22/05/2026
Today, alongside Doctors in Distress and a coalition of organisations representing doctors, we have written to Chief Medical Officers, Dr Michael McBride and Professor Sir Chris Whitty.
In the letter, we ask them to address the absence of NHS Practitioner Health for doctors and dentists practising in Northern Ireland.
Doctors working in England, Scotland, the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey are able to access
confidential, expert mental health and addiction care. But the doctors of Northern Ireland are alone in the United Kingdom in having no equivalent dedicated provision.
Resolving this would end an indefensible inequality in the care available to UK doctors, send a clear and timely signal to the profession about the value placed on their wellbeing, and — most importantly — help to keep skilled doctors well, in work, and caring for the patients of Northern Ireland.