DOCTORS in Scotland have spoken out about their struggle to cope with the intensity of their work, warning the pressure on NHS staff cannot continue.

The medics admitted becoming "ratty" with patients, fighting the temptation to take short cuts, and being too tired to learn, a major British Medical Association conference in Edinburgh heard.

Dr Nikki Thompson, a consultant anaesthetist at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee and incoming chairwoman of the BMA's Scottish Consultant's committee, said there was "no way" she could continue working at her current pace until she retired.

Dr Thompson, 48, said: "An important part of my job is providing emergency cover 'on call', and when I'm doing this I am still working similar hours on my feet as I did when I was a junior doctor.

"I find this work increasingly tiring and at my age, especially after a particularly busy night or weekend, it can take me a week to 10 days to feel 'normal' again.

"The constant pressure of the intense workload makes me feel that while still worthwhile and useful, my work is not anything like as enjoyable as it used to be."

Dr Thompson said she had to give patients important information about their operations and allow them time to give informed consent before administering an anaesthetic, but that time slot was being squeezed.

She said: "You feel under pressure not to delay the system but, at the same time, you have to make sure you are not rushing your assessment of the patient and the patient doesn't feel like they can't ask questions. It now takes active effort on my part to make sure I don't get caught up in this pressure and take inappropriate short-cuts."

Dr Tom Berry, chairman of the British Medical Association's junior doctors' committee and trainee in general surgery in the West of Scotland, also shared his experiences having to process minimum numbers of patients through clinics and see patients referred to him by his A&E department quickly enough to meet Government targets at the same time as learning to be a surgeon.

He said: "Too many long runs of successive long days or nights build up a sleep debt and fatigue that can be of no benefit to doctor or patient.

"You cannot train, you cannot learn, you cannot be at your best, if you are too tired to remember your own name.

"The deep, bone-weary tiredness I have experienced during and at the end of some of the shifts I have undertaken are not a badge of honour to be worn proudly but simply stark evidence that best practice of rota design and training is still not being shared across the NHS."

He said he had "lost his temper quite spectacularly at work" and argued and ended personal relationships because of the pressure of his job.

The comments were sparked by a motion put to the annual representative meeting of the BMA calling for the organisation to identify how widespread stress and burnout is among doctors, look at the root causes, and provide more support to those affected.

Dr Sangeetha Sornaligham, from Brighton, told the conference doctors were leaving the profession and the UK because of the pressure they were under and some had turned to alcohol or, tragically, suicide.

Members of the BMA backed the motion in a vote at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre and it will now become BMA policy.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: "We expect all health boards to ensure they have appropriate staffing levels to deliver high quality and sustainable services. All staff, including doctors, are covered by the working time regulation. These regulations ensure staff are well rested and fit for their duties.

"We have also negotiated our GP contract to reduce the workload associated with bureaucracy."