One third of NHS doctors are exhausted, putting patient safety at risk

According to a new report, a third of NHS doctors (35%), are so fatigued that they cannot treat their patients.

The Medical Defence Union (MDU), a union of 500 doctors, found that long hours, shortages in staff and cover and an escalating demand, as the NHS struggles to deal with the backlog following the pandemic, are leaving doctors burned out and exhausted.

According to The Guardian ‘s survey, a further third (34%) of respondents said that their ability to practice medicine was impaired.

One in four (26%) of those who reported that extreme fatigue had or could have affected their ability to treat their patients said that one or more patients were injured or had a near-miss as a result.

In February 2022, when doctors were asked to answer confidential questions regarding fatigue, one out of ten (9%) reported feeling sleep-deprived on a regular basis at work. The MDU reported that three years later, the percentage of people affected by the epidemic had doubled, to 1 in 5 (22%). This means the situation is actually worse than it was before the pandemic.

In 2022, 26% of doctors said that extreme fatigue had affected their ability to treat a patient. This proportion will rise to 35% by 2025.

In 2022, a little more than one-sixth (17%) of nurses said that sleep deprivation affected their ability to care for patients. In 2025 it was over one fifth (22%).

The MDU’s Head of Advisory Services, Dr Udvitha Nadasoma said that the pressures on healthcare professionals have not abated in the last three years. This is continuing to affect doctors’ mental health, which in turn impacts patient care.

When patients are injured by a doctor who is impaired, fatigue and tiredness can be so commonplace that they may not be recognized as a contributing factor and the clinician’s performance can be unfairly blamed. Nearly 4/10 doctors (38%) said they rarely or never took breaks, even for lunch. This is a situation that cannot be sustained.

“If the NHS is to achieve its 10-year plan, the staff must be working at full capacity to provide safe care to patients,” Dr Nandasoma said.

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