Pressure on doctors and medical students is leading to a mental health crisis in the profession, a survey by the British Medical Association (BMA) has found.

The doctors' trade union says a ‘fundamental shift’ is needed so medics feel they can access mental health help without shame or stigma – after its research found eight out of ten warning they were on the cusp of burnout.

Two in five of the more than 4,000 surveyed admitted they were currently suffering from emotional and psychological problems – with 90% telling researchers their working, training or studying environment had contributed to a ‘significant or partial extent’.

Professor Dinesh Bhugra of the BMA warned: “Too often the line of what can be considered routine pressures of the job has most definitely been crossed and the consequence is a workforce that has been pushed to literal breaking point.”

Elsewhere, the report being launched today reveals 27% of doctors and students were diagnosed with a mental health condition, with 7% in the last year. Concerningly, nearly one third of medical students were diagnosed with a mental health condition in the last year.

The study also finds a ‘strong relationship’ between being diagnosed with a mental health condition and turning to alcohol, drugs or even self-prescribing medication.

Although six in ten said they knew how to access support from their employer or medical school, awareness varied between the different professions surveyed, with three quarters of medical students but less than half of junior doctors, who change placement and place of work regularly, knowing where to ask for help.

Research by academics at the University of Swansea published alongside the survey found some more senior doctors had aired outdated views about mental health, discouraging trainee doctors from contemplating sick leave until their GP or a relative intervened.

Dr Thomas Kitchen, an anaesthetist specialist trainee working in Wales, says doctors can sometimes struggle with the emotional tests unique to their work:

“Given their backgrounds and exposure to certain education systems and culture, many doctors and medical students can often feel a deep aversion to ‘failing’ and perhaps can’t even perceive what failure would really mean or look like. Sadly, but inevitably in this job, particularly given the current pressures, not everything goes the way you would like or plan, even when you have done everything right.”

The professional body for medics is calling for support services across the profession to be revamped, including specialist support for doctors in training who, the research finds, are some of the most likely to suffer mental health challenges.

It wants trainee doctors and medical students to be informed of the prevalence of mental health problems among the workforce so they feel better placed to ask for help.

Professor Bhugra added: “As the people who are entrusted with caring for the health of others, doctors often feel particularly vulnerable or unable to come forward and seek help for fear of judgement and or any perceived ramification a declaration of poor mental health may have on their prospective career.”

“As well as focusing on addressing the immediate pressures which are negatively impacting doctors, such as long working hours, unmanageable workloads and rota gaps, we need to see a wider cultural shift that addresses this stigma that currently inhibits doctors seeking help and ensures that support is publicised and readily available for those who do so.”