At least one in five National Health Service doctors have reduced their working hours, complaining of exhaustion, a survey has found. Nearly a quarter – around 23 per cent – have taken leave due to stress in the past year, and 41 per cent will not work overtime as most are struggling to manage at work.

Hospitals are short-staffed and patients’ lives could be at risk if the situation continues, according to a survey conducted by the General Medical Council and analysed by more than 4,000 doctors across the UK. Junior doctors have left work 11 times more often and consultants at least four or five times more often. The GMC says it has also found a “worrying” number of doctors are taking time off work due to rising stress.

“Workload is high and professional satisfaction is low”, the regulator said.

What does the GMC recommend for struggling doctors?

The GMC says action must be taken to support doctors. In a foreword to the report, Charlie Massey, the GMC’s chief executive and registrar, and Professor Dame Carrie McEwen, the GMC’s chair, wrote: “The UK’s health services are in a dire state and those who work within them are on the brink of breaking point. Workloads are high and professional satisfaction is low”.

“To protect their wellbeing, doctors are taking matters into their own hands,” Dr Massey wrote. “Many doctors are reducing their working hours and refusing to take on redundancies. An alarming proportion of people are taking leave due to stress. This reduces capacity even further, and increases the pressure on those doctors who remain.”

He added: “We must be clear that protecting doctors’ wellbeing is essential, but they should not feel their only option is to reduce their working hours. This creates challenges in capacity planning, putting further pressure on already strained services.”

However, the NHS says it is doing everything it can to improve doctors’ working conditions, “We are working to improve the training and working lives of doctors and we know more needs to be done in this direction, particularly recognising the risk of burnout,” an NHS spokesperson told The Sun.

He said: “As part of the NHS’s long-term workforce plan, we are taking action to further improve working conditions, including increasing choice and flexibility in training and reducing repetitive inductions, so that doctors can spend less time on administrative tasks and more time treating patients.”

“We are also strengthening occupational health services and reviewing the mental health and treatment offer for staff, to ensure everyone working in the NHS has the right support.”

What causes burnout in NHS doctors?

Burnout – a form of exhaustion caused by constant workload at the workplace – is a mental health issue that most doctors around the world struggle with. According to experts, burnout can affect medical providers for a variety of reasons, including:

• Chronic stress
• Working in a physically or emotionally demanding role
• chronic stress
• lack of staff
• high workload
• The pressure to maintain high-quality patient care
• Imbalance in fee allocation
• Lack of resources

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