Since 1999, the University of Manchester has been surveying GPs about their experience of their working lives. In Autumn 2024, we undertook the 12th iteration of the survey, and today we are publishing the report. The surveys offer a unique and detailed insight into how GPs’ experiences have evolved over time.
This time, we received responses from 1,800 GPs across England, and the results are, in some ways, encouraging. Overall satisfaction with the job has remained unchanged since 2019, despite the well-publicised stresses and strains affecting general practice in the UK and elsewhere. Fifty-eight per cent of GPs report being satisfied with their job, while 22% dissatisfaction. GPs are broadly satisfied with aspects such as the variety in their jobs, their ability to utilise their skills, and their relationships with colleagues. We have also seen a significant increase in the proportion of GPs who feel that their job is flexible, that changes in their practices have led to better patient care and that they get clear feedback about how well they are doing their job. Overall, these results suggest that the core job of being a GP remains interesting and satisfying, notwithstanding the stresses, although dissatisfaction with remuneration has increased significantly.
Of the many sources of job stress that we ask about, more than half have decreased significantly, including such things as increasing workloads, meeting the requirements of external bodies and achieving quality targets. However, there has been a significant increase in stress associated with adverse publicity in the media, suggesting that we need to be vigilant about negative feedback loops – media commentary on difficulties experienced by patients in accessing general practice may increase stress, potentially driving GPs away, which in turn may reduce patient satisfaction further.
We ask GPs about their sessions (a ‘session’ is generally equated to half a day) and hours of work, and we have seen a recent trend of falling hours and sessions of work. This is a complex trend to understand. Whilst the average GP now only works on average six sessions per week, down from 6.6 in 2019, we have also seen an increase in the number of hours per session – the average ‘session’ now lasts almost 6 hours. GPs now work an average of 35 hours per week, which is a significant decrease from 2019 (40 hours per week). Partners tend to work longer hours than their salaried colleagues. Over 60% of GPs reported undertaking some non-GP work, the vast majority of which was for the NHS. It is not possible from our survey to further dissect these findings, but it is likely that GPs are protecting themselves from the intensity of their core workload by working fewer hours and diversifying their work, which may explain why satisfaction has held up reasonably well overall. It also highlights the fact that the longstanding trend away from partnerships towards salaried modes of employment will, if it continues, generate a need for more GPs to provide the same number of hours of care.
Most worryingly, the most recent survey confirms that around 30% of GPs intend to quit patient care in the next 5 years. When weighted to make sure that our sample matches the average characteristics of the GP population, this represents no change from 2019, but it remains high. Protecting the retention of experienced GPs is a priority if we want to improve patient care.
Taken together, the survey provides a mixed picture. To counter the recent decline in patient satisfaction with general practice, we need to ensure a sustainable population of GPs. This survey suggests that the core job of being a GP is a good one, but that working conditions could be improved. GPs appear to be managing their stress by reducing their working hours. If we want to improve access, we need to find a way to lower GP stress and enhance job satisfaction without reducing the availability of appointments that this represents. More detailed research is needed to understand what makes general practice a worthwhile profession to work in.