The number of GPs seeking help from NHS Practitioner Health for insomnia, anxiety and depression has rocketed, Pulse reports.
Its chief executive, Lucy Warner, told the magazine that the service registered 184 patients in a week at the end of 2022; in 2008, the service registered the same number for the whole year.
Dr Helen Garr, clinical lead at NHS Practitioner Health, answered questions about what work-life balance means for sessional GPs last year at a NASGP event, now available to watch back.
Back in 2021, the service reported an almost 100% increase in demand.
The news comes as nursing and paramedic colleagues announce another round of strikes on 6 and 20 February and March to protest NHS pressures and workforce shortages.
Dr Richard Fieldhouse, NASGP chair, said: “To care for others, we must be able to care for ourselves. All of us are literally experts at spotting stress and burnout in others, but we often don’t have the energy to take time out to understand what effect this has on ourselves.
“Taking time out to rest and recuperate should not lead to feelings of personal guilt, or make others feel guilty, and a cultural shift in our profession to celebrating colleagues taking time off could make a real difference in reducing these high levels of burnout and stress reported by NHS Practitioner Health.”
Get support by phone (0300 0303 300), email (prac.health@nhs.net) or online at practitionerhealth.nhs.uk.