In England, only one in five general practitioners (GPs) currently works full-time, a significant decrease from previous years. This trend is particularly pronounced among younger doctors, with approximately 90% of those aged 30-40 working part-time.
NHS figures indicate that after the COVID-19 pandemic, family doctors have increasingly opted for shorter working hours. In 2019, over a quarter of GPs worked the equivalent of a full-time week (37.5 hours or more). This figure has now fallen to 18.7%, meaning only 7,314 of England's 39,044 GPs, excluding trainees and locums, are working full-time.
Among doctors aged 30 to 40, just over 10% now work full-time, down from 19% in 2019. Polls suggest that younger medical professionals are struggling with the stress of the profession and experiencing burnout. Some are seeking additional income through locum work, private healthcare roles, or consultancy positions for medical companies.
Conversely, around a third of GPs over 60 continue to work full-time, a proportion that has remained stable since the pandemic. This shift in working patterns coincides with millions of Britons facing difficulties in accessing routine GP care, with average wait times for appointments extending to about a week and a half.
Prior to the pandemic, same-day appointments were more common, with 42% of appointments booked on the same day in 2019, and another 20% scheduled within two to seven days. Current figures show a 12% increase in telephone appointments, leading to an 8% reduction in in-person consultations.
Concerns are also rising about experienced GPs leaving the NHS. A survey by the Royal College of GPs found that nearly a third of GPs do not anticipate being in general practice by 2030, citing stress as the primary reason for departure. This could result in the NHS having to rely more on less experienced doctors working reduced hours.
Experts have suggested that if every GP working three days a week or fewer increased their hours by just one day, it could effectively add the equivalent of around 2,000 GPs to the workforce. However, some in the Royal College of GPs argue that the term 'part-time' can be misleading, as it often only accounts for face-to-face clinical sessions and not the total hours worked, which can include significant administrative tasks, paperwork, reviewing test results, and managing referrals.
Victoria Tzortziou Brown, president of the Royal College of GPs, stated that many GPs who work fewer clinical sessions are still logging hours equivalent to a full-time commitment due to these extensive additional responsibilities.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care stated that the government is working to improve NHS access, having recruited 2,000 additional GPs since July 2024 and investing £1.7 billion over two years. They also noted that 77% of patients report a 'good' overall experience, with improvements in access attributed to online services and the NHS app.