Doctors take to drink and drugs

11 October 2013 - 02:35 By POPPY LOUW
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File photo.
File photo.
Image: Gallo Images/Thinkstock

More and more stressed-out medical practitioners are hitting the bottle.

The Health Professions Council of South Africa has noted an increase in alcohol anddrug abuse among doctors, dentists, psychologists and other medical professionals.

Council spokesman Bertha Peters-Scheepers said yesterday: "There is a continuing flow of reports of practitioners suspected of impairment relating to substance abuse, mental illness and physical conditions."

As many as 311 medical practitioners were under the supervision of the council's health committee - after being declared impaired - as at the end of the 2012/2013 period.

This number had increased by 25 on the previous year.

But things were not always this way. The number of professionals being managed by the committee in 2011/2012 was 98 lower than in the 2010/2011 period.

Impairment, according to the Health Professions Act, refers to a condition that renders a practitioner incapable of practising their profession with reasonable skill and safety.

Most new cases in the latest period were using alcohol (15) or self-prescribed medication (13), including pethidine and benzodiazepines.

Pethidine, an addictive drug used to ease severe pain, is associated with euphoria, difficulty concentrating and impaired conscious mental activity and performance.

Long-term use of benzodiazepines can have adverse psychological and physical effects such as cognitive impairment and behavioural problems.

One practitioner is being counselled for cocaine addiction. Other drugs abused include Ritalin, Propofol and Temgesic.

Peters-Scheepers said of concern was the notable increase in the number of young interns reported to suffer from alcoholism, substance abuse and depression.

An intern at a Gauteng hospital attested to the growth in young doctors having difficulty coping with their work, saying there were numerous cases of their being admitted to academic hospitals.

"The drinking stems from medical school and gets worse in their internship years because of the exposure and mixture of prescribed medication and drugs with alcohol. That is the leading cause," said the young doctor, who did not want to be named.

"Unfortunately, this is barely prevented and usually treated only once it is too late."

The intern said depression was a big problem among his colleagues because they were "over-worked and underpaid" in unfavourable conditions.

"Some are excited by earning more money and start spending it irresponsibly, leading to them being in debt. It's because of this that I recommend urgent financial training for young doctors from as early as medical school," he said.

Mental problems such as bipolar disorder (5), schizophrenia (3), depression (4), post-traumatic stress disorder (2) and other mental illness (5) have also been reported as impairing medical practitioners' ability to do their jobs.

The health professions council is, however, encouraged by the increase in reporting by practitioners and students experiencing problems or suspecting that colleagues are in trouble.

"During our recent roadshows, we highlighted the non-punitive role of the health committee, and its commitment to assist practitioners in the process of recovery and rehabilitation," said Peters-Scheepers.

The "top seven stressors" for health practitioners identified by the professions council are wealth expectations from society and family; dysfunctional marriages and relationships; work-related fear of failure and low self-esteem due to inadequate training; leading expensive lifestyles on a "relatively poor" salary; pre-existing or new medical and mental problems; long working hours in toxic conditions with inadequate resources; and increasing debt due to loans to finance lifestyle.

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