72% of South Africa's doctors continue working despite mental health struggles – survey

John Perlman interviews Dr Volker Hitzeroth, Medicolegal Consultant at the Medical Protection Society.

Listen below.

A survey conducted by the Medical Protection Society (MPS) reveals that many doctors in South Africa continue working even when they are struggling with mental health issues.

This affects their ability to empathise with patients, reduces their concentration, and increases the likelihood of making errors.

The survey found that approximately 72% of doctors experience this challenge, which is a significant proportion.

Hitzeroth notes that many doctors expressed concerns about the risk of missing or misdiagnosing patients due to their own mental distress. 

"Doctors are fearful of making mistakes, and maybe they do feel pressured to practice a little bit more defensively."

- Volker Hitzeroth, Medicolegal Consultant – Medical Protection Society 

He says in such states, doctors may over-prescribe medication, adopt defensive practices, order unnecessary tests, or seek second opinions when they might not be warranted.

These actions not only add unnecessary financial costs, but also waste valuable time for patients, he adds.

Hitzeroth emphasises that this issue spans across doctors of all ages, specialties, and sectors – both public and private – and reflects a widespread concern that ultimately impacts the quality of care provided to patients.

However, the survey also revealed that 49% of doctors continued working because they felt their patients depended on them, a clear reflection for Hitzeroth of the deep dedication and commitment of our nation's healthcare professionals.

"This is a pervasive problem. This is not a pocket in some area, this is across South Africa, across all doctors, across the geographical regions and across the specialities and that should make us all sit up."

- Volker Hitzeroth, Medicolegal Consultant – Medical Protection Society 

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.