The Royal College of Pathologists is supporting the national Fight
Fatigue campaign to help raise awareness of fatigue amongst NHS
healthcare staff. The campaign, run in partnership with the Association
of Anaesthetists, the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) and the
Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine (FICM) aims to tackle the negative
effects of shift working and fatigue on the NHS workforce.
The
campaign was launched last year in response to the tragic death of a
trainee anaesthetist who died whilst driving home tired after a night
shift. In addition, a national survey of over 2,000 anaesthetic trainees
published in the scientific journal Anaesthesia found:
- Nearly three quarters of respondents reported fatigue had a negative effect on their physical health or psychological well-being
- 84% had felt too tired to drive home safely after a night shift
- Less than a third had access to a suitable rest facility
- 57% had experienced an accident or near miss when driving home after a night shift
Speaking about the campaign, Professor Jo Martin, President of
the Royal College of Pathologists, said: “The wellbeing of our
pathologists, who do so much in the support for and care of patients, is
paramount. We are delighted to be part of this campaign.’
Association
of Anaesthetists president and consultant anaesthetist at Aberdeen
Royal Infirmary, Dr Kathleen Ferguson, said: “I’m delighted that the
Royal College of Pathologists is officially supporting our Fight Fatigue
campaign. The impact of fatigue is well evidenced, and we know that
fatigue has a significant impact on logical reasoning and vigilance.
Well rested healthcare professionals are better able to provide quality
safe care to their patients.
“Our ongoing campaign is
supporting healthcare professionals with practical, everyday solutions
which help to raise awareness, change attitudes and improve working
environments. We look forward to working with members of the Royal
College to help raise awareness of the issues related to fatigue.”
Speaking
about the campaign, Dr Emma Plunkett, fatigue project group lead and
consultant anaesthetist, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, said:
“Sleep is a key part of maintaining our health and wellbeing and the
issue of fatigue amongst our NHS workforce is concerning. Our campaign
seeks to change attitudes across the NHS to ensure everyone understands
the risks of fatigue and how to mitigate them. We hope that by
collectively taking responsibility for making changes to working
practice, we can improve working conditions for staff which will in turn
benefit patient care.”