PROFESSIONAL BODIES
‘Doctors not good at looking after their own wellbeing’ D
octors are well motivated to look after their patients
but not very good at looking after their own wellbeing,” says the director of the Primary Care Support Service, which promotes the health and wellbeing of GPs, dentists and community pharmacists working in Wales.
Dr Sue Elliston, a former general practitioner who has also trained in public health medicine, addressed the topic of promoting the wellbeing of GPs and their practices at the 21st Rural Doctors Conference at Gregynog Hall, near Newtown in September.
She believes that GPs are suffering greater work pressure and stress due to current changes and budget cuts being enforced on the National Health Service. This is compounded by
having to deal with the challenge and uncertainty around revalidation, complaints and difficulty finding locums.
She expressed concerns that some GPs are opting out and taking early retirement or changing profession due to the stress associated with changes in the NHS.
“Change is incredibly stressful and many people tend to resist the process especially since they have been through it so many times in the past,” said Dr Elliston. “I know of GPs who love their job but the stress surrounding it makes life difficult for them. They feel that they have no control over what is happening to the NHS.”
But at the conference, she introduced GPs to a way of managing their stress levels
and promoting their wellbeing through a process known as mindfulness.
“Mindfulness is a way of paying attention to what is going on in the present moment. It enables us to learn to respond rather than react to stressful situations and enjoy more of what life has to offer. It is an approach I use in my own life and has been a life- line in times of difficulty,” said Dr Elliston.
The mindfulness-based approach which she teaches, was originally developed by Dr Jon Kabat Zinn in the USA 30 years ago (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction).
It was offered as a non-clinical programme to patients with a range of conditions for which medicine had no more to offer and found to be beneficial.
Modern clinical psychology and psychiatry have subsequently developed a number of therapeutic applications based on the concept of mindfulness. While it is now known to be helpful for patients with a range of health problems, it has also been shown to help those in work manage stress and promote their wellbeing.
Dr Elliston has been running a range of mindfulness programmes adapted for health professionals for the last nine years. She says that participants in previous courses have reported benefits such as improved mental health and wellbeing, attentiveness, empathy, increased capacity to take on new roles and a reduction in sick days. She aims to run another course for rural GPs later this year.
84 nhe
Sep/Oct 10
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