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Physicians

NHS Faced with Critical Staff Shortages as One in Five Doctors Consider Quitting UK Practice

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

The British Medical Association (BMA) has sounded the alarm over the impact of understaffing and unfulfilled career expectations on the National Health Service (NHS) as a report by the General Medical Council (GMC) reveals that one in five doctors in the UK intend to quit practice. The BMA has warned that this trend, coupled with a lack of value for staff, high-pressure workplaces, and insufficient access to employment, may lead to a "haemorrhage" of critical staff.

Key Takeaways:

  • The GMC's workplace experiences report found that 74% of doctors responding in 2024 were likely to make a change to their careers in the next 12 months, with 19% planning to leave the UK.
  • The proportion of doctors taking "hard steps" to quit medicine in the UK had remained at 15% from the previous reports, more than double the 7% reported in 2021.
  • Doctors at high risk of burnout, those dissatisfied with day-to-day work, and those unable to progress their careers made up the majority of those who had taken hard steps to quit medicine.
  • The report found that doctors had difficulty providing sufficient care at least once a week or witnessed compromised patient safety, with 40% of respondents experiencing this in 2024 compared to 34% and 32% in 2019.

Statistics:

  • 74% of doctors responding in 2024 were likely to make a change to their careers in the next 12 months.
  • 19% of doctors planned to leave the UK.
  • 15% of doctors took hard steps to quit medicine in the UK, unchanged from the previous reports.
  • 12% of doctors planning to leave the UK reported this was to practise medicine abroad.
  • 40% of surveyed doctors had difficulty providing sufficient care at least once a week in 2024.
  • 34% and 32% of surveyed doctors experienced difficulty providing sufficient care at least once a week in 2019 and 2019, respectively.
  • 30% of doctors at high risk of burnout had taken hard steps to quit medicine.
  • 28% of doctors dissatisfied with day-to-day work had taken hard steps to quit medicine.
  • 27% of doctors unable to progress their careers had taken hard steps to quit medicine.

Sources:

  • British Medical Association (BMA): Struggle to provide sufficient care and experience of compromised patient safety while working in the NHS exist, GMC report finds.
  • General Medical Council (GMC): Workplace experiences report, 2024.

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