AHPRA finds 16 health practitioners died by suicide during complaints process
The AMA has called on AHPRA to provide confidential independent counselling for all doctors subject to complaints
AHPRA says 16 health practitioners died by suicide after being subject to complaints between 2018 and 2021, based on research it commissioned.
Many of the practitioners had pre-existing mental illness or a history of substance misuse, according to an expert advisory group report led by the chair of the Psychology Board of Australia.
But AHPRA says the report, which it has not released in full, also found that drawn-out investigations and poor communication contributed to practitioners’ mental distress.
“The findings of this research are deeply confronting — but we commissioned it to learn and do better,” said AHPRA CEO Martin Fletcher.
