What Matters to GPs?  

“Currently still very much enjoying the clinical contact with patients but very dispirited due to overwhelming workload as work is passed out to Primary Care from Secondary Care with no funding to employ staff to do it. Obviously patients can no longer get normal GP appointments as a large number of our appointments are now used up doing hospital outpatient duties”

Background

The general practice (GP) workforce in England is in crisis, reflected in increasing rates of early retirement and intentions to reduce hours of working. This study aimed to investigate underlying factors and how these might be mitigated.

GPs in central England were invited to participate in an on-line survey exploring career plans and views and experiences of work-related pressures. 

Results

Of 1,192 GPs who participated, 978 (82.0 %) stated that they intend to leave general practice, take a career break and/or reduce clinical hours of work within the next five years. This included 488 (41.9 %) who intend to leave practice, and almost a quarter (279; 23.2 %) intending to take a career break. Only 67 (5.6 %) planned to increase their hours of clinical work. 

For participants planning to leave practice, the issues that most influenced intentions were volume and intensity of workload, time spent on “unimportant tasks”, introduction of seven-day working and lack of job satisfaction. 

Reducing workload intensity, workload volume, administrative activities, with increased time for patient care, no out-of-hour commitments, more flexible working conditions and greater clinical autonomy were identified as the most important requirements to address the workforce crisis. In addition, incentive payments, increased pay and protected time for education and training were also rated as important. 

Conclusions

New models of professionalism and organisational arrangements may be needed to address the

issues described here. Without urgent action, the GP workforce crisis in England seems set to worsen.

 Jeremy Dale, Rachel Potter, Katherine Owen, Nicholas Parsons, Alba Realpe and Jonathan Leach

 Full text: http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/s12875-015-0363-1.pdf