At NHS Practitioner Health, demand for support is rising. Increasing numbers of doctors are turning to the confidential service, weighed down by stress and feelings of being undervalued.

Dr Helen Garr, medical director of the service, said the increase reflects growing disillusionment within the profession.

“Burnout is a growing issue for doctors, and we are seeing this reflected in the increasing numbers seeking support,” she said.

While rotational training and job uncertainty have been linked to a “mental health crisis” among resident doctors, job demands and staffing shortfalls are driving burnout and fatigue among more senior colleagues.

For those experiencing chronic stress and poor mental health, a range of dedicated support services are available.

Practitioner Health: A Lifeline for NHS Doctors

NHS Practitioner Health provides free mental health and addiction support to doctors and other healthcare professionals in England. The service offers rapid access to therapies, psychotherapeutic groups, and case management, delivered by specialist GPs, psychiatrists, and mental health nurses. 

“Doctors are facing ever more complex patients, rising workloads, and increasing demands alongside limited resources,” Garr explained to Medscape News UK. “This creates moral injury, when doctors are unable to provide the standard of care they want to deliver and that patients deserve.” 

She believes the service has saved both lives and careers, offering doctors a safe space where their struggles are understood. “Our clinicians have a unique breadth of expertise in working with healthcare professionals and we deliver expert, tailored, and time-sensitive treatment,” she said.

Garr lists the barriers to seeking help: “Stigma, shame, and concerns about confidentiality are powerful deterrents.” A key feature of NHS Practitioner Health is its self-referral model. “It’s vital that doctors can self-refer directly, without going through an employer or a regulator,” she said.

BMA: Breaking the Vicious Cycle 

The British Medical Association (BMA) provides free, confidential wellbeing support, including 24/7 counselling through its accredited provider, Health Assured. Sessions are delivered by counsellors registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), who are bound by strict confidentiality codes.  

The BMA also runs a peer support service focused on emotional wellbeing, offering doctors a reflective space to discuss challenges such as difficult working relationships or pressures from work and study. 

“Across the NHS, workforce shortages mean doctors are covering more patients with fewer colleagues and less support,” Dr Amit Kochhar, chair of the BMA’s representative body, told Medscape News UK. 

“The result is a vicious cycle where burnout and poor mental health drive doctors to leave, which piles even greater pressure on those who remain — in turn, putting themselves at greater risk of burnout. This isn’t sustainable.”

The BMA is calling for urgent action on recruitment and retention to ease workloads and protect doctors’ wellbeing.

New staff treatment hubs announced in the 10 Year Health Plan could help, but only if they “sit within occupational health services” and are “demonstrably independent.”

Doctors in Distress: A Safe Space to Talk

Independent charity Doctors in Distress has supported more than 6000 healthcare professionals since 2020. Interim CEO Susannah Basile described burnout as “a common occurrence” across the workforce. 

Trainee doctors are most at risk, she said, while GPs often face the heaviest workloads.

The charity runs Beat Burnout, a remote learning programme devised by Dr Claire Ashley, an NHS doctor with personal experience of burnout. The emphasis is on a compassionate, evidence-based approach to recovery.

Weekly support groups, held three times a week, are free, confidential, and professionally facilitated. 

“We believe in the power of talking,” Basile told Medscape News UK. “We are determined that all healthcare workers have the space and time to be cared for and heard.”

Consultants and Specialists Under Pressure

Hospital consultants also face significant strain.

“Stress and burnout are a fact of life for far too many hospital doctors, and the toll of constant firefighting will be familiar to many of us,” explained Dr Naru Narayanan, president of the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA).

“Employers also have a duty of care, and trade unions are here to hold them to account.”

In obstetrics and gynaecology (O&G), the pressures are particularly acute.

“High demand, staffing shortages, and limited opportunities for rest or training mean those pressures remain intense,” said Dr Laura Hipple, vice president for workforce at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG). 

“Many O&G professionals also experience moral injury from being unable to provide the level of care they aspire to,” she told Medscape News UK.

The RCOG has urged the government to act quickly on safe staffing, retention, protected training time, and supportive team cultures.

“Burnout isn’t just a workforce issue,” Hipple said. “It directly affects patient safety, quality of care, and the future of our specialty. We cannot deliver safe, high-quality care for women and girls without a supported and sustainable workforce.”

The RCOG also offers confidential wellbeing support for members experiencing chronic stress and burnout.

Julie Penfold is a freelance journalist specialising in healthcare and medical content. Her work regularly appears in titles such as Medscape, Doctors.net.uk, and Hospital Healthcare Europe.