Almost three quarters of UK GPs say workload pressures are putting patient safety at risk, according to a new Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) survey.

The college’s annual GP Voice survey, conducted with market research consultancy Savanta between 28 July and 20 August 2025, gathered responses from 2316 GPs. Results were released to coincide with the opening of the RCGP annual conference.

Among respondents:

• 73% said workload pressures were compromising patient safety.
• 58% said they lacked time during appointments to assess and treat patients adequately.
• 57% said they did not have enough time to build relationships with patients.

In an opening address to the conference in Newport, Wales, outgoing RCGP chair Professor Kamila Hawthorne said the results showed that “more than half reported that their own mental health had declined in the last year” and that it was “hard to find a GP who doesn’t feel they have to cut corners.”

The poll findings are consistent with last year’s results, when 76%, 60%, and 62% of GPs, respectively, gave similar responses.

A 2024 General Medical Council report also found that workload pressures were draining morale and that higher workforce numbers had not improved doctors’ experiences. It warned that quality patient care is “impossible without a motivated workforce.”

Work Stress ‘Normalised’ in NHS

Workplace stress continues to be widespread across the NHS.

The national NHS staff survey published in March found that one third of staff believed their organisation was understaffed. It also reported that 30% of staff found work emotionally exhausting, 42% said they felt worn out by the end of their shift, and 30% felt burnt out. 

At the time, Dr Billy Palmer, PhD, a senior fellow at the Nuffield Trust, said stress levels remained “worryingly high” and warned of the danger of such pressures “being normalised.”

A separate Medscape UK survey of more than 900 doctors, published in June, found that 28% were unhappy with their professional life, 27% reported burnout, and 13% rated their mental health as poor or very poor.

RCGP Calls for Action

The RCGP said the latest survey results were “stark” and highlighted the depth of the ongoing workload crisis in general practice.

It said that fewer than 30% of GPs felt they had enough time during consultations to provide high-quality patient care, and more than half reported a decline in their own mental health over the past year.

“Perhaps it is no surprise that so many GPs plan to leave the profession and that the biggest cause is stress,” said Hawthorne. “It is such a waste to lose experienced GPs.”

Concerns were also raised about the government’s proposed neighbourhood health services, with 68% of respondents worried about their potential impact on GP workload and the lack of sufficient staffing to deliver them effectively.

The college reiterated its calls for a sustained increase in core funding for general practice, including mandated annual rises, ring-fenced funding for recruitment, and new retention initiatives. It also renewed its call for “thousands more GPs” to ease the growing strain on primary care.

Dr Sheena Meredith is an established medical writer, editor, and consultant in healthcare communications, with extensive experience writing for medical professionals and the general public. She is qualified in medicine and in law and medical ethics.