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The day before Chloe Abbott died, her little sister "begged" her to leave medicine.

The day before Dr Chloe Abbott passed away, her young sister “begged” her to leave medicine.

The expectations were becoming overwhelming, the pressure suffocating and 29-year-old Chloe was starting to wear the toll.

But just a day later, on January 9, the young doctor took her own life.

In a piece published by The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, the paper reports an investigation launched on Friday into a spate of suicides among young doctors had already found at least 20 medics whose lives have been lost to self-harm.

Chloe Abbott was one of these doctors. Her younger sister Micaela told The Daily Telegraph from what she could glean from afar, the strain was growing too much.

“From what I saw, the expectations were brutal. This exam that was meant to be next month…it became everything to her,” she said.

In describing her sister as “so brilliantly smart”, Micaela told the paper it’s an industry where her sister was made to feel as if she didn’t measure up.

Dr. Chloe Abbott. Image: Facebook.

“Someone that had so much to offer was made to feel like, in the end, she wasn’t good enough, would never be good enough and anything she did would never be enough. It’s such a loss."

In a statement published on their website at the time of Chloe's death, The Australian Medical Association of New South Wales described the 29-year-old as a "champion of young doctors" and "one of the profession’s brightest young doctors".

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They detailed the wealth of advocacy roles the young Dr. Abbott held, from being appointed Deputy Chair at the AMA Council of Doctors-in-Training to being one of the founding members of the Medical Student Action on Training. During the more recent federal election campaign, she also took the time to meet with politicians to express her concerns regarding the ongoing Medicare Freeze.

Dr. Chloe Abbott. Image: Facebook.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard told the Daily Telegraph he acknowledges "there is something wrong with the system", but if "no one comes forward, no one says anything, it gets swept under the rug".

“We need to understand the full breadth of the problem so we can start putting evidence based measures in place to help those who help us when we need it," he told the paper.

More than that, Mr Hazzard said the NSW Coroner has records showing 20 doctors have committed suicide between 2007 to 2016 in NSW alone, with the potential of more because police don’t always record occupations.

Weeks after Dr. Abbott took her own life, across continents, Dr. John Moutzouris also passed away.

Dr. John Moutzouris. Image: GoFundMe.
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A fundraising page that was set up in his honour sought to increase awareness about doctors' welfare and mental health.

"Since John died, we have heard of many more doctors who have taken their own lives and it seems to be an endemic problem in the medical profession,' creator of the page, Jane Moye, said.

"It's medicine's shameful secret but hopefully we can start shedding some light into these dark corners and encourage people to get help.

"To heal our healers."

The complexities of reporting on suicide.

If you, or anyone around you needs help contact Beyond Blue here or Lifeline on 13 11 14.