Doctors are reporting low morale amid rising work demands and the ongoing financial squeeze affecting clinical care, a BMA survey reveals.
More than 40 per cent of doctors said their morale was low in the latest BMA quarterly survey.
GPs reported the lowest morale, with an average score of 2.38 when ranking morale from one (low) to five (high), and there was a significant fall in morale of junior doctors from the previous quarter.
Almost half (44 per cent) of the GPs surveyed said they were considering early retirement, and 41 per cent of consultants reported considering quitting work before retirement age.
Doctors blamed work conditions, hours of work and changes to the NHS as the three biggest factors prompting them to consider changes to their career.
Almost 500 working doctors took part in this quarter’s survey.