ArticleThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2016
Lost to the NHS: a mixed methods study of why GPs leave practice early in England.
Article in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 79 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
79 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 143 citations in OpenAlex.
- Understanding why health professionals are leaving the UK national health service (NHS) - A systematic review and narrative synthesis.Journal of health services research & policy · 2026Pooled it
- Burnout among general practitioners, a systematic quantitative review of the literature on determinants of burnout and their ecological value.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Pooled it
- Understanding why primary care doctors leave direct patient care: a systematic review of qualitative research.BMJ open · 2020Pooled it
- Addressing the crisis of GP recruitment and retention: a systematic review.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2017Pooled it
- Safety in primary care (SAP-C): a randomised, controlled feasibility study in two different healthcare systems.BMC family practice · 2019Trial
- Developing pharmacist practice through a pilot family practice preceptorship programme: a prospective quantitative pre-post evaluation.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2026Article
- Watching you wear out: Time as clinical labor.Medical anthropology quarterly · 2026Article
- Organisational models of general practice and internal capacity for care coordination: a mixed-methods study from the Czech Republic.BMC primary care · 2026Article
- The general practice workforce crisis in Europe: scale of the challenge and available policy responses.The Lancet. Primary care · 2026Review
- Understanding persistent GP turnover using work and personal characteristics: a retrospective observational study.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026Observational
- GP workforce sustainability to maximise effective and equitable patient care: a realist review.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026Review
- Counting general practitioners: a comparative repeat cross-sectional analysis of GPs in NHS general practice in England.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026Article
- Why Are Family Physicians Leaving Comprehensive Care? A Qualitative Study on Retention in Ontario.Annals of family medicine · 2026Article
- General practitioners and management control through guidelines: a qualitative study of its effects on their practice.BMC primary care · 2026Article
- Physicians shortage in primary care: a protocol for updating a systematic review of recruitment and retention strategies.F1000Research · 2026Article
- Evaluating a pharmacist-led cardio-renal-metabolic service to reduce healthcare inequities in a socioeconomically deprived population: a prospective intervention study.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2025Article
- Trends in the shortfall of English NHS general practice doctors: repeat cross sectional study.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2025Article
- Retaining family physicians in comprehensive primary care: Scoping review.Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2025Article
- Benefits and limitations of the transfer online of Irish College of General Practitioners continuing medical education small group learning during the COVID pandemic: a national Delphi study.Medical education online · 2024Article
- Article
19 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe loss of GPs in the early stages of their careers is contributing to the GP workforce crisis. Recruitment in the UK remains below the numbers needed to support the demand for GP care.
aimTo explore the reasons why GPs leave general practice early. DESIGN AND
settingA mixed methods study using online survey data triangulated with qualitative interviews.
methodParticipants were GPs aged <50 years who had left the English Medical Performers List in the last 5 years (2009-2014). A total of 143 early GP leavers participated in an online survey, of which 21 took part in recorded telephone interviews. Survey data were analysed using descriptive statistics, and qualitative data using thematic analysis techniques.
resultsReasons for leaving were cumulative and multifactorial. Organisational changes to the NHS have led to an increase in administrative tasks and overall workload that is perceived by GP participants to have fundamentally changed the doctor-patient relationship. Lack of time with patients has compromised the ability to practise more patient-centred care, and, with it, GPs' sense of professional autonomy and values, resulting in diminished job satisfaction. In this context, the additional pressures of increased patient demand and the negative media portrayal left many feeling unsupported and vulnerable to burnout and ill health, and, ultimately, to the decision to leave general practice.
conclusionTo improve retention of young GPs, the pace of administrative change needs to be minimised and the time spent by GPs on work that is not face-to-face patient care reduced.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.