A junior doctor said he felt so overworked and isolated working for one of England's largest NHS trusts he nearly quit his job.

Dr Chris Stillman said he did not feel he was treated as a human being by University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB).

Repeated cases of bullying and a toxic environment at the trust were revealed in the Bewick report which was published this month.

The trust said it recognised it had some significant issues to address.

When he was working at the Queen Elizabeth (QE) hospital, Dr Smallman said he felt "more like a number on a spreadsheet".

"There's definitely a feeling that when you are being moved around, there's not really an appreciation that you are a human being," he told BBC Midlands Today.

Image source, Family

The Bewick report was ordered after a BBC Newsnight investigation into UHB found concerns among current and ex-staff.

It also examined how leadership reacted to the death of Dr Vaish Kumar, 35, a junior doctor at the QE Hospital who left a suicide note blaming her death entirely on the place where she worked.

While he did not know Dr Kumar, Dr Stillman said when he read about her death and the difficulties she faced, it made him consider his future in medicine.

"I just found that very heart-breaking, I found that very difficult and that was the point where I wondered if this was really the career for me," he said.

"I'm very glad I stuck with it and in hindsight that was definitely a low point, it gets tough."

Image source, Getty Images

Dr Smallman moved to work at Birmingham Children's Hospital where he said he felt more appreciated.

"I feel like I know everyone at the hospital very well. Because it's a lot smaller, I do feel more like a person," he said.

The report by Prof Bewick highlighted three main concerns, which included levels of staffing, and made four recommendations to improve clinical safety, governance and leadership, staff welfare and culture.

The organisation has to make "substantive changes" from the top down, said Dr Smallman, who is also a representative for the British Medical Association.

The trust accepted the findings of the report and has already begun to address issues, its chief executive Jonathan Brotherton said.

Prof Bewick's report, which marks the first phase of his investigation, is one of three major re. Send your story ideas to: newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk

Related Topics