Report warns burnt-out GPs are in crisis, with half saying their job is financially unsustainable and workloads are rising

A report reveals the future of GPs is in crisis, with nearly half saying they are losing money – and a leading doctor unsure if he can recommend it to graduates.

The future of the family doctor is in crisis with a leading GP now questioning whether he can recommend general practice as a career to medical students.

The depth of trouble is revealed in a Royal Australian College of General Practitioners survey that concludes “general practice is unsustainable, and without immediate policy intervention, the health of the nation will suffer”.

RACGP Chair SA Dr Daniel Byrne said the report makes depressing reading but he understands why GPs have expressed grim feelings for the future.

“There is only so much we can take from successive governments – Labor and Liberal – before the straw breaks the camel’s back,” he said.

GP Dr Daniel Byrne in his surgery in Happy Valley. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

“The problem is now it’s not a straw but a tonne of bricks. I am now finding myself, for the first time ever, questioning if I can honestly recommend general practice as a career to our medical students.”

Its sixth annual General Practice: Health of the Nation report found unsustainable workloads, burnout, mounting administrative burden and inadequate remuneration among growing threats.

The survey of 3219 GPs based across the nation found:

ALMOST half said it is financially unsustainable for them to continue working as a GP, as many choose to continue to bulk bill “because their patients cannot afford to pay”;

ALMOST three in four reported feelings of burnout over the past 12 months, exacerbated by the pandemic;

A QUARTER said they plan to retire within the next five years, an increase from 17 per cent in 2021. This is more than 7500 GPs, worsening workforce projections that already predict a deficit of 11,517 GPs by 2032;

70 PER CENT of practice owners indicated they are concerned about the ongoing viability of their practice, an increase from 54 per cent last year.

The report shows unsustainable workload and burnout is contributing to early retirement.

At the same time, medical students are shunning the career choice with just 13.8 per cent indicating general practice as their preferred medical specialty in 2022, a fall from 16.1 per cent in 2021.

Greater Fleurieu Medical Clinic closes.

Doctors are also weighed down by regulatory changes — more than three-quarters reported that ensuring compliance with Medicare takes time away from patient care, and 61 per cent said the complexity of Medicare is something that “worries them outside of their work day”.

Just 3 per cent stated the current Medicare rebate is sufficient to cover the cost of care.

For the sixth consecutive year, GPs reported that mental health issues were the most common reason for patient appointments. Mental health, particularly youth mental health, was also the patient health issue causing GPs the most concern for the future.

RACGP national president Adj. Professor Karen Price said: “The future of general practice care is in crisis and it’s not of our making – if general practice were a patient, I would say that it had several serious underlying health conditions that if not properly addressed will lead to grim outcomes.

“Unless things change, more and more practices will face the impossible decision of hiking fees for patients or closing up shop.”

The federal government’s Strengthening Medicare taskforce is due to provide recommendations by the end of 2022 on issues including improving patient access to general practice.