BMA survey also reveals more than a third of GPs plan to end careers early, as workloads increase and morale plummets
James Meikle
The Guardian, Monday 24 March 2014
More than half the GPs who responded to the BMA tracker survey reported that their morale was low or very low.
Nearly six in 10 family doctors are considering early retirement because of their increasing workload, GPs leaders claim on Monday as pressure mounts on health ministers across the UK to spend more on care outside of hospitals.
The British Medical Association(BMA) warned of a "disaster" in general practice as doctors faced rising demands from patients with declining funds. The bleak assessment comes a day after the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) said the family doctor service was on the brink of extinction.
BMA chair Chaand Nagpaul said results from its online tracker survey of members demonstrated GPs were working harder than ever while trying to provide more emergency care appointments and evening consultations.
Nagpaul said: "It is clear general practice is facing a workload disaster that is threatening its long-term future. We are seeing morale dip to a level that I cannot remember in my 25 years as a GP. Six out of 10 GPs are considering early retirement and more than a third are planning to end their career early. This could lead to a general workforce crisis in general practice where we do not have enough GPs to treat patients."
The government was "asking GP practices to provide more services, including many involving the transfer of hospital care into the community, without the resources to successfully deliver them", he added.
Nagpaul said the government needs to consider expanding GP numbers so that patients are given the time and care that they deserve. "Most importantly, the government needs to work with all healthcare professionals and patients to find practical solutions to a crisis that is threatening to overwhelm general practice".
His remarks follow comments from Mary Baker, RCGP chair, that family doctors are "shoring up" the rest of the NHS. The leader of Britain's family doctors said: "General practice as we know it is under severe threat of extinction. It is imploding faster than people realise and patients are already bearing the brunt of the problem." She blamed a "toxic mix of increasing workloads and ever-dwindling budgets".
The BMA's regular tracker survey of members' opinions via a panel of 2,650 doctors, includes about 820 GPs, of whom 420 replied to questions on workload, morale and intentions. More than half said their workload was unmanageable or unsustainable and nine in 10 said they worked beyond their regular hours. More than half also reported that their morale as low or very low, and most said they were changing the way they worked to find more time for emergency appointments, with half saying they were responding to demands for more evening appointments.
The Department of Health in England said: "We recognise the vital job that GPs do. This is why we have cut GPs' targets by more than a third to free up more time with patients, and are dramatically increasing trainees so that GP numbers continue to grow faster than the population."
It said was also looking at how it could keep more existing doctors in general practice and pointed to changes in GP contracts which should lead to more money being pumped into services. It hoped many surgeries could be open from 8am to 8pm seven days a week.
There are more than 40,000 GPs across the UK.