Dr Naeem Nazem, Head of Medical at MDDUS, responds to the findings of the General Medical Council (GMC)'s latest national training survey:
"The GMC's latest survey highlights an important issue: increasing the number of doctors requires comprehensive support for trainers, not just more medical students.
“Trainers are already under significant stress, carrying out training as well as their clinical jobs seeing patients. Working in a state of relentless stress can result in physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion – which in turn increases the risk of error in the workplace and diminishes the quality of patient care.
“Burnout is a major risk for all doctors, and in our manifesto, published earlier this month, we called for urgent measures to support our medical professionals. Efforts to recruit and retain NHS staff must protect their wellbeing in order to succeed.
“Additionally, the NHS senior clinical leadership framework, last updated in August 2021, needs to be reviewed to address these findings and make sure our leaders can support the evolving needs of the NHS workforce."
ENDS
The Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland (MDDUS) is a mutual organisation that protects the professional interests of more than 65,000 doctors and dentists across the United Kingdom, offering access to indemnity, support and legal advice.
For further information please contact Lisa Walker, communications manager, on lwalker@mddus.com or 07976 886552.
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