Just one in 13 early career GPs now work full-time, according to NHS figures, as thousands of doctors dramatically cut their surgery hours or leave the profession altogether. The trend threatens the government's plan to shift services from hospitals to 'neighbourhood health centres' and general practice.
Analysis of official data by the Guardian reveals that the typical GP works five hours less per week than in 2017, with the number of full-time GPs in England falling by a third. Only 7,480 doctors were recorded as working more than 37.5 hours a week in September, down from over 11,000 in 2017.
The decline is most pronounced among younger GPs. Fewer than 8% of 30- to 34-year-olds work full-time, compared to 22% in March 2017. Many early career doctors cite unrelenting stress as the main reason for reducing hours. Yasmin, a 29-year-old GP from Leicestershire, said: 'The pace was unsustainable for me. When you're always late to leave work, making decisions all day and facing people's constant anger, it's easy to feel resentful.' She works two days a week clinically but often puts in extra unpaid hours.
While most GPs are part-time on paper, the British Medical Association notes many work above their contracted hours. Joe, 33, from Brighton, works two days a week as an NHS GP but says his days often stretch to 11-12 hours including paperwork. 'I feel at high risk of burnout if I were to do this more regularly,' he said.
Paradoxically, some locum GPs struggle to find work despite patient demand. Lucy-Jane, an unemployed GP from Devon who qualified in 2023, said: 'The year before I qualified, there were still lots of jobs, but the work gradually dried up. I feel that I'm on the scrapheap.' The total number of GPs has risen, but more than a third of licensed GPs (19,900) were not working in NHS general practice in 2024, up from 27% in 2015.
Dr. Katie Bramall-Stainer, chair of the BMA's GP committee, warned: 'The government's plan to shift care into the community will fail if GPs are leaving in droves. We need urgent action to reduce workload and improve retention.'
