One-third of trainee doctors in the Irish healthcare system said that they experienced bullying in 2019-2020, a new report has shown.

According to the Irish Medical Council’s report, Your Training Counts 2019-2020, 33% of trainee doctors experienced bullying during this period and among these, 44% reported a poor quality of life. Furthermore, over two-thirds of those bullied did not tell anyone in authority about it.

The annual report documents the experiences of trainee doctors and interns in the healthcare system, examining things such as working conditions, bullying, career plans and wellbeing.

It found that 52% of respondents reported working in excess of 48 hours in 2019, while 46% worked excess hours in 2020.

Worryingly, 45% of those working in excess of 59 hours per week had been involved in an adverse event. In contrast, just under 10% who worked 39 hours or less per week were involved in an adverse event.

Some 31% of respondents felt that their organisation showed very little concern for them, while just 36% said that help was available from their organisation when they had a problem.

Meanwhile, 12% of respondents said that it was their intention to practise medicine abroad and not return to Ireland, while 87% said they intended to remain in Ireland or return after a period abroad.

Commenting on the findings, Jantze Cotter, director of professional competence, research and ethics with the Medical Council said that the issues raised are a “serious concern”, as they have the potential to adversely impact patient safety. 

“This survey was carried out in 2019 and 2020, so though it captures the timeframe of the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, our interns and trainees reported largely feeling safe in their workplace, having good general and mental health and their self-reported quality of life is similarly positive and improving year on year.

“However, issues do remain. Among them, working hours continue to be a cause for concern, with a significant number of trainees reporting working more than 60 hours a week. This is in contravention of the European Working Time Directive and a key issue leading to burnout and increased risk of involvement in adverse events,” Ms Cotter noted.

Also commenting on the findings, Medical Council CEO, Leo Kearns, warned that there is “no silver bullet approach” to addressing the concerns raised, “but action must be taken”.

“Collective, coordinated and planned action across stakeholders is required to improve training programmes and clinical learning environments, which in turn will enhance learning opportunities and increase satisfaction across our workforce. 

“Ireland must develop a new medical workforce strategy as an integral part of a wider healthcare workforce strategy that positions and enables the Irish health service to provide high-quality, sustainable, patient-centred care,” he said.

Such a strategy should address a number of issues. These include determining the required number of specialists into the future and increasing the number of trainees to match this need, as well as improving the quality of training programmes.

“It should also drive forward the resolution of long-standing problems, such as lack of compliance with the European Working Time Directive. It should also address burnout and retention, which are likely to become even more significant in the context of the pandemic,” Mr Kearns noted.

He added that the Medical Council is committed to working with all stakeholders in a collaborative fashion to develop this workforce strategy. The council is also committed to using its regulatory powers “in a focused and proportionate way to enable change and improvement”.

According to Medical Council president, Dr Suzanne Crowe, trainees and interns “are the future of the Irish health service”.

“It’s imperative we develop a system that ensures their learning and growth as doctors, without jeopardising their mental or physical health by working unsustainable hours or enduring bullying or harassment. 

"Focus must be given to retention and attrition in our workforce, leading to consideration of resourcing issues, improving training resources and providing opportunities for progression. We must address the systemic issues impacting these doctors, so we can truly protect patients and support all those working in the health sector,” Dr Crowe commented.

The full report can be viewed here.