More than half of doctors report working “long and unsafe hours”, the largest doctors’ union told TDs on Wednesday as it warned of increasingly low morale among healthcare staff.The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) said it surveyed consultants, non-consultant hospital doctors and public and community health doctors across all HSE regions.Susan Clyne, IMO chief executive, told the Oireachtas health committee the findings were “stark” and should “serve as a wake-up call”.In the survey, 94 per cent of respondents reported “low to moderate morale”, with 67 per cent of these saying morale had deteriorated over the past year, she said.“If results of this scale emerged in any other sector, there would be immediate action to understand the causes and address them,” Clyne said.“That urgency is too often absent within our health service and we consistently fail to understand or address the multifactorial issues besetting our services, instead seeking to focus on narrow issues and cost containment measures.”The organisation said 90 per cent of doctors reported facing increased demands without matching resources, 58 per cent reported working long and unsafe hours, and 64 per cent reported unsafe staffing levels within their medical teams.The survey showed 67 per cent cited poor work-life balance as a reason behind low morale, while 70 per cent expressed concern about an increasing focus on productivity and discharge targets over patient outcomes and quality of care.“These issues are not only damaging for doctors, they are directly harmful to patients and all commentary from our members point to the dangers for patient care and services,” the IMO added.[ ‘Not possible to determine’ if single shingles vaccine lowers risk of dementia, says HiqaOpens in new window ]The committee heard it was not just doctors experiencing low morale, with dissatisfaction said to be widespread across the health sector. Tony Fitzpatrick, director of professional services and industrial relations at the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, said these staff are trained to work in high-pressure environments.“Sustained exposure to unsafe staffing levels, excessive workload, workplace violence, overcrowding and inadequate organisational support is having a significant impact on staff morale, wellbeing and retention,” he said.Health and social care workers were experiencing high levels of burnout, a representative of Fórsa trade union added, while a Siptu representative said evolving roles had resulted in job “dissatisfaction, lack of clarity, increased workplace stress and ultimately, attrition to seek better paid alternatives”.The unions attributed the morale issues to a range of concerns, including career progression opportunities, overcrowding, staffing levels and roles and responsibilities.