Welfare of Doctors Debate
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Sarah Dyke
Main Page: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)Department Debates - View all Sarah Dyke's debates with the Department of Health and Social Care
Welfare of Doctors
Sarah Dyke Excerpts(1 day, 13 hours ago)
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Peter Prinsley
I agree with exactly what the hon. Gentleman said.
In a recent survey, 29% of hospital doctors said they were unable to take any breaks at all during the working day; for GPs, the figure rose to 40%. That is simply not safe, for either doctors or patients. In a 2023 survey conducted by the Royal College of Surgeons, half of respondents cited poor working conditions as the main challenge in their job. It is no wonder that so many colleagues are retiring too soon. The average age for a radiologist to leave the NHS is now 56, yet we are desperately short of these vital specialists. This is happening across many specialties. Just in 2023, 23,000 English doctors left the profession prematurely.
We cannot afford to lose our most experienced doctors. Too often they are discouraged from continuing in practice by a bureaucratic and costly appraisal and revalidation process, and they simply throw in the towel. Their experience is a vital asset to the NHS, and we must think carefully about how we retain them or return them to the workforce. One solution will be to create simple routes for experienced doctors to practise flexibly.
Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)
The hon. Gentleman is making a powerful speech. Langport surgery, in my constituency, is in the all too common position of struggling to attract and retain staff because of stretched budgets that limit its ability to offer attractive terms and conditions to those working in these challenging roles. Does he agree that the recruitment and retention crisis—particularly facing rural GPs—is negatively impacting doctors’ welfare, and that urgent steps must be taken to address that?
Peter Prinsley
I agree completely with the hon. Member, which will be no surprise.
The training of doctors is under threat. I spoke in the House about how cash-strapped universities are issuing redundancy notices to clinical professors, with no real plan on how to teach the increasing number of medical students or to continue the vital medical research for which our country has such a strong reputation. There was a 31% decline in the number of clinical academics in the country between 2004 and 2022. Something must be done about that.
Our GPs are under pressure as never before. Who is looking out for them? They face massive lists of patients and huge demands. We know that we must support them, for they are the front door of our NHS.