Do we expect too much from our GPs?

About a quarter of family doctors want to leave their jobs in the next five years, according to a survey by the British Medical Association.

In the biggest such survey in recent years, two-thirds of GPs describe their morale as low. Over 95% think their workload is too high.

The average GP conducts more than 10,000 consultations a year and spends eight minutes with each patient.

In May more than half of family doctors said they were so unhappy that they would consider quitting the NHS unless their contract was improved.

Is too much expected of our family doctors? Is their workload excessive? What are your experiences of using the GP service where you live?

This debate is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.

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Your reaction

I'm sorry that GPs are overworked but so am I, for far less money. Part of the problem seems to be staff at NHS practices. More than once my appointments have been messed up due to staff, not the GP. There is certainly room in UK medical schools to take on more students and there is no reason not to train foreign doctors in exchange for a fixed term of service. Lest anyone bring up medical care in the US, my local medical practice also averages 8 minutes per patient and same-day appointments are now being instituted as an "innovation". Since they haven't taken on any new medical staff, this could prove interesting.
Arri London, EU/US

Health care is not cheap and should not be done on the cheap

Simon Plant, England

I find it sad that some of the public have taken the results to mean we are just complaining about our lot. In fact what we would like to do is provide is better health care to our patients. At present the NHS receives 6.5% of GDP. The European average is 8%. In France the WHO rated best health care system in the world the figure is 9.4%. So there is an obvious financial deficit in funding.

If you look at the results GP's voted that they would like more time with each patient. More time to take a history, examine and consider the correct diagnosis. I am not asking for more money for myself I am asking for more freedom to practice what I feel would be better health care. I feel that funding should be removed from the Government and that people should pay at the point of contact. It would then be up to the Government to reimburse the less well off and merely regulate the system. Patients would then have the freedom and the choice to see a doctor they felt provided the best care. How much more performance related can one get than that.

If one looks to Europe that is how they manage health care. No one in Europe is excluded from health care. The poor and the rich get an excellent service. Seeing a doctor of their choice and getting referred quickly so that a diagnosis can be made. Health care is not cheap and should not be done on the cheap. As patients I agree you should be asking for a better service but we are trying to do the best we can. You should ask for a different way giving up the ideology of free at the point of entry, the NHS is not free you pay in time. Time waiting to see a GP and time waiting to be referred. Start paying so you make the choice about your health care not the Government. Then hopefully the market will demand shorter waiting lists and you will all receive the health care you wish and deserve.
Simon Plant, England

So there - we have it half the population sees the GP services as being inadequate and inconvenient, half sympathise and nothing will get done. Illness is inconvenient so if it means time off to see a doctor - tough You would take time off to see your solicitor or accountant or bank manager and you would pay for the privilege. I am not an advocate of private medicine but unless and until the funding and staffing issues are truly addressed then very soon we will pay dearly for health care.
Brian, England

I have been with my GP for the last two years and I really couldn't fault him he is wonderful, he is very understanding very down to earth and very kind. I think that all these pay rises that the teaching profession ask for should be abolished and given to the NHS instead. They are far more worthy of a pay rise rather than overpaid whining teachers!
Elizabeth Griffiths, United Kingdom

Before getting too carried away, should we perhaps look at this 'survey'? I bet if you asked any group of workers in any profession, trade, business or industry the same question you would get the same answer. By simple statistics at least one sixth of GPs will be looking to retire within five years anyway. Lets find something important to worry about.
Barry P, England

I am a GP in the UK. Research shows that the public think they get a very good service from their GPs. Unfortunately they don't realise how poor a service the NHS provides generally and how the system leads to very many premature deaths a year. The government could not run the dome for a year let alone run a multi-billion pound health service.
Simon Fellerman, UK

If only GP life was like "Peak Practice"

Tim Leeuwenburg, Australia

Too few GPs = GPs overworked = mistakes made and perceived abruptness by some patients. Add to this people consulting GPs inappropriately (every GP has stories of making house calls at 2am for trivia such as a missing condom, a child with fever but no paracetamol given etc). We need more GPs. Otherwise I fear GP primary care will go the way of the dentists - ie: no NHS service, pay for service. The system is at fault. Perceived inadequacies stem from this, not doctors (who are human) doing their best under extremely difficult circumstances. If only GP life was like "Peak Practice".
Tim Leeuwenburg, Australia

