Doctors unsafe work practices
The Australian Medical Association (AMA), an organisation which represents registered medical practitioners and medical students, recently released data relating to its 2016 Safe Hours Audit. The audit is the fourth such audit since 2001 and is conducted every five years to asses fatigue risks for doctors. Data about:
- hours of work
- on-call hours
- non-work hours
- hours of sleep
during the audit week is collected via an online survey and participants are then categorised according to three different risk levels. Both AMA and non-AMA member doctors were invited to participate and there were 716 valid responses with the majority being hospital-based doctors.
Unsafe work practices
The 2016 audit found that 53% of doctors working in public hospitals are working unsafe hours, with 43% at significant risk of fatigue. Doctors considered to be at high risk of fatigue were working an average of 78 hours in a week. Of particular concern was the report of one doctor working an unbroken 76-hour shift which was almost double the longest shift reported since the previous audit. There is well-researched evidence to suggest fatigue can impact on patient safety as well as the health and wellbeing of doctors.
Four out five of respondents were doctors in training. Intensive Care Physicians and Surgeons were the most stressed disciplines at risk of fatigue from working excessive hours, followed by doctors working obstetrics and gynaecology. The number of doctors working in O and G in the high risk category has almost double since 2011. Only 22% of GPs were considered at risk of fatigue, a decrease from 35% in 2011.
Unsafe work practise – no improvement since 2011
The AMA is concerned that the latest data shows no improvement in the number of doctors working unsafe hours since the 2011 audit and claims the results shows that demands on doctors working in public hospitals need to be addressed through improved staffing levels and smarter rostering practices.
Overall, there has been a 57% decrease in the number of doctors working hours which put them at risk of fatigue than there were 15 years ago. The number of work-free days and the number of doctors skipping meal breaks has also decreased since 2011.
Australian Medical Association Code of Practice
The AMA has developed a Code of Practice relating to Hours of Work, Shiftwork and Rostering for Hospital Doctors which was revised in 2016. The Code provides guidance on managing fatigue and is recommended as the minimum standard for all Australian States and Territories.