Medical Council National Trainee Experience Survey:

BULLYING and undermining of trainee doctors in Ireland is endemic - and more than twice as bad as in the UK, a major report reveals.

Senior consultants are the biggest culprits, but the junior doctors also complain of bullying by patients and the public, the first nationwide survey of trainees by the Medical Council revealed.
It is worst in hospitals and is less of a problem in mental health services, while it happens least among junior medics training to be GPs.

Three-out-of-10 trainees reported being bullied and undermined. Interns who are fresh out of medical school suffer most, and the problem reduces among older trainees. View report here.

The findings come as Health Minister Leo Varadkar has pledged to improve the teaching and work environment for junior doctors in a bid to persuade more of them to stay in Irish hospitals.

Asked to comment on why so many senior specialists are accused of bullying, Freddie Wood, the president of the Medical Council said the environment in the health service is now "much more hostile than it was" for doctors.

He cited overcrowding, waiting lists as well as pressure to meet targets, litigation and patient expectations as adding to the stress."With the downturn in the economy many doctors are in negative equity and that all adds up to poor well-being. If you are a busy consultant surgeon and you have 40 patients to see, you will have only got to where you are through diligence and perfectionism. The people who get to that level are perfectionists and they demand the same as everybody else," said Mr Wood, a retired heart surgeon.

"Like a lot of things it needs to be talked about. This report gives us a definite basis to say to consultants that they need to be aware of it and do something about it."

Key weaknesses revealed by the report included:
* 30pc of trainees said they received no explanation of their role and responsibilities;
* Three-in-10 interns felt medical school did not prepare them for hospital training. This is two to three times higher than in the UK;
* Basics such as educational supervision and matching responsibility with the young doctor's competence were also found wanting. Concerns also emerged about the safety practices when one team of doctor hands over a patient to another;
* Interns and doctors on basic specialist training also reported the worst experiences of indication and orientation.

The report said the impact on patient safety cannot be overlooked and the training setting must be a better place to learn, work and care for patients.

Mr. Varadkar, who launched the report, talked about when he graduated as a doctor in 2003.
"My general impression as a trainee was very good, particularly in the GP training scheme I felt well supported by trainers."

However he said the same was not the case during his time as a hospital doctor.
View more here