GPs struggle with workload more than other doctors, finds GMC

GPs continue to struggle with their workload more than other doctor groups, according to new GMC data.

The doctor regulator’s annual survey on the state of medical education and practice in the UK found 44% of GPs are struggling with workload, compared with just 29% of respondents overall.

The figure for GPs was a slight improvement compared to last year’s survey (48%) but again meant they were the worst-affected by workload among all doctor groups.

In all, 4,697 doctors responded to the survey that formed the basis of the report, including 1,076 GPs, as well as specialists, doctors in training, SAS doctors and locally employed doctors. 

The survey, carried out last Autumn, found GPs were twice as likely to identify ‘pressure on workloads’ as the most significant barrier to providing good patient care (32% compared to 16%). 

Among GPs, partners (69%) were more likely than salaried GPs (57%) to have difficulty providing patient care at least once a week. 

Other findings included:  

• GPs were the least likely to be satisfied with their job (48% compared to 59% of all doctors), a slight improvement on last year’s survey (42%) but still the lowest of the main doctor groups 

• Nearly half of GPs (47%) felt unable to cope with their workload at least once a week compared with 33% of all doctors

• However, GPs were the most likely to feel part of a supportive team (78% of those surveyed).

GMC chief executive Charlie Massey said the results showed that ‘a concerted effort from the whole healthcare system to drive real change’ was needed. 

He said: ‘Like any profession, doctors who are disillusioned with their careers will start looking elsewhere.

‘Doctors need to be satisfied, supported, and see a hopeful future for themselves, or we may risk losing their talent and expertise altogether. 

‘Achieving this requires modernising the current training system, so it meets the needs of doctors and patients.

Commenting on the findings, NHS Practitioner Health chief executive Lucy Warner told Pulse the findings were ‘in line with what we see in the service’.

‘Anxiety, work pressure and stress are the most common reasons for GPs – and indeed all doctors – seeking help through Practitioner Health’, she said.

‘Generally, GPs are good at recognising when their mental health is being impacted and they tend to seek help at an earlier stage than their colleagues in secondary care, but all of those who access our help have been significantly impacted and are experiencing substantial levels of anxiety or depression related to their work.’ 

BMA GP Committee deputy chair Dr David Wrigley said the survey showed the Government needed to ‘address the spiralling workload GPs face’ if it wanted to succeed in shifting care from hospitals to the community. 

He said: ‘GPs working on the frontline of our NHS want to provide quality care that delivers for patients, but with nearly half (47%) feeling unable to cope with their workload, some are being forced to consider their future in general practice altogether.’

He also said that GP under- and unemployment ‘compounds the pressure already impacting practices and patient care’.

‘We cannot afford to lose more talented professionals to burnout or to other countries when workforce shortages continue to plague the NHS and patient demand keeps growing. 

‘The GMC rightly highlights the need for urgent action to ensure general practice becomes an increasingly attractive and well-supported part of the NHS workforce.  

‘This starts with renegotiating the GMS contract, increasing investment significantly in general practice, and fixing the unforgivable situation where willing and available GPs are unable to find work.’ 

Meanwhile, the Health Foundation said it was a ‘stark warning’ and a ‘wake-up call’ for policymakers. 

Senior policy fellow Luisa Pettigrew said: ‘The findings that GPs are more likely to be struggling with their workload and least likely to be satisfied than other doctors pose a major challenge to the Government’s ambition to shift care from hospitals into the community.  

‘Without a stable and supported GP workforce, this vision is unlikely to be realised. 

‘Mounting pressures are driving GPs to reduce their hours or leave NHS general practice altogether, creating a vicious cycle that increases strain on remaining staff and makes recruitment harder.’

And she said that while there have been ‘recent efforts to expand the workforce including increasing GP trainee numbers’ primary care ‘has long suffered from underinvestment, particularly relative to secondary care, leaving staff overstretched and demoralised’.  

‘For general practice the focus must be on improving retention, aligning incentives to enable the recruitment of newly qualified GPs and creating better working conditions. Without it, we risk losing more GPs and communities will feel the impact through reduced access to vital primary care services.’ 

Last week, the BMA warned of a ‘looming’ unemployment crisis after its survey found half of doctors finishing foundation training have no job secured for next month. 

According to the survey, 52% of doctors said they have no ‘substantive employment or regular locum work’ secured for August, when they finish their foundation training and are due to enter specialty training.

Recently, the GMC’s annual training survey found that although fewer GP trainers were now at ‘high risk’ of burnout, they still responded more negatively than average for burnout-related questions.