Dr. Helgi Johannsson on mental health in medicine, how to process trauma as a doctor, and how mentors can model healthy coping mechanisms.

Mind/work with Jasmine El-Gamal

Mental health issues among physicians are a silent and global epidemic. In 2021, the British Medical Association reported that nearly two-thirds of doctors in the UK have anxiety or depression. Each year in the US, roughly 300-400 doctors die by suicide. Studies have shown that suicide rates among doctors were 2-3 times higher than the general population in both the US and the UK. Nearly half of junior doctors and 1 in 3 GPs are considering leaving the profession, with the top reason being burnout.

And its not only in the West that there is a crisis in the medical field: in Lebanon, for example, thousands of doctors have left the country amidst its political and economic collapse, with those remaining suffering from trauma, PTSD, and other severe mental health challenges.

To learn how physicians can cope with such extreme pressure, I spoke with distinguished anaesthetist (or anaesthesiologist, for listeners in the US) Dr. Helgi Johannsson, the vice president of the Royal College of Anaesthetists in the UK, who’s worked to save the lives of victims in some of London's most traumatic events over the past three decades, including the Grenfell Towers fire, the London Bridge terrorist attack, and the anti-LGBTQ attack in the 1990s. We talked about the impact of such events on the mental health of healthcare workers, including his own, and the importance of resilience, finding healthy coping mechanisms, and how to create a supportive culture in healthcare, while breaking down the stigma surrounding mental health issues.

Bio:

Dr. Helgi Johannsson has been a consultant anaesthetist at Imperial College Healthcare since 2007, having trained at St Bartholomew’s, then anaesthetic training in North and East London. His clinical work is based at St Mary’s and Hammersmith hospitals and includes a wide variety of disciplines, including trauma care, oesophagogastric surgery, obstetrics, and bariatrics. He is also the Vice President of The Royal College of Anaesthetists in the United Kingdom and the Medical Director for medical education at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.

Episode Resources:

Personal blog: https://www.drhelgi.com/

The Royal College of Anaesthetists: https://www.rcoa.ac.uk/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/doctorhelgi

Articles:

“This is just not safe for anyone”: the NHS doctors at breaking point. The New Statesman. https://www.newstatesman.com/spotlight/healthcare/2022/08/underpaid-overworked-nhs-doctors-healthcare-mental-health

My life as a specialty Anaesthetist: Dr Helgi Johannsson. Messly.com https://www.messly.com/blog/messly-specialty-interviews-anaesthetics

Helgi Johannsson: Let’s talk about death. The British Medical Journal (BMJ Opinion).

https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2020/04/30/helgi-johannsson-lets-talk-about-death/

Doctor who treated Grenfell Tower victims: seeing so many burned children deeply affected me. The Evening Standard https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/doctor-who-treated-grenfell-victims-i-m-still-haunted-by-what-i-saw-a3640996.html

From Westminster Bridge to Grenfell Tower: London doctors reveal emotional impact of dealing with major incidents. Rosslydall ~ Reporting London https://rosslydall.wordpress.com/2017/06/20/from-westminster-bridge-to-grenfell-tower-london-doctors-reveal-emotional-impact-of-dealing-with-major-incidents/

Helgi Johannsson: I am a better doctor for allowing myself to stop, reflect, and grieve. The British Medical Journal (BMJ Opinion) https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2017/06/16/helgi-johannsson-i-am-a-better-doctor-for-allowing-myself-to-stop-reflect-and-grieve/

Doctors’ Association UK sounds the alarm over rising rates of doctor suicide https://www.dauk.org/news/2022/12/07/doctors-association-uk-sounds-the-alarm-over-rising-rates-of-doctor-suicide/

Ten facts about physician suicide and mental health. https://www.acgme.org/globalassets/PDFs/ten-facts-about-physician-suicide.pdf

Crisis and Support Resources for Healthcare Professionals. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. https://afsp.org/crisis-and-support-resources-for-healthcare-professionals

Lebanon was faced for its medical care. Now, doctors and nurses and fleeing in droves. Washington Post.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/lebanon-crisis-healthcare-doctors-nurses/2021/11/12/6bf79674-3e33-11ec-bd6f-da376f47304e_story.html

Events:

Two dead, 81 injured as nail bomb blasts gay club in Soho. Independent.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/two-dead-81-injured-as-nail-bomb-blasts-gay-pub-in-soho-1096580.html

London Bridge Attack: What happened. BBC News.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-40147164

Grenfell Tower: What happened. BBC News.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40301289