The Medical Women's Federation supports national campaign to raise awareness of fatigue amongst healthcare staff
The Medical Women’s Federation (MWF) is supporting 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 (RCoA) and the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine (FICM) aims to tackle the negative effects of shift working and fatigue on the NHS workforce.
The campaign was launched last year in response to the tragic death of a trainee anaesthetist who died whilst driving home tired after a night shift. In addition, a national survey of over 2,000 anaesthetic trainees published in the scientific journal Anaesthesia 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
Speaking about the campaign, Anthea Mowat, Honorary Secretary MWF said:
"The Medical Women's Federation is delighted to support the national Fight Fatigue campaign to raise awareness of the issues of fatigue on NHS workforce. It is so important that we understand and mitigate the effects of fatigue for the benefit of NHS staff and for quality care to patients."
Association of Anaesthetists President and Consultant Anaesthetist at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Dr Kathleen Ferguson, said: “I’m delighted that the MWF is officially supporting our Fight Fatigue campaign and we look forward to working with them 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.
“As momentum for our campaign grows, we now have increasing support from organisations representing a wide range of specialties across the NHS. We also have support from MPs across the political spectrum at Westminster and the devolved bodies. 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.”
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Notes for editors:
About the Association of Anaesthetists
As the professional membership organisation for over 11,000 anaesthetists in the UK, Republic of Ireland and internationally, the Association of Anaesthetists promotes patient care and safety, and advances anaesthesia through education, publications, research and international work. The Association maintains an active programme of support for anaesthesia worldwide, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Its motto in somno securitas (‘Safe in Sleep’) encapsulates the major focus of the Association: safety in anaesthesia https://uatportal.anaesthetists.org/
About the #FightFatigue campaign
The #FightFatigue campaign is being run by the Association of Anaesthetists, RCoA and FICM. More information about the campaign be found at https://uatportal.anaesthetists.org/Home/Wellbeing-support/Fatigue/Help-Fight-Fatigue
About the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA)
Anaesthesia is the largest single hospital specialty in the NHS. The Royal College of Anaesthetists is the professional body responsible for the specialty throughout the UK, and ensures the quality of patient care through the maintenance of standards in anaesthesia, critical care and pain medicine. www.rcoa.ac.uk
About the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine (FICM)
The Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine is the professional body responsible for the training, assessment, practice and continuing professional development of Intensive Care Medicine doctors and practitioners in the UK. www.ficm.ac.uk
About the Medical Women’s Federation (MWF)
The Medical Women's Federation was founded in 1917 and is today the largest and most influential body of women doctors in the UK. MWF works to advance the personal and professional development of women in medicine and end discriminatory attitudes and practices, and advocates on behalf of women patients and their families. http://www.medicalwomensfederation.org.uk/
For media enquiries and interview opportunities, please contact:
Amelia Lyons, press officer, Association of Anaesthetists, on: 07989 748 477 or email: [email protected].