Increasingly difficult working conditions are pushing GPs out of the profession.

Half of GPs recently surveyed by Healthed have seriously considered leaving general practice earlier than planned.

In a survey on 13 September, Healthed asked GPs “have increasingly difficult working conditions led you to seriously consider leaving clinical practice earlier than you would have otherwise?”. 50% of GPs said ‘Yes’.

68% of the GPs surveyed were aged 55 or over.

“These findings are concerning but not surprising given the immense pressure on GPs and the general practice workforce.” said RACGP President Adjunct Professor Karen Price.

“GPs have been on the frontline of the and are still dealing with the fallout, including managing the backlog of catch up care due to people avoiding consults during lockdowns.”

The national vaccine rollout saw many practices opening after hours and on weekends, without adequate compensation, says Price.

“We are also seeing rising rates of chronic disease, an ageing population and a looming mental health crisis put increasing pressure on the system and the health workforce,” she says.

“GPs are committed to their communities but can no longer tolerate the devastating lack of commitment to resourcing the sector appropriately.”

More than half of GPs surveyed (57%) said that working conditions are harder now than one year ago, and 76% say they are harder now than five years ago.

Only around 10% of GPs report that working conditions are less difficult compared to the past.

A Healthed survey of GPs conducted on 30 August found that less than half of GPs planned to stay in their current practice over the next five years.

Around one third of GPs surveyed (34%) were planning to retire and another 15% were planning to leave clinical medicine for other options.

Most of the GPs surveyed (61%) were aged 55 or over. (Around 14% of GPs in Australia were aged over 65 in 2019.)

Of the GPs planning to retire, the majority are aged 55 and over and the majority of these report that they simply “want to retire”.

Other significant reasons GPs selected for wanting a change included “I feel burned out” (28%), “low Medicare rebates” (26%), lifestyle or location preferences (19%), and “I am not enjoying working in general practice” (15%).

“GPs are burnt out,” says Dr Chris Irwin, a GP based in Melbourne and the president of the Australian Society of General Practice.

“The primary reason is a lack of respect from government manifested in three ways: ongoing funding cuts, AHPRA/PSR issues and government dictating what occurs in general practice with zero discussion with our profession.”