A psychiatrist, Dr Oluyomi Esan has warned that doctors will remain prone to committing medical errors and endangering patients’ health except they seek mental health support.
According to Esan, doctors vulnerability to mental health problems and psychological distress subsisted owing to their exposure to long working hours, lack of life outside medical practice, lack of adequate peer and family support.
Esan who was a guest speaker at a public lecture organised by the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), University College Hospital Chapter, Ibadan, particularly described as myth those notions that doctors were healthy and rich.
He described as worrisome a recent survey showing that 85 per cent of over 600 health workers sampled suffered mental health problems, stress, burnout, depression, low self-esteem and anxiety.
He, therefore, warned that doctors’ failure to give attention to their mental health will continue to lead to decreased performance, decreased productivity and poor turnover rate.
Adding that about 19 per cent of doctors battled depression, he urged health professionals to adopt flexible strategies, plan career breaks, increase their social hours, have a general practitioner and seek counselling.
Esan decried that doctors’ psychological distress was compounded by high patient demand, staff shortages, poor government funding and inadequate infrastructure in health institutions.
In his remarks, Chairman, MDCAN UCH, Dr Dare Olulana, urged health workers to pay attention to their mental health.
He also pleaded with members of the society to support health workers in order to reduce the stress associated with their line of duty.
“A lot is expected of medical doctors for example, you are expected to be above board all the time, you must be prompt in your service and you must deliver the service as expected.
“So if you find yourself failing in these responsibilities, one way or the other, you’ll feel like a failure and start going through stages of psychiatric disorders.
“Ironically, many people in this part of the world tend to think that doctors and other health workers are excluded from mental health illnesses due to their profession, but this is wrong.
“We are also humans and doctors should begin to look out for each other and the society too must show support in order to reverse the trend of high rate of suicide among physicians,” Olulana said.
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