Health Survey - BURNOUT!

One in three hospital doctors have experienced burnout, according to a new survey. 
The National Study of Wellbeing of Hospital Doctors in Ireland, published today, also found up to 10% reported severe to extremely severe levels of depression, anxiety and stress.

This is despite the finding that over 70% of doctors are strongly motivated to practice medicine.
Four out of five doctors reported going to work at times, when they were ill or injured.
The same proportion reported significant work stress and felt the effort put into their work, exceeded the rewards gained.
The study found that, on average, doctors worked 57 hours a week and just 20% said they had enough time for family and personal life.



The research study was led by Dr Blánaid Hayes, Dean of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland's Faculty of Occupational Medicine.

Her study, which was launched in 2014, surveyed hospital doctors in Ireland at trainee and consultant level across all specialties. It aimed to explore the topics of lifestyle behaviours, personal well-being and workplace well-being.
The findings were positive in some areas such as the very high number of doctors (over 70%) who expressed a strong desire to practise medicine and eight in ten reporting good or better overall health and general quality of life.
It found 80% reported less than optimal levels of physical activity, one in ten drank alcohol to excess occasionally and 10% smoked.
Commenting on her research, Dr Hayes said that she sees many front line health professionals at her practice who require care and support. "This study has addressed a gap in the knowledge-base on the health and well-being of hospital doctors in this country, including the challenges posed by stress and mental ill health.
"As an occupational physician, I know first-hand that this is a problem because I see it in my practice and I hear it from my colleagues in other hospitals too.

"Front line healthcare workers and clinicians are presenting with mood disorders and stress-related conditions which are at least in part related to working conditions including staff shortages."

New Magagazine Promotes Mental Wellbeing

Naomi Elster and Lisa Burke, current editors of 'Headspace' magazine

Three young women got together to produce ‘HeadSpace’, an arts magazine that provides a creative outlet for people dealing with mental health issues, and an opportunity to broaden the discussion.

HeadSpace, a Dublin-based, not-for-profit magazine dedicated to creative work for and by those who live with mental illness.is distributed free to 30 psychiatric hospitals, clinics and mental health support centres here and in the UK.

Each issue features a mixture of prose, poetry, paintings, drawings and photographs. It’s the brainchild of the current editors, Naomi Elster and Lisa Burke, and another young woman, Orla Price, who co-edited the first issue but has since emigrated.

The magazine came about because members of the founding team had been in for a hospital stay, either for physical or mental illness, and found that the experience was a curious mixture of anxiety and boredom.

The group came together in February, 2013, finding each other through a mixture of friends and social media contacts. Burke had an interest in media and journalism and, like Price, had experienced mental illness and wanted to do something to help others in the same situation.

View article here

Children's Wellbeing - Internet Usage

Children who spend large amounts of time glued to a computer risk developing mental health problems such as loneliness, depression and anxiety, government health advisers have warned.

In a hard-hitting paper, (click here to view) Public Health England, which advises the National Health Service and government, makes a clear link between the overuse of the internet and social networking sites and lower self-esteem.

Those that spend more than four hours a day looking at a screen are particularly vulnerable to mental illnesses, the report said. The findings will continue to fuel the debate over the health risks of social networking sites and computer games as companies like Facebook come under fire for failing to have a more effective age checking system for new joiners.

You must be 13 or over to join Facebook, but many younger children hold accounts. “Children who spend more time on computers, watching TV and playing video games, tend to experience higher levels of emotional distress, anxiety and depression,” the report said.

Some 750,000 teenagers, the study found, are so depressed they have “nothing to live for”

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