Citation

Lele K, McLean LM, Peisah C. Australas. Psychiatry 2023; 31(2): 139-141.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/10398562231159977

PMID

36861940

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Doctors' mental health has received renewed attention given the epidemic of burnout, high suicide rates and the recent pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic. Internationally, various service designs and primary prevention initiatives have been trialled to address these needs. Systemic barriers such as stigma as well as individual characteristics of doctors have historically prevented access to mental health services. This paper outlines the Australian service context from which a new publicly funded doctors' mental health programme emerged.

METHODS: A narrative review of current services and a description of the challenges is outlined.

RESULTS: A picture of urgency and unmet needs emerged with particular challenges, such as the need for privacy.

CONCLUSIONS: Doctors' mental health is an urgent priority with direct impacts on patient safety and care. The complex context and the unmet need suggest the focus must go far beyond burnout and has prompted the establishment of a new service model designed to complement existing services in the Australian context, to be described in a sister paper.

Language: en

Keywords

‘mental health for doctors’; *Burnout, Professional/epidemiology; *COVID-19; *Mental Health Services; access; Australia/epidemiology; Burnout; Humans; Pandemics; patient safety