Workplace experiences 2025

Executive summary

Following multiple years of decline in doctors’ workplace experiences, data from our 2024 Barometer survey indicate gradual improvements for a second consecutive year. However, many challenges persist, leaving no room for complacency. The UK health system remains under severe strain, and doctors’ perceptions of patient safety failings remain concerning, showing minimal improvement in recent years. General practitioners (GPs) remain under intense pressure. The experiences of medical educators and doctors in training paint a worrying picture of risk to the future supply of the workforce. Certain groups, including disabled doctors and ethnic minority doctors, report poorer experiences. With renewed government plans for health and care improvement across the UK, and financial plans set out in the Spending Review, the opportunities should be taken now to respond to the challenges highlighted in our data. The priority must be to deliver sustainable improvements that deliver better patient care.

This report sets out our insights on doctors’ workplace experiences from the Barometer survey 2024, accompanying interviews, and analysis of intentions to leave the UK profession.

Three key areas of challenge arising from our evidence are set out in this report.

• Specific steps need to be taken to ensure general practice becomes an increasingly attractive and well-supported part of the workforce in all locations.
• The training system must be reformed to ensure it is fit for purpose and ensures all doctors have opportunities to develop their careers.
• Disparities in experiences between certain groups of doctors must be recognised and addressed.

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Foreword

Five years on from the coronavirus pandemic and our data show marginal, but clear, improvements in doctors’ wellbeing. Overall satisfaction is up, risk of burnout is down, and workloads have eased. This is the second consecutive year of improvement, giving us reason to believe this positive momentum can be maintained.

This is welcome. But the truth is that our data continue to show that health services remain under severe strain, with corresponding impacts on the public and profession alike. 40% of doctors witnessed patient safety being compromised in 2024, reflecting similar percentages in 2023 (41%) and 2022 (42%).

If the health system is to better serve the patients at its heart, more must be done to foster working environments that are conducive to the provision of good, safe care. Employers must be front and centre of this, with their efforts evaluated as part of overall provider performance.

While all specialties are feeling the strain, GPs, in particular, are under extreme and prolonged pressure. 44% of GPs are struggling, compared with 29% of all doctors, and 46% report being dissatisfied, compared with 33% of all doctors. Without action, ambitions to move more patient care from hospitals to communities may well be thwarted. It must also be acknowledged that general practice, like the medical workforce at large, is heavily reliant on overseas talent,1 and that retaining these doctors requires better recognition of, and support for, the contribution they make.

Across the board, workload pressures are causing doctors to re-evaluate the responsibilities they take on, including training. This creates a significant vulnerability: without protected time to train, senior doctors will continue to decline supervisory and educational roles. The result will be a reduction in opportunities for doctors in training, putting the future pipeline of clinical expertise and leadership under threat.

Outside of formal training pathways, only 44% of locally employed (LE) doctors felt they had sufficient access to learning and development opportunities, compared with 55% of all doctors. With LE doctors now the fastest growing doctor group, there is a real risk of creating a sizeable cohort of overlooked, under-utilised professionals unable to fulfil their potential, to their detriment and the detriment of those they care for.

To equip doctors with the skills they need in today’s world, and to make a fulfilling career in UK practice a realistic prospect, more flexibility is urgently needed. It's in all our interests that doctors are well-trained, highly motivated, and see a hopeful future for themselves in our health services. Otherwise, we risk losing them from the workforce altogether. Achieving this requires reform to the current medical training system so that it better addresses both doctors’ and patients’ needs. This is something we’re beginning to explore through our programme on the future of education and career development.

The vision of a health system that supports doctors to deliver high quality patient care is one we all share. But it cannot be realised without a clear understanding of where the issues lie, and concerted, sustained action to address them. We're ready to play our part, and help shape a future that recognises doctors as individuals and unlocks their potential to the benefit of the patients we all serve.

Chapter 1: The state of UK practice – recent gradual improvements are positive, but concerns remain