Welcome to the real world, ladies and gentlemen! Are not many of the rest of the population stressed, burning out, working twelve- to fourteen-hour days under that little get-out in contracts that says "any other duties required to satisfactorily complete the duties of the post"? I think the answer is yes. A big "hear hear" to Phil and David Westlake. GPs are compensated appropriately for the work they do, and let's face it, they went into that career knowing the ups and downs involved.
Andy, UK

Yes, Andy, a lot of the general public are stressed out, alcoholic, suicidal and unable to cope. How do I know? I'm a GP, they all come to me and my colleagues and want me to make it better in 8 minutes while the other patients in the waiting room are moaning that they can't be seen immediately. Goodbye.
Steve, UK

Go ahead, abuse doctors. Then they'll leave the profession in droves. Then you'll have to wait even longer for your appointment won't you? Grow up children, you need them a lot more than they need you.
K Wilson, Australia

One of the reasons GPs are overworked is their failure to diagnose an illness accurately, putting every ailment down to a "virus". This results in patients having to make numerous repeat appointments until they either happen upon a competent GP or one that will take their complaint seriously. My nephew had eight appointments over two months before finally being diagnosed with Leukaemia.
Phil, England

Is my GP underpaid, when compared to other graduates? I think not. Is he/she likely to face redundancy in the near future? I think not. Was he/she told on the first day of University that being a doctor is an immensely pressured industry? Of course. Doctors go into this profession for a range of reasons, but always with their eyes wide open. And if it's so bad, why don't they do something else? No one's forcing them to be doctors.
David Westlake, Surrey, UK

If people had to pay for medical consultation, they would no doubt have some respect

AJF, UK citizen

My sister is a GP in UK. Some of the abuse she has had to put up with, albeit from a minority of irresponsible, time wasting, rude and inconsiderate people, is amazing. And, frankly, if they had to pay for medical consultation, like those of us living overseas, they would no doubt have some respect.
AJF, UK citizen

I'm not surprised GPs plan to quit. We the public drink to excess, smoke, take drugs, and leave GPs to pick up the pieces, oh and then we sue them when they make mistakes.
Bill, UK

Over the years my family have seen many different doctors and are now losing faith with them. If we had listened to the doctors and not paid for a second opinion, my father would be crippled, my mother and younger brother dead. In my mothers case they refused to send her for tests and claimed the illness was due to her children leaving home/ my father working late / time of life. After the second opinion she had an emergency operation!
Caron, England

I left general practice early 10 years ago. I now have a much better lifestyle, more money and am happy. Absolutely nothing would persuade me to return unless conditions are improved immensely.
David Anderson, UK

It's time we got rid of all the red tape and let GPs do their jobs

Andy, UK

Doctors do a fantastic job in difficult circumstances. It's the Governments, Tory and Labour, that have made things difficult by introducing reform after reform that only add to the GP's paperwork and take time away from patients. It's time we got rid of all the red tape and let GPs do their jobs. No more committees to investigate the findings of the last committee; no more political interference to massage waiting lists. We want action now! Tony Blair made an election pledge to improve the Health Service. Let's see him put his money where his mouth is.
Andy, UK

In my lifetime I have had two GPs. Fortunately I have never been seriously ill and have only had to see them on rare occasions. I have found both GPs to be uninterested, unhelpful and quite abrupt. They make me feel as though they have much better things to be doing and can't wait to get me out of the surgery. I have recently moved and will not bother registering with another medical practice as my past experience tells me it isn't worth it.
Jayne Flower, uk

Here we go again. We all know that public sector workers of all disciplines are underpaid and under-resourced, yet overworked and over-criticised. We all know that the standard of living gap is widening between them and workers of private sectors. Along with nurses, teachers and many others, doctors have simply become civil slaves and now the system is cracking. These people educate us and keep us healthy - i.e. they make this country function. When are we going to give them the respect, pay and conditions they deserve?
Richard, UK

The NHS needs money not spin

Kathy, UK

Blaming GP's for poor service is pointless. They can't all be bad at managing their time. My GP failed to diagnose a condition 4 years ago that nearly cost me my life. I was lucky that the local A&E was less busy at 4am when I went to them in desperation, and realised what was wrong. But I'm sure many others aren't so lucky. If each GP has too many patients to allow the time to do their job properly then the Government has to encourage more people to become GPs by improving pay and conditions. The situation will get worse and more people will be at risk if the Government refuses to accept that the NHS needs money not spin.
Kathy, UK

