March 29, 2024

Drinking and doctoring “rife” in UK, says BBC

The BBC has claimed that intoxication is “rife” amongst British doctors. The British Medical Association estimates that one in 15 doctors abuses drugs or alcohol. Over the past 10 years, 750 hospital staff in England have been disciplined over drug and alcohol-related incidents. Doctors are known to be three times more likely than the average Briton to have cirrhosis of the liver — second only to workers in taverns and bars. The chairman of the BMA ethics committee, Dr Michael Wilks, says, “you’ve got a profession that doesn’t want to face up to the fact that it’s got a problem in the ranks.”