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Pulse launches major survey of GP burnout

GPs can measure their level of burnout and participate in a profession-wide survey of the level of stress and mental exhaustion by taking part in a new survey launched today by Pulse.

The survey comes as RCGP chair Professor Clare Gerada warned the profession has reached its ‘tipping point’ and called on the Government to recognise the stress and workload crisis amongst GPs.

The survey uses a version of the validated Maslach questionnaire adapted for GPs, and the results will be collated to give a measure of burnout for the whole profession. Click here to take the survey.

At the end of the survey GPs are given a score for three areas of burnout and links to relevant resources.

Writing in Pulse, Professor Gerada said: ‘Everything else has increased our workload. The insistence that perfectly healthy people “see their GP” hauls demand for access to an unreasonable level and casts us in a role that we have never asked for.

‘GPs have now reached their tipping point. GP burnout is more common than ever especially amongst partners. The Government, policy-makers and think-tanks must recognise stress and workload issues crisis in the interests of patient care.

‘We are more than 10,000 GPs short according to the Centre for Workforce Intelligence, which threatens the sustainability not just of primary care, but of the whole system.’

Pulse editor Steve Nowottny urged all GPs to fill out the survey, to help build up a picture of the extent to which burnout is affecting the profession, and possible risk factors.

He said: ‘The survey will only take a few minutes of your time, and it will help to build a snapshot analysis of how the profession is coping. This campaign is something that we have been urged to take on by a number of GPs, and it is important that as many as possible take part.’