The NHS should do more to prevent fatigue in healthcare staff

All doctors will be familiar with the feeling of being tired after a long shift or a series of nights on call. To some extent, this is unavoidable. But does the NHS’s working environment and culture normalise the inevitability of tired and fatigued staff, rather than finding ways to proactively minimise it?The terms “tiredness” and “fatigue” are sometimes used interchangeably in healthcare, but they’re distinct, even if the two can be conflated. Tiredness is a physiological state that can be corrected only by sleep. Acute tiredness can lead to impaired cognitive function and decision making.12 During or after an arduous work period, which might include a busy on-call commitment or night shifts, catching up on sleep will help healthcare staff recover—but only if they have adequate time away from work to do so.3Acute and chronic fatigue can occur because of sleep deprivation over time, but they can also result from…
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