Survey lifts lid on doctors 'under the influence'

The NHS has serious problems with drink and drug abuse among medical staff, a BBC survey has claimed.

Research conducted for BBC One’s ‘Real Story with Fiona Bruce’ found that 750 clinical and medical staff across the UK had been formally disciplined for offences involving alcohol or drugs at work.

The BBC also said that, according to the British Medical Association (BMA), doctors were three times more likely to develop cirrhosis of the liver than the general population and that one in 15 doctors were addicted to alcohol or drugs.

The research for the show, which will be shown tonight, found that some hospitals were worse affected by the problem than others. The survey found that 17 clinical staff – including one consultant, four nurses and two operating theatre practitioners – had been disciplined within the last ten years at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust. Seven doctors and two nurses had also faced disciplinary action for drink and drugs problems during the last ten years at East Kent NHS Trust.

The survey also found that three consultants at Maidstone and Tunbridge NHS Trust had been referred to the General Medical Council for alcohol problems within the last three years.

The BBC also revealed that the NHS does not have strict rules regarding staff drinking before going on duty, unlike other professions, such as airline pilots and tube drivers.

However, Alistair Henderson, Director of Operations for NHS, said: “I think that sometimes it is easy to assume that having a policy is the same as dealing with it. I would hope and expect that all organisations are able to deal effectively with drug and alcohol abuses. It’s not about nice words written on a piece of paper.”

However, Dr Michael Wilks, Chair of the BMA Ethics Committee said: “You’ve got a profession that doesn’t want to face up to the fact that it’s got a problem in the ranks. You’ve got levels of denial that make it virtually impossible for an alcoholic doctor to be helped.”

However, Dr Vivienne Nathanson, the BMA’s Head of Science and Ethics, refuted the BBC’s claims that as many as one in 15 doctors could be addicted to alcohol or drugs. Dr Nathanson stressed: “1 in 15 doctors will, at some point in their lifetime, have some kind of problem with alcohol or drugs ranging from misuse to dependence that may affect their care of patients. Addiction figures are hard to come by, but we do not think the figure is higher than in the general population. However, doctors work in very stressful environments where it is difficult to seek help.”

Dr Nathanson said that there were already some service available to doctors, including the BMA’s own counselling service, but called on the government to invest in more specially designed services to combat the problem.

“Doctors respond extremely well to treatment when they have the appropriate services available to them. Research has shown that the vast majority of doctors will make a full recovery,” she said.

(KMcA/SP)