Doctors warned over second jobs after ‘exhausted’ consultant found dead in hospital staff room following night shift

DOCTORS have been warned about the dangers of taking second jobs after an “exhausted” consultant was found dead in a hospital staff room. Naeem Ahmed, 50, was discovered slumped in a chair at Poole Hospital in Dorset after finishing his ninth 13-hour night shift in a row. Naeem Ahmed died at Poole Hospital Credit: University Hospitals Dorset Dr Ahmed had just completed his ninth 13-hour night shift in a row when he was found dead Credit: University Hospitals Dorset The consultant in anaesthesia and pain medicine was pronounced dead at the scene on June 21 last year. A post-mortem examination found traces of alcohol and the synthetic opioid fentanyl in his blood. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! An inquest heard Dr Ahmed had just completed his ninth 13-hour night shift in a row and he had also been working extra hours during the day for a private provider. Senior coroner Rachael Griffin has now issued a warning over the risks of doctors working across different employers. She said current NHS systems do not take into account the total workload of doctors who have jobs with more than one provider. The coroner warned this could result in “continuous periods of working without rest”. She said that could put the lives of both patients and doctors at risk. The inquest heard Dr Ahmed, a father of three who was born in Pakistan, had started drinking and taking fentanyl as a “mental crutch to help calm his mind”. Most read in The Sun His wife Laura, a paediatric doctor who had been married to him for 23 years, also raised concerns about the impact of sleep deprivation. She described her husband as “kind and patient” and a “good dad who took his responsibilities to provide for his children very seriously”. Mrs Ahmed said he had been taking the opioid painkiller tramadol for lower back pain since 2018. She believed he continued taking it even after his back problems had improved. Dr Ahmed died while working the ninth shift in a run of 11 night shifts for University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust. The run began on June 12, 2025. Coroner Griffin said Dr Ahmed had carried out clinical work for more than one provider on the same day on several occasions. On one occasion, he worked during the day for an external provider before starting a resident overnight shift for the NHS trust later that day. She said the systems used for job planning, rostering and secondary employment operated independently. They were “not designed to provide an integrated view” of a doctor’s workload across different employers. The coroner said there was no legal requirement for doctors to tell NHS trusts about their private work patterns, or private providers about their NHS work. She warned that this could allow doctors to work continuously without adequate rest. Griffin said the trust had taken steps to address the issue, but she remained concerned the same problem could exist at other trusts across England and Wales. She said this could lead to fatigue and potentially “fatal outcomes” for patients and doctors. The coroner has sent her report to the health minister and the chief executive of NHS England so similar action can be considered elsewhere. She recorded Dr Ahmed’s death as one of misadventure. Comment now