On your side
We hosted a reception in the House of Commons to highlight the findings from our latest survey on clinician vulnerability and its impact on patient care.
Many are balancing long hours, overwhelming workloads and staff shortages, often with little time or space to take a break and decompress.
For too many, this has become a normalised part of working life. But the reality of those pressures is not always fully understood by policymakers.
A blueprint for change
Our independent report, Wellbeing by Design, set out a blueprint for embedding wellbeing into NHS workforce planning. While the report focused on Scotland, the recommendations are just as relevant south of the border. This event brought those ideas directly to MPs and started a conversation about how they could be taken forward
More than 40 guests attended from the healthcare sector, including leaders from NHS Trusts, general practice, NHS Practitioner Health, Doctors in Distress and the British Medical Association. MPs from across the parties also joined us, including Dr Simon Opher MP, Seamus Logan MP, Monica Harding MP and Ben Coleman MP, a member of the Health and Social Care Select Committee. From the House of Lords, guests included Baroness Clare Gerada, a GP and former president of the Royal College of General Practitioners.
Wellbeing by design
Read the report
Supporting doctors is supporting patients
A highlight of the evening was the chance for MPs to hear directly from doctors themselves. Dr Zaid Al-Najjar, Medical Director at NHS Practitioner Health, and Dr Roopinder Brar, a practising GP and medico-legal adviser at MDDUS, spoke candidly about the pressures doctors face every day.
Both made a simple but important point: doctor wellbeing is ultimately a patient safety issue. When workloads become excessive and there isn’t the time or resources to meet rising demand, fatigue sets in and decision-making becomes harder.
Wellbeing by design
Wellbeing by Design makes the same point. The relationship between doctors and patients is closely connected – when one side is under pressure, the other inevitably feels it too.
That’s why improving workforce wellbeing isn’t just about supporting doctors on an individual basis. It also means creating the conditions for positive relationships with patients and setting realistic expectations, so doctors can practise safely, with the time and support they need, and without fear of abuse.
Wellbeing by design
Read the reportDr Peter Prinsley MP
The event was sponsored by Dr Peter Prinsley MP, who welcomed our guests to the House of Commons.
“Doctors, like patients, need to feel heard and supported. The Government has already set out welcome commitments to do just that in its 10 Year Plan. The task now is to ensure those promises are followed through in practice and don’t slip down the agenda.”
A word from our chief executive
“Imagine being responsible for someone’s life and not having the tiniest clear space – literally and metaphorically – to gather your own thoughts when pressure feels too much.
“If doctors are exhausted, anxious and repeatedly exposed to abuse, the system cannot function, however elegantly it’s designed. It is not a nice-to-have once the 10 Year Plan is bedded in. It’s essential to its implementation.”
Chris Kenny
Chief Executive of MDDUS