Continued improvement, but many challenges remain

• Following multiple years of decline in doctors’ workplace experiences since the initial stages of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic ended, the Barometer survey 2024 results detailed throughout this report show a second consecutive year of gradual improvement. Doctors’ satisfaction has improved, the proportion at high risk of burnout has reduced, and workloads have eased. To some extent, these changes are mirrored in other healthcare professions such as nursing.
• We saw this improvement in all four countries of the UK – although doctors in Northern Ireland generally reported poorer experiences than the UK average, as they’ve done in previous years. Doctors’ experiences in Scotland and Wales were broadly in line with the UK average.
• The drivers of this UK-wide improvement are likely complex and varied, even if some of the core factors are clear. The research we commissioned identifies factors behind doctors’ more positive experiences and offers insights on how to build on this positive momentum. The key components flagged in our data are manageable workloads, supportive colleagues, and managers who listen to doctors’ concerns. Our data also show that these more positive experiences are associated with less frequently compromised patient safety or care, doctors feeling better able to care for patients, and doctors being less likely to intend to leave the UK profession.
• There has been a major growth in the number of UK doctors in recent years. Both from growing numbers of UK medical school graduates and, to a much greater degree, new joiners from overseas. Given doctors’ ongoing concerns around inadequate staffing, this increase in headcount may already be easing the workload in parts of the healthcare system.
• Despite the encouraging improvement seen on many Barometer indicators, challenges remain. Doctors’ perceptions of failings in patient safety and care are concerning and have not improved much in recent years. The health systems continue to face massive demand and too many patients experience unacceptable treatment delays. Furthermore, the proportion of doctors who have taken hard steps to leave the UK profession, such as applying for a position outside UK practice, stayed the same. We must be alive to the ongoing risks to retention of doctors and the impact of losing talented staff. This could threaten government ambitions to reduce waiting times and deliver better care to patients.

Our evidence highlights three major challenges

Within this overall picture of slow but measurable improvement in key indicators of medical workforce wellbeing, there are three key areas of challenge that we highlight in this report.

• First, our findings show that general practitioners (GPs) remain the most pressured part of the medical workforce – a position we’ve seen before the pandemic. GPs reported consistently poorer experiences than other doctors. With six out of ten GPs saying that they found it difficult to provide sufficient patient care at least once a week (compared with four out of ten of all doctors). We know from The state of medical education and practice in the UK: workforce report 2024 that, in recent years, GP numbers have not increased like other medical roles, and that general practice struggles to attract UK graduates into training positions. The 10 Year Health Plan in England places a renewed emphasis on primary care and community-based health services, and there are similar ambitions in the other UK countries. It is critical that these plans include specific steps to make general practice an attractive and well-supported part of the workforce in all locations.
• Second, we highlight, again, the importance of prioritising the education and training of doctors as an integral part of improving the service to patients. Doctors in training are the group at highest risk of burnout. Some reported they have to turn down training opportunities in their day-to-day work because of their demanding workloads. Meanwhile, trainers sometimes step away from supervisory roles because of the pressures they are under and lack of time to deliver training. Other doctors in locally employed (LE) roles don’t have access to the training opportunities that would help enhance their contribution to healthcare and help retain them. Our findings underline the importance of modernising the training system to better reflect the needs of the patients and public and ensure all doctors can access learning opportunities and develop their careers. We will work with our system partners to modernise and improve training pathways, and work to ensure programmes are flexible and fit for purpose. All UK healthcare stakeholders must work together to make sure the future workforce is given the support it needs to succeed.
• Finally, the Barometer survey 2024 results show that certain doctors experience disadvantages associated with their personal or protected characteristics, such as disability and ethnicity. The UK medical workforce passed two significant milestones in 2024, with more female doctors than male doctors on the UK register for the first time, and doctors from an ethnic minority becoming the majority of the workforce. These milestones demonstrate the huge shift in the UK’s medical workforce, producing one of the most diverse workforces in the UK. Despite this progress, differences in experience and in career opportunities remain – with disabled doctors and ethnic minority UK-qualified doctors reporting poorer experiences. This report details the trends and reinforces the importance of ensuring that doctors’ workplaces are welcoming, inclusive, and supportive.

Chapter 2: Doctors’ workplace experiences

Gradual improvements in many areas

• Two fifths of doctors (40%) found it difficult to provide sufficient patient care at least once a week, a slight decrease from 43% in 2023, but still higher than in 2019 (34%).
• Inadequate staffing remains the most-commonly-reported main barrier to care: 72% of doctors cited it as a barrier, down from 79% in 2023.
• Doctors’ satisfaction with their day-to-day work has gradually increased over recent years. 59% were satisfied in 2024, up from 53% in 2023, though this remains lower
  than in 2019 (63%), before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
• In 2024, more doctors were categorised as doing well with their workload: 31%, up from 27% in 2023. Fewer were struggling with their workload: 29% in 2024, down
  from 33% in 2023.
• The proportion of doctors who were categorised as being at high risk of burnout has fallen from 25% in 2022 to 18% in 2024.

Some areas have not improved

• Almost a quarter of doctors (23%) reported that they took a leave of absence due to stress over the past year, in line with Barometer surveys in recent years, but almost
  double the proportion of 12% in 2019.
• 15% of doctors reported taking hard steps towards leaving the UK profession, consistent with recent years (15% in 2022 and 16% in 2023).

Many doctors felt unable to progress their career as they want and many reduced their trainer role due to workload

• Only two out of five of all doctors surveyed (39%) felt they could progress their career in the way that they want. Doctors were less likely to feel they could progress as they want if they reported other negative experiences, such as not having enough autonomy in their role (12%) or having difficulty at least once a week providing sufficient patient care (28%).
• One out of ten doctors (11%) stopped or reduced time spent as a trainer due to pressure on workload and capacity. 2024 was the first year this was a response option. It was the third most-common-adjustment reported by doctors after refusing to undertake additional workload (39% of doctors) and reducing contracted hours (20%).

