GP burnout: 'I was left feeling like a husk of a human'

The number of doctors seeking help for mental health issues has risen by more than three quarters within two years, according to figures from a specialist treatment service for NHS staff. For one GP, the relentless stress of the job led to him taking three months off work with burnout.

David Triska is no stranger to high-pressure situations. As an army medic, he served two tours of Afghanistan.

But mounting workloads at his village GP surgery left him feeling "hollowed out and spent". Simple tasks, like unlocking his car or making a meal, became a challenge - an experience he describes as leaving him feeling "like a husk of a human".

"At that extreme point, I couldn't see why I needed to be here anymore," Dr Triska said.

He is not alone. Since the year ending March 2021, there has been a 77% rise in the number of doctors seeking help for mental health issues, according to figures shared with the BBC by a confidential support service for NHS staff.

More than 5,600 doctors used the NHS Practitioner Health programme in England in 2022/23, with about a third having thought about taking their own lives.

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Source: BBC News, 5 October 2023