"I fell asleep at the wheel": the dangers of doctors driving home

Steven Best was on his way home from work when he crashed and wrote off his car.

The GP, who at the time was a junior doctor working in obstetrics, had just finished his shift at 5pm after starting work at 9am the day before. He was in the fast lane of the dual carriageway when a car in the slow lane crossed into his line of vision and he hit it.

“I don’t remember falling asleep at the wheel but I’ve always thought I was pretty tired. I thought that might have played a part in it,” he says of the incident 32 years ago.

You might think this was an unlucky one-off but new research suggests the opposite. Two in five UK doctors (41%) have fallen asleep at the wheel while driving home after a night shift, according to an online survey of 1,135 doctors from Doctors.net.uk.

The survey respondents also said they knew, on average, six colleagues who had fallen asleep at the wheel. More than one in four knew a doctor who had died in a road traffic accident after a night shift.

One doctor who answered the survey said: “I lost two very good friends within weeks of each other … both had car accidents driving home after a night shift. One on the motorway with no one else involved – the inquest [revealed that she] fell asleep at the wheel … [They were] super people who had so much more to give and so much more life to live.”

The results come soon after the inquest of Dr Ronak Patel that found he fell asleep at the wheel when driving home after his third night shift in a row. Last week, Michael Farquhar, a paediatric consultant sleep specialist, told the British Medical journal that the NHS needs a sizeable culture shift in its attitude to doctors sleeping during night shifts.

Falling asleep while driving isn’t just an issue limited to doctors and there have been reports of nurses dying in road traffic accidents too. The nature of certain jobs in healthcare means that professionals’ working lives are made up of an ever-changing variety of night shifts, day shifts and rest days.

The issue is perhaps more pronounced among junior doctors who change hospital every three to four months, often leading to a lengthy commute home. The average distance reported by respondents to the survey was 25 miles.

Night shifts can be incredibly stressful, especially for a doctor just out of university who is faced with having to make life or death decisions. Driving home afterwards can be equally as worrying, as Thomas Bewerley knows only too well: “When I first qualified and was working near London, some of those journeys home were scary as hell. I’ve never had a near miss but have momentarily fallen asleep at the wheel.”

He added: “The experiences were horrible. You’ve got the windows down and you’re trying to sing along to your favourite songs and it’s not working. You’re on a busy road and it’s not easy to find somewhere convenient to stop. These episodes came out of nowhere. Starting the journey I’d be fine and within five or 10 minutes, I’d be in trouble. I was doing my utmost to stay awake but couldn’t.”

Although the issue is commonplace among the medical profession, the subject remains taboo. Helen Peterson, a junior doctor in psychiatry in the Midlands, said: “It’s known that everyone feels absolutely shattered driving home. In terms of people having fallen asleep at the wheel, it’s not as openly talked about. People worry that it might get around and they will be asked if they should be driving home or that the police might get involved.”

So what’s the answer? The doctors interviewed said they would like to see employers take responsibility. They complained that there were no rest facilities for staff to go when they’re tired. In response to their survey, Doctors.net.uk has launched an e-petition calling on trusts and deaneries to make some provision for on-site accommodation.

Peterson continues: “If a lot of people are raising issues, then employers need to look at what’s happening. I’ve never been asked if this is an issue by my employers. None of my colleagues would bring it up because of the fear around how it might reflect on you. We just suck it up and get on with it.”

All names have been changed

Has anything happened to you after a night shift? Does this need to be talked about more? What would you like to see happen? We want to hear from any healthcare professionals – nurses, paramedics, doctors, healthcare assistants etc – who feel this is an issue. Please comment below the line or email sarah.johnson@theguardian.com

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"I fell asleep at the wheel": the dangers of doctors driving home