Workforce

Eleventh National GP Worklife Survey

December 2020 - December 2021

Overview

The University of Manchester has undertaken postal surveys of GPs working lives since 1998, and this is the 11th version. This series of questionnaires spans twenty-four years and continues to provide a unique resource for tracking long-term trends in GPs’ working lives, as well as identifying the key policy and environmental issues impacting upon them.

The 2021 survey performed two important functions:

  • To contribute to the ongoing tracking of GPs’ satisfaction and pressures at work during ongoing reforms of primary care.
  • To provide further evidence on trends in GPs’ hours, activities and intentions to quit general practice. As well as repeating a consistent set of core questions, each survey wave contains a set of questions relevant to recent policy changes or topical issues. In the 2021 survey, we included questions that addressed the impact of Covid-19 on the delivery of primary care. Analysis of these questions will be reported in future reports and academic publications.

Outcomes

When comparing the findings of this survey with those of previous surveys, it is important to note that the changing context within general practice in England at this time due to the Covid-19 pandemic. These changes fall into three groups. Firstly, in terms of providing day to day patient care, there was a rapid shift to remote working, with much of the day to day work of general practice taking place on the telephone or online. Secondly, GP practices were required to undertake additional work related to the pandemic. Thirdly, these changes were underpinned by a new approach to oversight by NHS England and Improvement. In summary, this survey covered a period of time in which the requirements from general practice were unprecedented and care was required to be delivered in very different ways.

The mean level of overall satisfaction decreased significantly from 4.49 to 4.30 between 2019 and 2021. Satisfaction with different domains changed to varying degrees from 2019 to 2021. Satisfaction with recognition for good work decreased from 4.61 to 4.37 (-0.24), and satisfaction with variety in the job decreased from 5.29 to 5.06 (-0.23), both changes were statistically significant. Overall satisfaction has now reduced to a level similar to 2015 having increased in 2017 and 2019.

Read the final report