Burnout among GP trainers worsened in the last year, GMC finds

GP trainers responded more negatively to burnout-related questions in this year’s GMC annual training survey than last year’s, the regulator has found.

The results of the GMC survey showed an increase in negative responses from GP trainers for six out of the seven burnout-related questions (see box), which received responses from 34% of all trainers in the UK as well as 68% of all trainees.

And nearly half (49.3%) of GP trainers were calculated to be at risk of burnout based on their answers, including 38% at a moderate burnout risk – up one percentage point from last year.

Meanwhile, GP trainees’ burnout risk remained similar to last year, with 58.2% recorded as at risk of burnout (a 0.6% increase from 2025).

It comes amid broad improvements in trainers’ responses to other workload-related questions.

Fewer trainers reported being short of sleep on a daily or weekly basis (26% – down from 27% last year) and 53% (up by one percentage point) said that they were able to use their allocated training time as intended. 

Tower Hamlets GP and trainer Dr Selvaseelan Selvarajah told Pulse one of the main factors contributing to burnout was the number of GP trainers not increasing to match the increase in trainees.

He said: ‘I know several trainers who have either withdrawn from training altogether or asked to take a break for a year or so, just so that they can have some breathing space and get on with their regular GP work.

‘We haven’t had increase in GP trainers to match the increase in the trainees. Usually the ideal is having one trainer to one trainee, but in some areas trainers are doubling or even tripling up because of the lack of capacity and trainer numbers.’

‘We are not just expected to supervise GP trainees anymore. GP teams have expanded, so you’ve got lots of other people that GPs are expected to supervise. There simply isn’t enough protected time for the trainers, and in many areas they might not even get the appropriate time.’

Meanwhile, the GMC survey found some slight improvements in burnout-related measures for trainees, with fewer negative responses to five of the seven burnout-related questions it asked. It found that 19% of doctors in training were at high-risk of burnout compared to 18% last year. 

And six in 10 (61%) of trainees said they felt ‘adequately prepared’ for their first foundation post – although this figure for internationally qualified doctors in training was significantly lower at less than half (45%). 

BMA council deputy chair Dr Emma Runswick said: ‘Nine in ten trainers of our future doctors say they enjoy the role. That’s heartening. But goodwill stretches only so far in an understaffed NHS.
 
‘Burnout remains rife – and is worsening for some, especially GPs. These doctors do one of the NHS’s most vital jobs, often without the time or support to do it well.

‘The Government must act. Staffing shortages and workplace culture are holding back trainers and trainees alike – and the workforce of the future depends on fixing both.’

GMC chief executive Charlie Massey said he was ‘encouraged’ by the improvements in areas like reporting discrimination and overall burnout figures but said it also ‘highlights differences in experiences’. 

He said: ‘These findings provide invaluable insights for employers, educators and healthcare organisations, helping them understand what is working well, where support is needed and where action should be targeted. 

‘By acting on this evidence, we can all create conditions in which doctors can thrive and for patients to receive the best possible care.’ 

GPs can now access a data tool breaking down the survey responses at trust, ICB and individual site level.