What could make a difference to the mental health of UK doctors? A review of the research evidence

The poor mental health evident in UK doctors should be of grave concern to the various stakeholders in the healthcare sector and action is urgently required. More support is urgently needed to help improve the mental health of UK doctors from recruitment to retirement. Interventions to improve the mental health of doctors in the UK need to not only focus on interventions that help the individual doctor cope with their work environment (i.e., secondary interventions) or treat those already struggling (i.e., tertiary interventions). Instead, there also needs to be greater awareness of the impact that the underlying working conditions have on the mental health of doctors. Appropriate interventions should aim to eliminate or reduce the exposure to such poor working conditions (i.e., primary interventions).