The general practice workforce and workload crisis: understanding the causes and solutions

Over the past decade, the healthcare industry has struggled with a shortage of general practitioners (GPs) and an increasing workload in primary care, but the recent pandemic has exacerbated the situation. In this article, our Chief Medical Officer, Dr Jonathan Andrews explores both the causes and solutions to the general practice workforce and workload crisis.

Ageing population

One of the main causes of the GP workforce and workload crisis is the ageing population, which not only affects Ireland but every single developed country in the world. However, due to falling birth rates, the Irish population ages faster than anywhere else in Europe. The number of people aged 60 years and over is increasing and is estimated to continue an upward trend. This means that there will also be a growing demand for GP services putting them even more under pressure.

Complex care

With the ageing of the population, general practitioners are faced with a broader range of complex illnesses. GPs are required to have an extensive range of knowledge and skills because people tend to consult doctors for multiple reasons at once, and the ageing process only adds to the complexity. Primary care physicians need to continually expand their medical knowledge to be up-to-date with the latest advancements in medical research and treatment. However, since GPs already work on average almost 10-hour-days according to the study in British Journal of General Practice, training will only add to the overtime hours that they already log.

Shortage of medical staff

There is a shortage of general practitioners in many areas, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit and retain them due to a range of factors, such as high workload, pressure and increasing demand - leading to increased burnout. Only in Ireland, GP numbers are expected to decrease approximately 35% by 2025, according to the study conducted in Ireland by Irish Medical Journal.

Administrative burden

Research indicates that 30% of general practitioner’s workload consists of admin work. The amount of time spent on administrative tasks, such as paperwork, prescriptions, referrals, and record-keeping, takes away time from patient care. In contrast, patients expect greater access to services, personalised care, and faster response times from their healthcare providers, placing more pressure on general practitioners to deliver more with already limited resources.

So, what are the solutions to the GP workforce and workload crisis?

To address the crisis, a multi-faceted approach should be taken. To name a few solutions, governments should increase funding, improve recruitment and retention of GPs, redesign care delivery to reduce workload, invest in technology, improve GP training, and increase patient awareness about appropriate healthcare use. These strategies require a coordinated effort from all stakeholders, including governments, healthcare providers, and patients, to ensure that GPs have the resources and support they need to deliver high-quality care to their patients.

In addition to the government's responsibility, general practitioners themselves could take steps to address the workforce and workload crisis. They could delegate some of their workload to other healthcare professionals, although finding qualified staff could be challenging. Another option is to adopt technology and give patients more responsibility for managing their health, which would reduce administrative tasks for GPs and provide faster access to healthcare services. By adopting these approaches, GPs could have more time for patient care, while patients would have greater efficiency and accessibility to healthcare services.

Another option is to adopt technology and give patients more responsibility for managing their health, which would reduce administrative tasks for GPs and provide faster access to healthcare services. By adopting these approaches, GPs could have more time for patient care, while patients would have greater efficiency and accessibility to healthcare services.

Dr Jonathan Andrews, Chief Medical Officer of Certific

To leverage the benefits of such a technology platform, individuals can refer to our previous article for more information. The article discusses how technology can streamline healthcare delivery and reduce the administrative burden on general practitioners.