New statistics show GP work intensity is “unsustainable and unsafe”

The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGPs) has responded to the latest data on workforce and workload

Chair of the RCGPs, Professor Martin Marshall, said the follow:

“Despite repeated promises to boost GP numbers, today’s figures show that we have more than 1,500 fewer qualified, full-time equivalent GPs than we did five years ago.

“The result is a chronically over-stretched and under-resourced general practice service, with GPs and their teams working to their absolute limits to deliver increasingly complex care to the ever-rising number of patients that need it.

“This is reflected in today’s GP consultation figures, which show general practice is continuing to deliver more consultations every month than pre-pandemic, with more than 26m appointments delivered in June, and over 44% of those on the same day they were booked.

“Working at this intensity is unsustainable and it’s unsafe for both patients and staff. An exhausted GP is not able to practice safely or deliver the high-quality care and services they are trained and want to deliver for patients.

“This is leading to GPs and other members of our teams burning out and having to evaluate their futures working in general practice, in some cases leaving the profession earlier than planned and in others reducing contracted working hours to make the job more sustainable. Yet working ‘part time’ in general practice often means working what would normally be considered full-time, or longer – and will likely include many hours of paperwork on top of patient appointments.

“The sad reality is that this situation is likely to get worse. A recent survey suggested nearly 19,000 GPs could leave the profession over the next five years, with many citing stress and working hours as reasons for leaving. 

“We simply can’t afford to lose any more highly-trained and experienced GPs from our workforce”.