Chapter 3: Workplace experiences by UK country

• The broad trends across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales align with the UK average in 2024. However, there were some variations in doctors’ experiences between the four UK countries, which we explore in this chapter.
• As noted in previous chapters, while we’ve seen positive improvements across the workforce, some key areas of concern remain.
• Doctors in England had workplace experiences that were generally in line with the UK average, as this group comprised most of the total sample.
• Doctors in Northern Ireland generally reported more negative experiences than the UK average, including:
  • being more likely to be at high risk of burnout (26% compared with 18% UK average)
  • finding it difficult to provide patient care at at least once a week (54% compared with 40% UK average)
  • working beyond rostered hours at least once a week (73% compared with 62% UK average).
• Doctors in Scotland had more positive workplace experiences than the UK average in several areas in 2023. However, in 2024, they generally reported experiences more aligned with the UK average. Doctors in Scotland fared slightly worse in witnessing patient safety being compromised. However, they were more likely to feel part of a supportive team and were less likely to consider moving to practise abroad or leaving the medical profession.
• Doctors in Wales also had experiences that were generally very similar to the UK average. However, they were more likely than the UK average to identify a range of barriers to providing good patient care.

Chapter 4: Variation of experiences across the workforce.

• General practitioners’ (GPs’) experiences were generally worse than those of other doctor groups. GPs were most likely to have had difficulty providing sufficient patient care at least once a week (61%, compared with 40% of all doctors) and most likely to be struggling with their workload (44%, compared with 29%). However, GPs were most likely to feel part of a supportive team (78%, compared with 73%).
• Specialists’ experiences were generally more positive than those of the other doctor groups. Specialists were most likely to feel able to progress their career in the way that they want (43%, compared with 39% of all doctors) and among the least likely to be at high risk of burnout (15%, compared with 18%).
• Doctors in training remained most likely to be at high risk of burnout (23%, compared with 18% of all doctors). Doctors in training were slightly less likely to report they had sufficient access to development and learning opportunities: 52% did so, compared with 55% of all doctors.
• Specialty and associate specialist (SAS) doctors’ experiences were mostly positive compared with other doctor groups, but notably poor in some areas. SAS doctors were among the least likely to have found it difficult to provide sufficient patient care at least once a week (28%, compared with 40% of all doctors) and least likely to be struggling with their workload (20%, compared with 29%).
• Locally employed (LE) doctors were least likely to have had difficulty providing sufficient patient care at least once a week (27%, compared with 40% of all doctors) and were less likely than average to be struggling with their workload (24%, compared with 29%). However, LE doctors were least likely to feel they could progress their career in the way that they want (32%, compared with 39%).
• Doctors in trainer roles generally had worse experiences than their non-trainer peers. 
  • Specialists who were trainers had consistently poorer experiences than those who were not. They were more likely to be struggling with their workload (26% of specialist trainers, compared with 21% of specialist non-trainers) and more likely to have had difficulty providing sufficient patient care at least once a week (38%, compared with 30%).
  • GPs who were trainers generally had worse experiences than those who were not, including being more likely to have had difficulty providing sufficient patient care at least once a week (68%) than GPs who were not (58%).
  • SAS doctors who were trainers were more likely to have worked beyond rostered hours once a week (59%) than SAS doctors who weren’t trainers (48%).
• Doctors who were non-UK graduates generally reported better experiences than UK graduates. Non-UK graduates were less likely to have had difficulty providing sufficient patient care at least once a week (25%, compared with 51% of UK graduates), less likely to be struggling with their workload (24%, compared with 32%), and less likely to be at high risk of burnout (16%, compared with 20%).
• Ethnic minority UK graduates generally had worse experiences than both white UK graduates and non-UK graduates of all ethnicities. This included being most likely to be struggling with their workload (33%), least likely to feel they can progress their career in the way that they want (34%), and most likely to be at high risk of burnout (24%).
• Disabled doctors’ experiences are consistently poorer than those of non-disabled doctors. Disabled doctors were more likely than non-disabled doctors to be struggling with their workload (38%, compared with 27% of non-disabled doctors), more likely to be at high risk of burnout (28%, compared with 17%), and less likely to feel they could progress their career in the way they want (29%, compared with 40%).
• The experiences of disabled doctors who needed reasonable adjustments were worse than those of disabled doctors who did not. 42% of disabled doctors reported that they needed reasonable adjustments at work. Unlike disabled doctors who did not need reasonable adjustments, disabled doctors who needed reasonable adjustments were more likely to be struggling with their workload (42%, compared with 29% of all doctors) and less likely to feel part of a supportive team (67%, compared with 73% of all doctors).