Liberal Democrats support national campaign to raise awareness of fatigue amongst healthcare staff
22 February 2023
The Liberal Democrats have today signed up to the national Fight Fatigue campaign to help raise awareness of fatigue amongst NHS healthcare staff.
The campaign, run in partnership with the Association of Anaesthetists, the Royal College of Anaesthetists and the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine, aims to tackle the negative effects of shift working and fatigue on the NHS workforce.
Daisy Cooper MP for St Albans, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats and Health and Social Care Spokesperson said ‘"The NHS is nothing without the staff that work so hard to keep us all well. But they are burned out and stressed after years of neglect and poor conditions. Sky high wait times and overflowing A&E's cannot be fixed unless staff wellbeing and staffing conditions improve It's time we put in place proper rest facilities for staff and take staff fatigue seriously."
The Fight Fatigue campaign was launched in 2019 following the tragic death of a trainee anaesthetist while they drove home tired following a night shift.
A subsequent national survey of over 2,000 anaesthetic trainees found:
- Nearly three-quarters of respondents reported fatigue had a negative effect on their physical health or psychological well-being
- 84% had felt too tired to drive home safely after a night shift
- Less than a third had access to a suitable rest facility
- 57% had experienced an accident or near miss when driving home after a night shift
Association of Anaesthetists President, Dr Matt Davies, said: “I’m delighted that the Liberal Democrats are officially supporting our Fight Fatigue campaign and we look forward to working with the party and its members to help raise awareness of the issues related to fatigue.
“We want to change attitudes across the NHS to ensure everyone understands the risks of fatigue and how to mitigate against them. We hope that by taking responsibility collectively for making changes to working practice, we can improve working conditions for all staff which will in turn benefit patient care.
“We now have increasing support from organisations representing a wide range of specialties across the NHS. We urge all our colleagues in the NHS to back our campaign and ensure everyone understands the risks of fatigue and how to mitigate them.”