'Alarm bells ringing' on workload

The workload placed on general practitioners is unsustainable, the Government has been warned after a study found almost half were in danger of being emotionally "burnt out".

A survey of almost 1,800 GPs found 43% were classified as a high risk after being asked to rate levels of emotional exhaustion, personal accomplishment and depersonalisation.

Dr Richard Vautrey, deputy chairman of the British Medical Association's GP committee, said the findings were "alarming".

The Pulse magazine study found 97% of the 1,784 GPs surveyed felt low levels of personal accomplishment.

The survey, which used the Maslach Burnout Inventory test, showed 72% had high levels of emotional exhaustion and 41% scored highly for levels of depersonalisation.

The responses of 43% of GPs across all three areas of the test showed they ran a high risk of burning out.

Dr Vautrey told Pulse: "It's alarming that so many GPs are burnt out.

"The current level of work is unsustainable. I hope enough alarm bells are ringing in the Department of Health, in NHS England, Health Education England and all the devolved nations for them to say 'we need to tackle this'."

Dr Michelle Drage, chief executive of Londonwide LMCs, which represents local medical committees across the capital, said: "'Rising levels of burnout are causing a deterioration of general practice as a profession. I've never seen it so bad.

"The impact of a GP being burnt out isn't only on their own families, but on the 2,500 people they care for."