth reveals itself very quickly for every medical student. Humans have evolved to become social beings, we are dependent and reliant on others and feel the need to be validated through others’ approval. Unfortunately a tragic number of people believe that there is no support, and that they are not able to rely on others and so they opt for suicide.
According to the Ipsos MORI Veracity Index, merely 64% of the population trust the average person to be honest. Compare this to the percentage of people that trust NHS key workers, nurses (94%) and doctors (91%). Doctors and nurses have a regulatory duty of candour, are highly skilled and encapsulate everything that you would want in a dependable, trustworthy friend. It is important to know that we cannot expect clinicians to continually perform at their optimum if they are collapsing under the stress of their duty to care, to be reliable, to be resourceful and more.
As members of the public, British citizens and users of the incredible NHS how much longer are we going to deny the palpable need to enforce stronger support networks for those that care for us? The NHS serves as the backbone of society and so, it is imperative that the government actively subsidises it. I propose using innovation and creativity to create a robust system of mental health aid aimed at key workers and medical students, who will become the next generation of doctors. The tenacity and resilience of these individuals is admirable and it is time for them to be receivers of the care that they willingly give to others.