AMA WA Hospital Health Check 2026: Junior doctors detail high levels of burnout and unsafe overtime

More than half of WA doctors in training have experienced burnout due to unsafe and unpaid overtime as well as insufficient access to leave, the latest Hospital Health Check survey has revealed. The survey of more than 1300 junior doctors, released on Tuesday by the Australian Medical Association WA, revealed burnout had worsened in the last year with 56 per cent reporting moderate to high burnout, up from 52 per cent in 2025. The Hospital Health Check 2026 said while it’s the second year in a row there hasn’t been a single F grade on the scorecard, the results showed worsening conditions in some areas. This included almost half of doctors only getting three to five hours of disrupted sleep when being on-call overnight and still being expected to work the next day. Half of the doctors said they felt unsafe returning to work after being on-call overnight. Unpaid work also still remains normalised with 30 per cent reporting their roster did not accurately incorporate all their expected hours and 38 per cent citing systemic or cultural pressure as the main barrier to claiming overtime. “Told at orientation that we are expected to arrive 30-45 minutes early, and that starting work at our rostered start time will reflect poorly at our end-of-term assessment,” a junior doctor at the Child and Adolescent Health Service reported. More than 42 per cent of junior doctors were also not provided paid time to complete mandatory training. AMA WA president Kyle Hoath said this was contributing to high burnout levels among junior doctors. “I would love to be able to stand here and say, ‘we have a world class health sector’, and sing it to the rafters and encourage everybody to come and join our profession but right now, it’s a pretty tough place to be, and we know for our frontline workers in ED it’s about to be a really tough winter,” he said. “We are seeing burnout as a significant issue in our hospital health check — it’s raised from where it was last year, which is alarming to us. “We know that this is going to be a tough winter, and if we’re facing that with less doctors, because we’re burning them out in their day to day duties, it’s unacceptable.” The report also outlined that inadequate leave was contributing to burnout with only 54 per cent believing their job was secure when accessing parental leave and 25 per cent saying their department refused part-time doctors. Less respondents experienced or witnessed bullying, discrimination, and harassment in the last year but significant issues remain with international medical graduates continuing to report higher rates of discrimination. One in three doctors also feared negative consequences if they spoke up or reported poor behaviour. AMA WA vice president and doctor in training Natalie Ferrington said all of these issues were having a negative flow-on effect to patients. “I see it time and time again, patients ending up in the intensive care or having poorer outcomes because we just don’t have the staff to actually work in the departments in the hospital or there are budgeting issues, or there are issues of patient flow,” she said. “These are all issues at a policy level that can be addressed by the State Government.” Dr Hoath said the report was a “wake-up call” ahead of the State Budget and called for consistent overtime claiming processes, stronger action on bullying, better fatigue management, and flexible work arrangements. Shadow health minister Libby Mettam also urged the Cook Labor Government to listen to the feedback from frontline health workers. “Issues of bullying, harassment, a fear of speaking out, and significant issues of worker fatigue and burnout, not only point to safety issues amongst our frontline health workers but also patient lives being put at risk,” she said. Premier Roger Cook said the State Government would continue to “work with the AMA and other stakeholders to improve workplace experiences for the medical workforce”.