Two in three UK doctors suffer ‘moral distress’ due to overstretched NHS, study finds

Exclusive: lack of resources to treat people whose ill health is often worsened by poverty is taking a heavy toll on medics’ wellbeing

Two in three UK doctors are suffering “moral distress” caused by the enfeebled state of the NHS and the damage the cost of living crisis is inflicting on patients’ health, research has found.

Large numbers are ending up psychologically damaged by feeling they cannot give patients the best possible care because of problems they cannot overcome, such as long waits for treatment or lack of drugs or the fact that people’s poverty or bad housing is making them ill.

“The impact moral distress has on emotional wellbeing should not be underestimated. It erodes a doctor’s passion and resilience, leaving them feeling burnt out and hopeless,” added Holden.

72% of doctors said being unhappy at work had affected their mental health;

85% had ended up with fatigue, 77% with worry and 61% feeling sadness;

61% felt angry or resentful because of their moral distress.