The work commitments of British general practitioners: a national survey

Area of Science:

• Health Workforce Planning
• General Practice
• Medical Staffing

Background:

• General practice faces significant recruitment and retention challenges.
• The future workforce planning for general practitioners (GPs) is impacted by the work commitments of both principals and non-principals.
• A growing number of qualified GPs are choosing not to become principals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the potential contribution of non-principal GPs to alleviating workforce shortfalls.
• To inform future workforce planning in UK general practice.

Main Methods:

• A questionnaire survey was conducted.
• The study included 5966 vocationally trained doctors in the UK.

Main Results:

• The findings suggest that increasing the time commitment of non-principal GPs is unlikely to resolve general practice workforce shortages.
• The study indicates a need for alternative strategies beyond relying on the existing non-principal pool.

Conclusions:

• Workforce planning for general practice must consider factors beyond the increased commitment of non-principal GPs.
• Current strategies relying on non-principal GPs to fill shortfalls may be insufficient.