This site is intended for health professionals only


GP morale continues to plummet, BMA survey reveals

GP morale has declined from last year, with three quarters of GPs reporting ‘unmanageable or unsustainable’ workloads, said a quarterly BMA survey.

The survey of 140 GPs also found that as many as seven out of ten GPs are considering retiring early, and 61% report that they ‘always’ work outside of hours compared with 45% for consultants.

The 74% of GPs reporting unmanageable or unsustainable workloads is the highest rate when compared to other doctors, with 53% of consultants reporting their workload was unmanageable.

The morale of GPs has also seen the biggest decline over the last year, with average morale decling to 2.2 out of five, from last year’s figure of 2.6.

Around a quarter of GPc rated their morale as very low with a further four out of ten saying it was low. Less than one in ten said they felt their morale was high and not a single GP said it was very high

Dr Richard Vautrey, GPC deputy chair, said: ‘It is clear that this is being caused by a working environment characterised by rising patient demand, falling resources, staff shortages and more unfunded care being moved from hospitals into the community.

‘With the state of GP morale as it is, we cannot afford for another set of broken promises from ministers or a prolonged period of murky fudge over this promised funding injection.’