The annual Socks for Docs Day has arrived once again, shining a light on the challenges facing doctors’ mental health.
Across the country, specialist GPs are donning their most frivolous and wacky socks to raise awareness on mental health challenges for patients and doctors alike.
The occasion is Crazy Socks for Docs Day, which is celebrated annually on the first Friday in June.
“Crazy Socks for Docs Day is an opportunity to raise awareness of the impact of mental health, which is among the top three most common types of presentations for seven in 10 GPs,” Dr Michael Wright, RACGP president, said.
“That’s only increased in the last decade, with around one in five Australians experiencing a mental health issue each year.”
Despite the silly socks, the day has been touted by multiple medical bodies as a chance to reiterate calls for reform to mental health-related policy.
Mandatory reporting laws require doctors in all jurisdictions bar WA to report their colleagues if they believe they are practicing while impaired.
Related
Dr Wright called for the laws to be scrapped, as did AMA president Dr Danielle McMullen.
“Mandatory reporting is a real barrier to people seeking care, and we do want to see harmonisation of legislation to match the WA scenario, where doctors feel more confident seeking that treatment,” Dr McMullen told The Medical Republic.
This call follows an Australian Journal of General Practice study that found regulatory processes were causing distress, symptom relapse, suicidality, financial pressures and work difficulties.
Doctors for Doctors (DRS4DRS), a mental health initiative established by the AMA, has a network of doctors’ health advisory and referral services aimed at providing supportive and confidential mental health support.
“They are a vital service for all doctors and medical students to be able to call and seek support, whether that’s just a chat with a colleague, or a link into some psychology sessions,” Dr McMullen told TMR.
“It is important that doctors do have access to those targeted services from a team that understands the pressures of our work.
“Socks don’t fix the problem, but they’re a start of a conversation.
“It’s about raising awareness in our health systems, but also with our patients, that even we are human too, and that doctor’s health needs support.”
Regarding how GPs can also help in the mental health workforce, reforms to time-based Medicare item numbers has been a point of focus.
“It’s really not equitable for GPs to provide mental health care, given the way the Medicare system is structured at the moment,” Dr Toby Gardner, RACGP Tasmania chair, told TMR.
“We’ve been calling for an increase in rebates for providing mental health consultations, which disproportionately fall to our female colleagues, who do provide longer consults and hence earn [fewer] dollars per minute.”
With the regional and rural workforce, managing mental health has its difficulties with pre-existing workforce shortages and accessibility issues.
“Thinking about your own mental health is not necessarily going to sit in a climb up to the top of your top of your importance pile,” ACRRM president Dr Rod Martin told TMR.
“It’s about that sort of continued reassurance for rural health professionals that in order for you to look after patients properly, you need to look after yourself properly.”
