GP views on strategies to cope with increasing workload: a qualitative interview study

Area of Science:

• Primary Care Medicine
• Health Services Research
• Qualitative Research

Background:

• The UK's primary care sector faces a crisis, marked by low GP morale and rising workloads.
• Effective workload management strategies are crucial for general practitioners (GPs).

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore existing and potential workload management strategies employed by GPs.
• To understand GPs' perspectives on the effectiveness of these strategies.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study involving semi-structured interviews with GPs in NHS England.
• Thematic analysis of data from 34 GPs until data saturation.

Main Results:

• Four key themes for workload management emerged: patient-level, GP-level, practice-level, and systems-level strategies.
• GPs highlighted the need for patient self-management and increased task delegation to allied health professionals and non-clinical staff.
• Telephone triage was a common, though not universally favored, workload management tool.

Conclusions:

• GPs exhibit resilience and employ innovative local strategies to manage workload.
• GPs believe systemic changes, including increased recruitment and investment, are essential for sustainable primary care.