Clinical Human Factors Group: Fatigue risk management in healthcare (June 2026)

Summary

Fatigue is widely accepted as a feature of working life across healthcare. Long hours, shift work and high workload mean that many staff regularly experience some degree of fatigue. Fatigue is associated with increased risk of error and reduced performance and therefore has negative impacts on both patient safety and staff wellbeing. Fatigue is also linked to broader workforce challenges including staff physical and mental health, burnout, absenteeism and retention. Although these risks are well documented, the extent to which they are addressed through structured and systematic approaches within healthcare remains less clear.

The Clinical Human Factors Group recently reviewed the literature to explore how fatigue is currently managed across healthcare and what strategies are being used in practice. The findings provide an overview of how fatigue is understood and addressed and highlight a gap between the well-established risks associated with fatigue and the ways in which those risks are mitigated in practice.