General practitioners' views about the need for a stress support service

We wished to determine general practitioners' (GPs') views regarding the need for a stress support service.

A postal questionnaire survey of GPs' views (n = 274) about the need for a stress support service, and what form such a service might take, was undertaken on Tyneside.

A response rate of 79.5% was achieved with one reminder. A majority (78.8%) were in favour of a stress support service for GPs, the most popular options for the service being independently accessed counsellors and stress management groups. Over 90% of respondents thought that support should be available to any doctor, and 65% that is should be available to all primary health care team members. The five most commonly mentioned causes of stress were: time and workload problems; on call; expectations and demands of patients; administration and paperwork; and complaints and fear of litigation.

The survey demonstrated widespread concern amongst GPs on Tyneside about stress levels and considerable interest in the idea of stress support. However, a variety of approaches would be required to meet the range of perceived needs, and any such services should be made accessible to all practitioners regardless of whether they are actually suffering from stress, as well as to other members of the primary health care team.