More than 40 per cent of doctors responding to a recent survey said the pandemic had had an impact on their mental health, AMA (NSW) President, Dr Danielle McMullen, said.

“In a recent AMA (NSW) survey of 815 members, we also found that 60 per cent of doctors had concerns about the wellbeing of their colleagues.

“Doctors are faced with many of the same challenges as other people.

“They then face some additional stressors including that the personal risks they are facing from COVID-19 are often higher than many other professions.

“Viewed in this light, the results are not surprising, and it’s emblematic of doctors that more would be concerned for their colleagues than there are saying their own wellbeing has been affected.

“It’s a reminder that even though Australia has, for the moment, dodged the worst of the effects of the pandemic we’ve seen in other countries, it is still having a major effect on us.

“For the GPs surveyed, more than half of them said the pandemic had affected their mental wellbeing.

“The same was also true of salaried doctors.

“For any doctor who is concerned about their own mental wellbeing, there are specialised services available.

“More information on the Doctors’ Health Advisory Service and Medical Benevolent Association of NSW can be found on the AMA (NSW) website.

“AMA (NSW) has been putting in substantial effort to ensure that doctors are treated fairly in the face of elective surgery cancellations and other impacts of the pandemic, including an unexpected reduction in workload for some doctors.

“I would like to say to patients that if you have pandemic-related or non-COVID-19 health concerns you should see your doctor.

“We have strong concerns about people missing out on healthcare, particularly cancer and other potentially deadly diagnoses, during this time.

“We don’t want to see more people dying of non-coronavirus illness because of the pandemic,” Dr McMullen said.

More than 40 per cent of doctors responding to a recent survey said the pandemic had had an impact on their mental health, AMA (NSW) President, Dr Danielle McMullen, said.

“In a recent AMA (NSW) survey of 815 members, we also found that 60 per cent of doctors had concerns about the wellbeing of their colleagues.

“Doctors are faced with many of the same challenges as other people.

“They then face some additional stressors including that the personal risks they are facing from COVID-19 are often higher than many other professions.

“Viewed in this light, the results are not surprising, and it’s emblematic of doctors that more would be concerned for their colleagues than there are saying their own wellbeing has been affected.

“It’s a reminder that even though Australia has, for the moment, dodged the worst of the effects of the pandemic we’ve seen in other countries, it is still having a major effect on us.

“For the GPs surveyed, more than half of them said the pandemic had affected their mental wellbeing.

“The same was also true of salaried doctors.

“For any doctor who is concerned about their own mental wellbeing, there are specialised services available.

“More information on the Doctors’ Health Advisory Service and Medical Benevolent Association of NSW can be found on the AMA (NSW) website.

“AMA (NSW) has been putting in substantial effort to ensure that doctors are treated fairly in the face of elective surgery cancellations and other impacts of the pandemic, including an unexpected reduction in workload for some doctors.

“I would like to say to patients that if you have pandemic-related or non-COVID-19 health concerns you should see your doctor.

“We have strong concerns about people missing out on healthcare, particularly cancer and other potentially deadly diagnoses, during this time.

“We don’t want to see more people dying of non-coronavirus illness because of the pandemic,” Dr McMullen said.

Media contact: Lachlan Jones 0419 402 955