Norfolk NHS doctor says medical work must be "more attractive" to stop recruitment and retention crisis
The medical regulator found that a "concerning" number of doctors are taking time off work due to stress
An NHS doctor who's working in Norfolk is telling us that jobs in medicine need to be made 'more attractive' to stop more people from leaving the profession.
It follows work from The General Medical Council (GMC) which shows that doctors here and across the country are cutting back their hours to protect their well-being. with the medical regulator warning that doctors are at "breaking point" and "taking matters into their own hands".
"I'm being forced into a position where I'm looking for a job elsewhere"
Dr Roshan Rupra is a surgeon and chairs The British Medical Association in the East: "I pay for my own parking, training and medical license. A doctor on average works around 48 hours a week and in comparison to a full-time employee in another sector, a doctor works three months extra for free.
"I'm struggling to work in the UK. That's despite me wanting to be here with my family and friends and me wanting to help and support them through the NHS, but I can't find a job here. So I'm being forced into a position, where I'm looking for a job elsewhere in Australia, Canada or New Zealand.£
He told us what could happen if more isn't done to tackle the on-going recruitment and retention crisis: "This is all going to create a 'two-tier' healthcare system where only the rich and the privileged can go and see a doctor, privately.
"But when doctors do private work, that's on top of their 48 hours a week - so there's no guarantee that a doctor would be available for this."
What did the GMC find?
The GMC also found a "concerning" number of doctors are taking time off work due to stress.
It warned that UK health services are "in a critical state and those who work in them are at breaking point".
The regulator said "workloads are high and professional satisfaction is low".
A third of doctors (33%) are struggling and feel unable to cope, according to the GMC survey of more than 4,000 doctors across the UK.
23% said they had been forced to take time off due to stress over the last year.
Some 41% polled by the GMC last year said they had refused to take on additional work - up from 23% in 2021.
And 19% said they had reduced their hours due to "pressure on workload and capacity" - up from 8% in 2021.
"For individual doctors, this is often the only responsible way they can deliver safe care, but such steps further reduce the capacity of the health service," according to the GMC report.
In 2023, 53% of doctors reported being satisfied with their day-to-day work - a sharp fall from 70% in 2021.
Particular concerns have been raised about doctors in training who are "more likely to be at high risk of burnout compared to any other group".
They are also the group most likely to be considering leaving the UK for work aboard, according to an annual GMC report into the workplace experiences of doctors in the UK.
Among all doctor groups, 16% of medics said they had taken "hard steps" to leave UK practice, compared with 7% in 2021.
The GMC said it is "imperative" that action is taken to support doctors.
"We are taking action to further improve working conditions"
An NHS England spokesperson said: "We have been working to improve the training and working lives of doctors and we know there is more work needed, particularly recognising the risk of burnout.
"As part of the NHS long term workforce plan, we are taking action to further improve working conditions, including increasing choice and flexibility in training and reducing duplicative inductions so clinicians can spend less time on admin and more time treating patients.
"We are also strengthening occupational health services and reviewing our mental health and treatment offer for staff, to ensure everyone working in the NHS has the right support."
What's the Government said on this?
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "The NHS is broken and the Secretary of State has been clear that he wants to work with doctors to get it back on its feet so it works for patients and staff.
"NHS England is working to address training bottlenecks so the health service has enough staff for the future and we will recruit over 1,000 newly-qualified GPs by the end of the year to reduce the burden on general practice."