Doctors’ wellbeing must be treated as a national priority, new report warns

Senior doctors have issued a clear warning to Scotland’s political leadership: the wellbeing of doctors is under sustained pressure, and the consequences are already being felt by patients and across the health service.

Wellbeing by Design, an independent report shaped by doctors working across Scotland, sets out the scale of the problem and calls for a more deliberate approach to how the system supports those delivering care.

The report finds that high levels of stress, anxiety and low morale are now widespread within the medical profession. It argues that this is not only harming individual doctors but is beginning to affect patient care and the wider functioning of the NHS.

Niall Dickson CBE, independent chair of the expert group, said: “Doctors have always carried significant responsibility, but the pressures they now face are at a level that should concern everyone.

“When doctors are struggling, it is not contained within the profession. It has direct implications for patient care and for the sustainability of the health service itself.

“This report is intended to prompt action. It asks those who fund and run the NHS to take responsibility for creating an environment where staff can practise safely and where their wellbeing is properly supported.”

The report has been developed by MDDUS with input from doctors across a range of specialties and career stages.

It highlights the unique pressures doctors face, including increasing workload, changing expectations from patients and the loss of continuity of care. It also points to wider shifts in how medicine is practised, including the growing influence of new technologies.

Dr John Holden, the Chief Medical Officer at MDDUS, said: “What comes through clearly from colleagues is that this is not a marginal issue. It is affecting day to day practice, decision making and, ultimately, the care patients receive.

“In completing our report, we did not start from scratch. There are practical steps that can be taken now, many of which have been shown to work elsewhere. What has been missing is the focus and follow through needed to make those changes happen consistently.”

The report is aimed at political leaders ahead of the forthcoming Scottish Parliament elections and calls for a clearer long-term vision for the health service, one that places staff wellbeing alongside patient outcomes as a core priority.

It argues that improving doctors’ wellbeing does not require wholesale redesign or significant new funding, but does require sustained commitment, clarity of purpose and delivery across every part of the system.

While the report focuses on doctors, its authors note that many of the recommendations are likely to be relevant across the wider NHS workforce.

Niall Dickson added: “This is about recognising what is already in front of us and deciding to act on it. The health of the workforce and the health of patients are closely connected. Addressing one supports the other.”

Download the report (PDF)

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