DISTURBING results from the 2020 Resident Hospital Health Check (RHHC) reveal over half of trainee doctors at Logan Hospital fear they will make clinical errors from exhaustion.
The RHHC, which surveyed 730 interns, house doctors and junior doctors across Queensland, has been run for five consecutive years to analyse employment conditions at public hospitals.
Australian Medical Association Queensland Council of Doctors representative Dr Helena Franco says this year’s report for Logan Hospital found 59 per cent of the trainee doctors surveyed were concerned about making clinical errors from fatigue.
“It also found one quarter had not been fully paid for overtime hours worked,” Dr Franco said.
“43 per cent said they were advised not to claim unrostered overtime by an administrative officer or senior medical officer, with 26% claiming it would negatively affect their assessment if they did so.”
The RHHC also surveyed trainee doctors’ experience of bullying and discrimination within the workplace.
“15 per cent said they had experienced discrimination, and 24 per cent said they had personally experienced bullying at the Logan Hospital.”
“We also asked some questions related to the COVID-19 pandemic…and 44 per cent of junior doctors said they had suffered during COVID-19, with 22% surveyed saying that it has affected their career progression.”
With these statistics in mind, AMA Queensland is calling on the next state government to fund the 11-Point Action Plan – The Pathway to Better Health, an advocacy plan for doctors and patients in Queensland.
The plan would include a $1.67 million wellness at work program to ensure junior doctors, like those within the survey, receive the resilience training and support needed in their first five years of training.
