Two in five doctors in Ireland (40%) say their mental health is worse now than it was during the pandemic, and a similar amount (38%) are considering their future in healthcare due to mental health concerns, according to the Medical Protection Society (MPS).

The MPS survey findings, published today at MPS’s annual medical conference in Dublin, show that a third of the 900 doctors surveyed (33%) say not being able to do the right thing for patients, or ‘moral injury’, is affecting their current mental health. Others point to the impact of exhaustion on patient safety (43%) and the inability to take breaks to eat and drink (36%).

More than four in five doctors (82%) go on to say that staff shortages make it difficult for them to take time off to deal with mental health issues, and nearly three quarters (74%) feel the Government could do more to help doctors with mental health issues.