One in three UK GPs plan to retire within the next five years, a new survey has revealed, with unmanageable workloads, high stress levels and little time with patients to blame.
The poll, conducted by the British Medical Association (BMA), questioned 15,560 GPs across the country, finding that 34 per cent of respondents intended to stop working by 2020, with others planning to go part-time, move abroad or abandon medicine altogether.
The results of the poll raise concerns about existing issues with obtaining a GP appointment at present.
Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chair of the BMA’s GPs committee, said: “It is clear that incredible pressures on GP services are at the heart of this problem, with escalating demand having far outstripped capacity.
“GPs are overworked and intensely frustrated that they do not have enough time to spend with their patients, especially the increasing numbers of older people with multiple and complex problems who need specialised care.”
The imminent loss of GPs could pose a risk to patient safety, warned Dr Maureen Baker, chair of the Royal College of GPs (RCGP), who said: “Highly trained and experienced GPs are leaving the profession in growing numbers because of the intense and increasing pressures that we are facing, and not enough medical students are entering general practice to replace them.”
“This is a genuine danger to patient safety – and to the wellbeing of hardworking family doctors and our teams,” she continued, adding ““the chronic lack of family doctors across the country, and the devastating impact this could have on the future of general practice, the wider NHS, and most importantly, our patients.”