The BMA has revealed ‘heartbreaking’ stories from GPs struggling to find work, while calling for additional funding to end the ‘scandalous’ unemployment crisis.
Speaking at the UK LMC conference today in Glasgow, sessional GP committee chair Dr Mark Steggles shared new results from a recent survey which suggested that almost 70% of GPs had experienced stress or anxiety because of ‘not being able to find any, or enough work’.
The same survey, which had more than 1,400 GP respondents and published its first results in February, found that 38% reported low self-esteem and confidence and 37% reported problems sleeping because of the challenges finding work.
Personal accounts, shared with the BMA anonymously, told of GPs planning to move abroad without their families in order to send money back and exploring different careers as life coaches or bus drivers (see box).
Dr Steggles blamed the unemployment crisis among GPs, which was the subject of a recent workforce report from Pulse’s publisher Cogora, on the ‘erosion’ of core funding, lack of estates investment, the promotion of ‘GP-lite’ models, and the expansion of training places without corresponding investment in GP jobs.
Personal GP stories on unemployment
- I’ve spent the past year commuting to somerset from Bournemouth or to Southampton for work mixed with urgent care evenings and nights. I’ve spent the past 8 months fulfilling the criteria to work in Canada including passing an exam. This with the concern that I may end up with no work at all if things get worse. I plan to go alone, leaving my wife and 2 kids here and send them money.
- My friend who was a salaried GP jumped off the aqueduct last year because of the way the NHS is at the moment, a family lost a mother and wife because the government doesn’t value a workforce of caring highly qualified dedicated doctors who are burning out because they are not valued or respected.
- I have given up now. I’m mainly a stay at home mum dependent on a husband I wanted to divorce.
- I’ve looked at changing careers e.g. becoming a software coder, medical coder, life coach, even driving a bus or train.
- I want to work. I looked forward to “giving back” and contributing to the NHS in my later years. I looked forward to helping burnt out young GPs and sharing my experience but I feel I have been thrown on the scrap heap.
- I feel badly let down by the Government. I very much regret going into general practice, I wish I had stayed in hospital medicine or another specialty.
- I have felt extremely low and terrified over the past few months. I have no other source of income, I am single and care for my dad. Without work, I won’t be able to afford my mortgage or other bills. I haven’t been able to sleep or do anything for myself because I’m in survival mode.
Source: BMA
He told LMC conference attendees that the stories highlighted were ‘just a few examples of the multitude of similarly heartbreaking stories’ the BMA heard from members.
Dr Steggles said: ‘Bizarre, toxic, scandalous, unconscionable, ridiculous, unacceptable… I’m running out of new adjectives to use to describe the crisis that is GP unemployment and under-employment.
‘It is incomprehensible, at a time of immense pressure on the health service, and patients waiting too long for appointments, that GPs are struggling to find work.’
‘We need the additional funding to get these GPs into work now – we cannot afford to waste the talent, time, and dedication of our future GPs,’ he added.
Following his speech, LMC leaders held a debate on the unemployment crisis which focused on the need to increase core funding so that practices can afford to employ GPs.
GPs also debated the value of the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme – which last year opened up to GPs for the first time – with some arguing that the funding should be returned to the core contract.
But Dr Natalie Martin, a GP partner from Humberside LMC, argued that practices ‘just need more funding overall’ rather than moving the ARRS pot into the core contract.
She said: ‘That sounds like a good solution, but it’s not going to work, because that’s not going to increase the total funding to general practice.
‘So that money already exists, and a lot of PCNs, as we are, are using that fund for people that they would employ anyway.
‘I still need to employ those people, so it’s not giving me any extra money to employ more GPs if you just move that money into core.’
NHS England data for the period October 2024 to April 2025 showed that over 1,500 GPs had been hired by the ARRS – but this was a headcount rather than full-time equivalent figure.
Heartbreaking indeed.
The excerpts in this article describe how desperate it’s become for some of our younger colleagues, and reflect how the power of our profession in guaranteeing employment has vanished….while all the “negotiating” by the BMA and the weak collective action (that the public doesn’t even know is happening) has done nothing for these poor souls.. ….shame on the self-indulgent BMA.
Heartbreaking and it shows a government failure of workforce planning. The BMA should have advised the government of this.
Saying that it doesn’t matter if funding comes in core contract or via PCN misses a vital point. Funding is being diverted to employment of ARRS roles as a cheap alternative to GP employment. Long term with the expansion of med school places this is going to lead to a situation like in Cuba where qualified doctors make more money as doormen, or bus drivers. There is a market liberalisation agenda at play. Don’t feed the wolf…
Frankly shameful
Wasn’t the rise in unemployment seen only after the establishment of PCNs? I don’t recall hearing much about unemployment before the PCN era.
PCN CDs past and present, have in many cases (not all but a smaller percentage) in my view, taken the significant PCN CD incentive status & payments (including the quadrupling during covid where many did nothing extra for the estimated £100,000 pro rata) enhanced by their additional PCN ARR doctor replacement savings and hence been collaborating with the government enabling and facilitating this chaos.
Had the PCN CDs not taken this incentive in my opinion , this would have in my view prevented this GP decline which would not in all probability have occurred to the extent we are currently seeing.
Some (and clearly not all) of this number of PCN CDs and their associated colleagues have been;
1.Setting up Limited companies (sometimes several) into which some PCN profits are paid or
2. Using early ICB information gained in some cases via LMCs to obtain APMS contracts and staff these as far as possible via PCN ARRs sometimes in my view inappropriately
3. Accumilate multiple GMS/ APMS contracts, again sometimes several practices , aided possibly imo via ICB contacts to again, staff these multiple practices via PCN ARR or other PCN funds etc.
As a partner and conflicted like all partners, our practice also receives significant PCN funds like all other practices and the sums are noteworthy to all practices, the substantial level of which is not quite, I expect, appreciated by non-partner GPs. We have not, as a practice used associates or equivalents via PCNs to date to replace GPs with no intent to do so.
PCNs remain, in my view the largest waste of NHS funding in the history of Primary Care and an absolute travesty but due to vast profits being made in my opinion by the influential few GPs particularly a few PCN CDs and a minority sitting on boards, LMCs, CD meetings ICBs or government related committees, PCNs continue to exist to their additional gain. These are the minority of GPs causing the majority of the detriment to colleagues so hence JS is quite correct in my opinion.
Wes Streeting and Stephen Kinnock, many unemployed GPs are awaiting your response to this…