UK GPs more stressed than international counterparts, report suggests

Of 1,001 UK GPs surveyed, 59 per cent said that they were stressed, compared to 18 per cent in the Netherlands. The think tank theorised that ‘burnout may be a concern’ and suggested there had been a dramatic change in the view of UK GPs with only 22 per cent saying the UK health system ‘works well’, compared to around 50 per cent in 2012.

The Commonwealth Fund advised that policy makers should monitor the front line perspectives of GPs in the UK, raising concerns that poor satisfaction rates were leading to declining numbers of trainees choosing primary care as a profession.

The report also found that GPs in the UK and Sweden were the most likely to say quality of care for patients has become worse in the last three years, with 36 per cent of GPs saying so in both countries.

However, there were some positives in the report, with UK GPs feeling the most well prepared to manage the care of patients needing palliative care, and a very high proportion (89 per cent) reported having practice arrangements for patients to see a GP out of hours, compared to 39 per cent in the US.

Additionally, UK GPs were the most likely to have practice nurses or case managers in their practice managing chronic conditions, with 97 per cent reporting access, compared to just eight per cent in Switzerland.

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