Intentions of current GPs to stop practising

Half of these GPs indicated they would be stopping earlier than they’d intended when they first commenced general practice. These results indicate a risk to the size of the practising GP workforce in the short term if these GPs follow through with their intentions.

Of the 32% of GPs who intend to stop practising in the next five years, a large majority indicated that personal circumstances are a factor influencing this decision (Figure 29). Within this category, retirement was the most common reason cited for stopping practice, followed by GPs seeking a lifestyle change and wanting to spend more time with their family.

Other key factors were also identified to be influencing current GPs to stop practising. This includes regulatory and compliance burden (60%), continuous professional development (CPD) requirements (47%) and the increasing complexity of general practice (40%). Workload fatigue, which includes burnout, high workload and empathy fatigue, are also listed as critical factors influencing current GPs to stop practising. The sentiment or feeling that GPs are not valued was the second highest factor influencing current GPs to stop practising, with 55% identifying this as an influencing factor (Figure 29).

Besides the GPs planning to exit the profession, a large percentage (61%) are considering reducing their time spent practising. Of these GPs, 23% intend to reduce their hours within the next 12 months. The largest factors influencing this decision appear to be the need to attend to family commitments and responsibilities (48%), and the desire to work in another health or medical field (27%) (Figure 30).

The factors that would encourage current GPs to practice longer are largely centred around addressing the challenges facing the profession. Eighty-one per cent of GPs identified that improved remuneration, incentives and conditions would encourage them to practice longer (Figure 31).

This was followed by decreased government compliance and regulation (66%), improved work–life balance (49%) and decreased patient demand and workload (43%). Only 6% of GPs stated there were no factors that would encourage them to continue practising for a longer period of time (Figure 31). This indicates that the proportion of GPs planning to reduce their time spent practising can be stemmed, but will require addressing several challenges facing the profession, with GP remuneration as a top priority.