Thirty per cent of doctors in public hospitals are suffering from extreme exhaustion, some harbouring suicidal thoughts, according to a study using an internationally recognised test for burnout.
'Doctors have been forced to work unreasonable [amounts of] overtime, and the workload and pressure has not been properly addressed by the authorities,' said Dr Kenneth Fu Kam-fung, president of the Hong Kong Public Doctors' Association, which helped distribute the survey done by local academics.
The association received 226 responses to questionnaires based on the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey, a widely used measurement of stress. Seventy-one respondents, or 31.4 per cent, said they suffered from high burnout: emotional exhaustion and other symptoms.
'It may lead to reduced job commitment ... problematic patient care, stress-related health problems, low career satisfaction and depression,' the survey report said.
Younger doctors, in particular, said they were 'dissatisfied' or 'very dissatisfied' with their jobs.
About one-tenth had had thoughts of suicide, but none had attempted it.