11.08.16
Primary care stress levels significantly above UK-wide workforce, warns Mind
Health leaders are calling for GP Forward View pledges to be implemented “as a matter of urgency” after stark research from Mind showed the vast majority of primary care workers consider their work life stressful – compared to just over half of the wider UK workforce – and feel it has had an impact on their physical and mental health.
In a poll of over 1,000 NHS primary care workers conducted by the mental health charity – including GPs, practice nurses, practice managers and their colleagues, almost 90% said work was stressful, ranking it as the most stressful area of their lives – above finances, health, family life and relationships.
Two in five respondents said workplace stress has even led them to resigning or consider resigning, whilst one-fifth argue it has led them to develop a mental health problem. Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chair of the BMA’s GP committee, said this was in line with the union’s own survey, which recently revealed one in three GPs were considering retiring in the next five years and many want to cut their working hours.
Their physical health is also taking a blow: over 80% of surveyed staff claim their jobs have affected their ability to sleep, and over half agree that work impacts directly on their physical health.
But despite these issues, a third of respondents said they felt disclosing these feelings of stress would lead to them being perceived as less capable than their colleagues, indicating a major fear of coming forward. Over 20% of them also felt disclosing issues would count against them when they were considered for promotions.
Dr Simon Braybrook, a Cardiff-based GP who has experienced mental health problems and workplace stress, said both are “rife” across primary care.
“We urgently need to talk more about how we can best look after ourselves and each other,” he said. “It’s so important because that’s the only way that we are going to do the best for our patients. We can’t give out something that we haven’t got there to start with.”
Paul Farmer, chief executive of Mind, reiterated that primary care workers must be allowed to talk about these issues which, like with anyone else’s, require support.
As well as potentially impacting patient safety – a widespread mantra during the season of junior doctor strikes, for example, was that “tired doctors make mistakes” – workplace stress is also pushing staff to resort to unhealthy coping mechanisms. Two in five polled professionals drink alcohol at least once a week to cope with work pressures, and almost one in 10 smoke every day for the same reason.
Dr Maureen Baker, chair of the Royal College of GPs, agreed that the current state of general practice is pushing GPs to their limit, but argued the GP Forward View is a “lifeline” for the profession.
“The [Forward View] pledges - including £16m to support GPs suffering from burnout and stress - will go a long way to alleviating the current pressures facing GPs, and in turn improve patient care,” she added.
“General practice is a fantastic and rewarding career, and we look to the government to implement the pledges made in the GP Forward View as a matter of urgency, so that we can keep our profession strong, now and in the future, for the benefit of the wider NHS and our patients.”