The vast majority of Junior Doctors have admitted their mental health has declined since starting their job.
According to a recent survey carried out for ITV News, 91 per cent of the 265 Junior Doctors who were asked said their emotional wellbeing has worsened, whether due to feeling burnt out or demoralised because of their career choice.
One doctor even stated: “Being dead is preferable to being bullied by my racist, sexist colleagues.”
Of those who said their mental health had declined, 99 per cent thought it could improve if working conditions were better.
More than half (57 per cent) believed 2022 was worse for their mental health than 2020/21 at the height of the pandemic, and 83 per cent have considered quitting.
Second year doctor Sumi Manirajan told ITV News: “If we don’t do something about this, I’m either going to leave the profession, end up in a worse place than I am at the moment of I’ll just move abroad.”
According to the British Medical Association (BMA), there are more than 9,000 doctor jobs that remain unfilled at the moment. This is putting extra pressure on existing staff, as they are forced to work longer shifts.
At the end of last year, BMA revealed four in ten Junior Doctors intend to leave the NHS and a third wish to work abroad within the next year. The main reasons for wanting to leave the health service were cited as poor pay and working conditions.
The declining mental health of doctors in the UK means there could be greater demand for therapists in West London this year, as they find different ways to relieve their stress and feelings of frustration, hopelessness and burn out.