Doctor charity launches urgent fundraising appeal as winter pressures hit

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By Daniel Pye

A charity which offers mental health and suicide prevention support to doctors has launched an urgent appeal to raise £50,000 this winter.

Doctors in Distress, founded in 2019 by Amandip Sidhu following the suicide of his cardiologist brother Jagdip, said it would use the money to continue running its weekly support group for an entire year.

“With increased workloads, sky-high vacancy rates and little time to process daily tragedy, it is no wonder the mental health of healthcare staff is hanging by a thread,” a spokesperson said.

“A huge spike in winter-related illnesses coupled with long waiting lists means health staff’s capacity will be stretched to the limit.”

The charity claimed that one in four doctors experience mental health illness and this rises to two in three for nurses and midwives. It has helped over 4,000 healthcare workers enhance their mental health since it launched its support programmes in 2020, it added.