Pakistan’s Lifesavers Face a Silent Health Crisis

News Desk

Karachi: In the bustling corridors of Pakistan’s hospitals, where life-and-death decisions are routine, the country’s doctors—its healers—are quietly falling ill themselves. Alarmingly high rates of burnout, chronic physical exhaustion, and mental distress reveal a healthcare workforce under siege, struggling with its own wellbeing even as it cares for others.

Recent data presented at a national academic forum paints a stark picture: nearly 60 percent of doctors experience burnout, around 80 percent report chronic physical fatigue, and suicide rates among physicians are almost double those of the general population.

Experts at the symposium, Mediverse: Life in a Metro, organized by Hudson Pharma to promote evidence-based healthcare and physician wellbeing, warned that urban pressures, long working hours, sedentary lifestyles, and unresolved stress are taking a heavy toll on doctors’ hearts, minds, and bodies.

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“Doctors are the most neglected patients in the healthcare system,” said Dr Mohammad Rehan Omar Siddiqui, a consultant interventional cardiologist delivering the keynote. “We self-diagnose, self-medicate, and continue working through illness. The result? Preventable heart attacks, diabetes, depression, and suicide.”

Dr Siddiqui also pointed out a troubling lifestyle trend. Despite global recommendations of at least 180 minutes of physical activity per week, fewer than one in ten doctors at the Karachi session had exercised that day. “We have normalized exhaustion—and it is costing lives,” he said. He added that many physicians now discourage their own children from entering the profession, warning of the punishing demands they would face.

Psychiatrist Dr Kulsoom Haider highlighted the inseparable link between mental and physical health. Prolonged stress and unprocessed emotions, she said, can manifest in cardiac, gastrointestinal, and other chronic illnesses. “Mindfulness, breathing techniques, and emotional awareness aren’t luxuries—they are essential tools for survival in this profession,” she emphasized.

Panelists Dr Tanveer and Dr Afzal Lodhi spoke about a cultural denial deeply ingrained in the medical profession. Ignoring personal health risks, they explained, has become almost routine—an accepted part of medical life that doctors themselves perpetuate.

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In her closing remarks, Samreen Hashmi Qudwai, Vice President of Commercial Operations at Hudson Pharma, warned that physician wellbeing must take precedence over products or brands. “If burnout continues unchecked, our healthcare system itself will become unsustainable,” she said.

Experts agreed that urgent interventions are needed: structured mental health support, manageable workloads, and a cultural shift that values doctors’ health as much as their patients’. Without it, Pakistan risks losing its doctors prematurely—a loss that would endanger not only patient safety but the very future of the nation’s healthcare system.

As the city hums with life, the hidden patients in white coats continue to fight an unseen battle—one where caring for themselves has become as critical as caring for others.