Doctors are over-worked everywhere in the world. Soon after my graduation I found myself living on 2 hours sleep a day, working at least 18 hours daily. After looking at the health system in the UK, I have found out that the problem is that not many British doctors want to become GPs, and GP vocational training schemes are not available to foreign (non-EEC) doctors. I don't think that anyone would visit a GP unless they really need medical care. So instead of blaming "time-wasters", there is a need to improve the service provided by the GPs. There isn't just one solution to the problem, many things can be done: 1. Encourage more local doctors to become GPs 2. Offer GP training schemes to foreign-qualified doctors, and ask them to serve the NHS for at least a number of years (to prevent the loss of resources spent on training them) 3. Improve NHS Direct and encourage people to use it 4. There is so much fuss about the huge amount of paper-work GPs have to carry out. Take measures to reduce unnecessary paper-work 5. Finally, take a look at other health systems in the world and see what's going on there!
Dr Tamseel, Pakistan

Doctors are often unable to put their situation in perspective

Catherine Hill, UK

I'm sure that there is a shortage of doctors in this country and that some of them are overworked. However, I think that doctors are often unable to put their situation in perspective - being a GP is a well-paid, stable job where excessive hours are not compulsory. Not many people in this country have the sort of job security or levels of pay that doctors have. Their belief in their superiority to other people causes them to expect more than they are entitled to especially given the poor service that they provide a lot of time. I think GPs should be employees not partners and should get performance related pay. This would mean that caring for your patients and treating them correctly would have a direct reward. At the moment they are not motivated to care about their patients so in a lot of cases they don't.

On the subject of actually getting to see your doctor - the situation in London is now so bad that myself and my husband have stopped even attempting to see our GPs. There is never an appointment early enough if you are really sick and if the problem is non-urgent you are not allowed to make an appointment in advance. You are expected to stay at home from work every day so that you can call them on the off-chance that there is a slot free. So, the message is, if you work don't expect medical treatment.
Catherine Hill, UK

There aren't enough to go round. When I was in Cardiff, I signed up with one of the recommended university practices. I got a flu like illness 2 years ago, and was told that the earliest available appointment was in 4 days time, by which time I got better through self- diagnosis and a bunch of over the counter remedies at the local pharmacist. When I got another infection last March in Sweden, I saw an English speaking doctor within 2 hours despite the fact I didn't have Swedish citizenship. The more money you pour in, the better the facilities. Taxes are a lot higher in Sweden, but having witnessed at first hand their health care, I'd pay Swedish taxes if I could enjoy those levels of service.
Alex Banks, UK, living in Ireland

Alex Banks is sadly mistaken. The fact is, under New Labour, taxes are going up, public spending is going up, but the level of service is getting ever worse. Throwing money at the situation is not a solution: what is needed is a rethink of how the system works, starting with cutting out huge swathes of bureaucracy. And tax relief on private health, to take the pressure off the NHS.
Guy Hammond, England

People who miss their appointments should be fined

Frances Smith, UK

A really common problem faced by a lot of GPs is people missing their appointments. I think that people who miss their appointments should be fined. The fine could be increased for repeat offenders.
Frances Smith, UK

I think in a country where we are all overworked and stressed it can lead to more patients needing to see their GP. It also doesn't help that they are actively encouraged by the government to adopt more services usually found in hospitals. Add to this that the media carries each health scare in great detail, then GPs are going to be overworked. It makes a recipe for overworked GPs that will need to see their GPs for being overworked!
Michael Thomas, London, UK

Dave Wright thinks Britain is a nation of hypochondriacs. It may be so. But hypochondriacs do need to see the doctor if only to be reassured that nothing is wrong with them. In another nation of hypochondriacs, France, there are no waiting lists and no waiting 2 weeks to see the GP. Simply because there are a lot more GPs.
Pascal Jacquemain, UK (French)

I feel that too many people rush to see the doctor over unnecessary things

Dave Wright, UK

I have not seen a GP for over 6 years. Some might argue that I have been lucky in that I have no disablement or ongoing medical problems, but am I in a minority? The workload on GPs must be high, as my wife can never get an appointment to see hers. This is only recently as she is pregnant and therefore no risks can be taken on her health or the health of the baby.

I feel that too many people rush to see the doctor over unnecessary things. As a person who does not take aspirin or paracetamol unless it is totally necessary, I feel I have built up natural strength of health. If GPs only had to see people with ongoing problems, the elderly and the young, or those with SERIOUS illness, then their workload would be reduced immensely. How this can be enforced, I have no idea. I feel that Hypochondria is the most common illness that a GP faces on the whole.
Dave Wright, UK