2023-12-20 21:00:00
The “Physician Deaths from Overwork Family Association” has been formed by the families of doctors who died due to long working hours. The long working hours of working doctors has become a social issue, and the first meeting and press conference was held in Tokyo on the 20th. The aim is to disseminate issues to society while sharing information with bereaved families who share the same thoughts. (Ryuta Atsumi)
Junko Takashima (left) and Noriko Nakahara, co-representatives of the Doctor’s Karoshi Family Association, in Tokyo on the 20th.
◆14% of working doctors in their 20s think about death or suicide on a daily basis
Four families, including Junko, the mother of Shingo Takashima (then 26 years old), who committed suicide last year while working at a hospital in Kobe City, was certified as an industrial accident due to long working hours this year. participated. They say they are contacting three additional families. The co-representatives are Junko and Noriko Nakahara, whose husband, a pediatrician, died of suicide from overwork in 1999.
On this day, Naoto Ueyama, a Kazokukai supporter and representative of the National Physicians Union, reported that in a 2022 survey, 14% of working doctors in their 20s answered that they “think about death and suicide on a daily basis.” . Junko said, “Doctors should not lose their lives in order to protect the lives of patients, and I sincerely hope that the working environment will be improved.This is what Jingo risked his life for.” ‘ he complained through tears.
◆ “Self-study” should not be made to work for free, but should be counted in working hours.
After completing the training, he submitted a petition to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare requesting that the time spent on self-study while in the hospital not be blindly deducted from his working hours. In the future, we plan to hold a symposium and collect signatures.
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◆＜Q&A＞ How will the way doctors work change from 2024?
A cap on overtime hours will be applied to doctors from 2024. We have summarized the contents of the regulations.
Q: What is the “2024 problem” for doctors?
AA cap on overtime hours was introduced in 2019 with the enforcement of the Work Style Reform Act, and the regulation for doctors, which had been suspended, will begin in April 2024. The logistics crisis that is being applied to truck drivers, who are unable to transport goods, is a hot topic, but doctors are also having a big problem. Up until now, it has become common for full-time doctors to work overtime, and according to a 2022 survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, approximately 20% of full-time doctors worked over 960 hours a year. This means that you are working over the “karoshi line” which is an average of 80 hours per month.
Q How will it be regulated?
APreviously, doctors were allowed to work as much as they wanted, but doctors will now be limited to overtime of up to 960 hours a year (including work on holidays) if there is a temporary need. However, if you look at it from the other side, it is allowed to work up to the level of death from overwork.
There are further exceptions. In addition to those working in community medicine and emergency medicine, as well as trainee doctors who are acquiring skills, overtime work of up to 1,860 hours per year is permitted. This is nearly twice the karoshi death line. General companies are allowed up to 720 hours a year (not including work on holidays) even if there is a temporary need, so there are a number of opinions questioning the upper limit for the number of working doctors. Although this is intended to accommodate emergency cases at night and long working hours in areas with a shortage of doctors, there are great concerns as to whether this work style will be sustainable in the medium to long term.
Q: Is there any improvement?
AThe long working hours of working doctors are concentrated in emergency departments, obstetrics, surgery, etc., and there is also an imbalance in the allocation of doctors depending on the region, which needs to be corrected. Possible options include shifting some of the work of doctors to nurses and pharmacists, and improving operational efficiency through the use of information and communication technology. The application of cap regulations is just the beginning of reforms aimed at both improving the working environment for working doctors and ensuring the quality of medical care.
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