How stressful GPs in the UK find their job

In our report Under Pressure, we looked at the satisfaction of GPs, as well as care coordination and use of electronic medical records in general practice. The report is UK-focused analysis by the Health Foundation of the Commonwealth Fund’s 2015 survey of primary care physicians across 11 countries, which included several UK-specific questions funded by the Health Foundation.

GPs in the UK report higher levels of stress and lower satisfaction with practising medicine compared to primary care doctors in other countries. 59% of GPs in the UK describe their job as extremely or very stressful, higher than anywhere else. Just 5% of GPs find general practice not too or not at all stressful. By way of comparison, in Australia, only one in five (21%) of GPs find their job extremely or very stressful, and less than the one in four (24%) who find it not at all or not very stressful.

There is a clear correlation between those who want to leave general practice and high stress levels. Of the UK respondents planning to leave medicine for a different career, 77% said their role as a GP was extremely or very stressful, compared to 49% of those who plan to stay.