One in two hospital doctors are working dangerously long hours, but mandating maximum work times is not the answer, according to the AMA.
The national doctors’ association’s latest survey of salaried doctors and doctors-in-training found 53% are working hours that put them at risk of fatigue, with those working in intensive care, surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology at most risk.
This figure remains identical to when the survey was last performed in 2011.
The survey of 716 doctors (including 675 who are hospital-based) who kept diaries of their work and non-work hours over one week, revealed the average work shift was 18 hours, almost one in two doctors did not take a meal break on three separate work days and the longest work shift was 76 hours.
These results are red flags that public hospitals need to urgently address in their rostering arrangements, said the AMA, which noted 80% of participants were junior doctors also dealing with study and exams.
AMA Council of Doctors in Training chair Dr John Zorbas said fatigue was a major concern, considering the impact it can have on doctors’ wellbeing and mental health.
“What this shows is a system understaffed and underfunded,” he said.
In many cases, he believes unrostered hours are going unpaid, because the hospital culture discourages doctors from claiming overtime, he said.