One in five GPs 'wants to quit'

General practice is experiencing recruitment problems

More than one in five GPs in England wants to quit the profession in the next five years, according to a survey.

Researchers say the sharp rise in numbers wanting to leave reflects falling job satisfaction.

But the government, which wants to recruit and retain more GPs, maintains that more people are training to become GPs than ever before.

The survey published in the British Medical Journal indicates that the proportion wanting to leave within the next five years rose from fewer than one in seven in 1998 to more than one in five in 2001.

GPs 'overloaded'

The fundamental problem is of unsustainable workload

Dr John Chisholm

The researchers, led by Professor Bonnie Sibbald from the Universty of Manchester, put the statistics down to work overload and too many organisational changes.

The government says it has brought in new incentives and increased flexible working, and that there are now more GPs than ever.

The doctors union, the British Medical Association, says the government's plan for more GPs doesn't go nearly far enough.

It says a lot of treatment which used to be carried out in hospitals is now handled at GPs surgeries, where doctors feel they have lost control over the way they work.

Negotiations between the government and the BMA for a new GPs contract are expected to be completed next month.

More complex cases

Dr John Chisholm, chairman of the BMA GPs committee, told the BBC: "The fundamental problem is of unsustainable workload.

"GPs are faced with more and more work coming through their doors, and that has been rising faster than the rather slow rise in the number of GPs.

"They are finding they are dealing with more and more complex problems, they are taking on a lot of work that would previously have been dealt with by referral to hospital.

"We desperately need more GPs and we also need to off-load some of the work to nurses and pharmacists.

"And we need a new GP contract that will improve how GPs feel about themselves, but most importantly improve the quality of care that patients receive."

Dr Howard Stoate, a Labour MP and a practising GP, said family doctors faced a combination of pressure from government demand for reform and increased patient expectation.

"There are record amounts of money going into the NHS, but until that money actually finds its way into the GP surgeries, into increased staffing levels, improved premises, more equipment it does mean big pressures for GPs."

Dr Liam Fox, the shadow health secretary, said: "The government's mismanagement of general practice is leading many GPs to ask if General Practice has a secure long term future, and are reassessing their approach to the GP Contract.

"If ministers dispute how bad things are they should look at their own statistics.

"The government pledged that it would recruit 2000 new GPs by 2004 but with its current success rate of only 18 new GPs in the last two years it seems highly unlikely that it will fulfil this target."