Better support doctors’ well-being in the workplace needed

A report for the General Medical Council has found that UK health services could be world leaders in creating workplaces which support doctors’ well-being and patient safety if existing good practice were applied more widely.

The Caring for doctors, Caring for patients report identifies a need to address the well-being of doctors faced with higher workloads, whose own health impacts on patient care. Recommendations within the report include compassionate leadership models giving doctors more say over the culture of their workplaces, adopting minimum standards of food and rest facilities, and standardising rota designs which take account of workload and available staff.

The research found that creating supportive, safe and inclusive working environments was key, and that doctors have an ‘ABC of core needs’ if they are to remain well and stay motivated while at work, seeking: autonomy over work lives and to act consistently with work and life values; a sense of belonging; and competence – the need to experience effectiveness and deliver valued outcomes, such as high-quality care.

Professor Michael West, who carried out the report, said: “UK health services can be a model for the world in creating compassionate workplaces that promote doctors’ well-being through meeting their core work needs. We can’t simply go on the way we are, loading more responsibility onto doctors already struggling to cope. Where workloads are excessive, patient care suffers.

“We heard some astonishing stories, of doctors being denied leave for a relative’s funeral and sleeping in their car, too exhausted to drive home from a shift. But we also saw examples of good practice and compassionate leadership; places where staff engagement works well, and ideas are listened to and acted on. It’s these that should be shared and replicated more widely.”

Helen Stokes-Lampard, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: "If our doctors are healthy, our patients are much more likely to receive the best possible care, and it is really encouraging to see a report that so explicitly makes the link between the well-being of doctors and patient care. We are also pleased to see a strong focus on GPs and primary care – the GMC has obviously gone to a lot of effort to ensure that the recommendations apply to GPs, as well as to doctors working in hospital trusts, and we are grateful for this.

"Unlike hospital doctors who often work in large teams, GPs are more likely to work autonomously in our one-to one consultations with our patients in our surgeries. This is one of the strengths of being a GP, but working in isolation brings its own challenges and it is good to see this acknowledged – along with the specific recommendations for improving team work and peer support, informed by current evidence on GP well-being.

"We are delighted that the success of the College's own First5 programme has been recognised and that some of the profession want to see it adapted, adopted and extended to include all GPs. The majority of NHS patient care is delivered in general practice - over 300 million consultations a year and rising – and GPs are working harder than ever to do the best we possibly can for our patients.

"But investment in our family doctor service – both funding and staff - has not kept pace with patient demand and complexity. We now have a severe shortage of GPs and many colleagues are exhausted and burning out as they constantly try to go the extra mile for their patients, without appropriate support."