Cape Town – A Cape Town doctor has spoken out about the burnout he suffered while working in a public hospital that treats 4 500 patients a month and handles as many as 80 acute trauma cases a day in one of the city’s notorious gang-infested areas.
The physician, who preferred to be identified as “Dr Advik Gupta”, highlighted his experience in the latest World Health Organisation (WHO) news bulletin.
Gupta was one of four consultant physicians working in the hospital’s emergency section before his burnout forced him to leave.
He said it was the chaos he experienced daily - and not the stress of dealing with so many acute trauma cases - that made him feel like giving up.
“I would get home to my wife and say ‘I’ve achieved nothing today’, even though I’d been working flat out,” said Gupta.
He said that around 4 500 patients came through the department every month.
On a normal week day, roughly 30% of the patients were the victims of violence, with the number and mix of cases changing at the weekends.
“On Friday nights there was a spike in penetrating trauma cases - mostly stab wounds and gunshot-related injuries.
“On such days as many as 80 acute trauma cases went through the department, overwhelming the hospital’s capacity to serve them,” said Gupta.
Unable to cope and experiencing an overwhelming sense of futility when his burnout crisis began, Gupta had felt a compulsion to prove himself.
“I tried harder. Got in earlier, worked late. It made no difference and in the end I decided to leave the hospital,” he said.
International Occupational Medicine Society Collaborative (IOMSC) co-chairperson Dr Richard Heron, said burnout was not just linked to the health of the doctor, but affected the safety of the patient.
“Quality suffers when staff are unable
to cope. The compassionate, caring environment is harder to maintain and mistakes are more likely,” he said.
Common drivers of burnout include excessive workload and high patient expectations, coupled with an increased number of patients with chronic diseases, said Heron.
Health professionals responding to an IOMSC survey on what can be done to avoid burn-out, proposed interventions such as improving work conditions and reducing or changing tasks.
Gupta said: “Until now there has been too much focus on the individual in addressing the burn-out problem. We need to see it from a health system (improvement) point of view.”
Team lead, global occupational and workplace health at WHO, Dr Ivan Ivanov, said: “Ensuring decent working conditions in the health sector is a priority.”