This site is intended for health professionals only


80% of GPs fear workload pressure will make them miss serious conditions

More than four in every five of GPs fear they might miss a serious condition in a patient because of their intense workload pressure, according to an RCGP study published over the weekend.

The recent poll – conducted by Deloitte – also found that 93% of GPs feel that general practice isn’t being adequately resourced to deliver high quality care, and 96% felt morale had tumbled in the last five years.

More than 250 GPs were polled and 29% said they worried a great deal about missing a patient’s condition because of workload, and 55% said they worried a fair amount.

An earlier RCGP study predicted that, if current trends continue, general practice funding will drop by 17% in the next three years, and a recent King’s Fund report said the NHS was approaching a financial ‘cliff edge’.

The RCGPs honorary treasurer, Dr Helen Stokes-Lampard, who is a GP in Lichfield, said: ‘The fact that more than 80% of GPs worry that they will miss something serious in a patient, due to their high workloads, is a damning indictment of the impact of the deepening funding crisis in general practice.’

‘Family doctors and practice nurses want to provide their patients with excellent patient care – and this takes the right levels of funding. However, only 7% of GPs currently think sufficient investment is going into general practice.’

‘Our poll shows that family doctors are severely demoralised and this can only be bad news for patients.’

Pulse Writing Competition 2024

Take our September 2024 survey to potentially win £200 worth of tokens

Pulse Writing Competition 2024

Pulse Writing Competition 2024

Take our September 2024 survey to potentially win £200 worth of tokens

Pulse Writing Competition 2024