Almost half of UK doctors are suffering from burnout, depression or anxiety, a British Medical Association poll reveals.

Even more medics dealing with the country's biggest health crisis in recent history do not feel supported by the Government, the same survey suggests.

According to the member survey, 44% of doctors said they were suffering from mental health conditions relating to or exacerbated by their work.

The BMA carried out the snapshot survey of more than 6,000 doctors after receiving mounting evidence of the disturbing toll the Covid-19 pandemic, and related issues such as the lack of PPE, was having on doctors up and down the country. More than 4,500 doctors responded to the questions around mental health.

It comes as NHS England yesterday revealed another 784 people had died as a result of Covid-19 taking the toll to 13,918. Of all those registered, a total 330 have been recorded across Kent hospital trusts since the outbreak began. East Kent Hospitals Trust has documented the largest death rate, at 116. The latest patients were aged between 26 and 100 with 38 of those (ages between 44 and 96) had no known underlying health condition.

However, more people have recovered from coronavirus in Kent's seven major hospitals than have died.

The BMA survey also showed that more than half of doctors (51%) did not feel personally supported by the Government and lacked confidence that everything possible was being done to help them to keep patients safe, despite pledges that more PPE was being delivered to the front line.

’What has been most distressing is seeing nurses break down uncontrollably in tears, knowing there is nothing you can do...’

Adequate supply of gowns and eye protection were highlighted as particular problems.

In testimonies provided to the BMA, one doctor said that “we are under immense and continuous stress”. While another commented: “What has been most distressing is seeing nurses break down uncontrollably in tears, knowing there is nothing you can do.”

The survey's release comes after the Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock could not guarantee that hospitals would not run out of gowns this weekend and the publication of new Public Health England guidance, which recommended the reuse of PPE for healthcare workers in the face of such shortages. It also recommended the use of alternative measures such as the wearing aprons instead of gowns to treat Covid-19 patients, the BMA commented.

Chaand Nagpaul, BMA Council Chair, said: “This is a deeply disturbing finding and demonstrates the toll this pandemic is having on the wellbeing of frontline doctors.

“Doctors are working within exceptional challenges in fighting this virus, working long hours looking after unprecedented numbers of seriously sick patients and with relentless increases in deaths daily.

“Doctors deserve to be protected from becoming infected themselves in the course of their duty, yet many of our fears and warnings are turning into reality. It is unacceptable that many are being forced into a corner as they face acute shortages of vital personal protective equipment, particularly given the increasing numbers of healthcare workers themselves dying with the virus.

“As the Prime Minister has said, healthcare workers are the lifeblood of our NHS. But we need to face reality: they are facing a surge of critically ill people, knowing they do not have the right PPE in order to protect themselves and their patients. It is unthinkable that this would not take an emotional and mental toll, and we know that Covid will be around for many more months yet.

“Doctors and all healthcare staff desperately need government support now. That means ensuring each healthcare worker has access to and is fitted with the correct PPE, so they can protect patients. It means ensuring thousands of healthcare workers currently self-isolating can get the tests they need in order to return to the front line.

“It also means properly recognising the incredible sacrifices our healthcare workers and their families are making. Not in words but in action.”

For the latest coronavirus news and advice, click here.

Read more: All the latest news from Kent