BURNOUT

Triaging used to be a term we associated with hospitals. On television, it’s the stuff of high drama – think the flatlining “code red” patient surrounded by desperate scrubs-clad doctors and nurses sprinting alongside as the gurney thumps through the swing doors of the emergency department past a waiting room of the walking wounded and worried well.

Now, as New Zealand faces an escalating shortage of doctors in primary care, it’s a term with which general practitioners are increasingly familiar as they struggle to cope with the demand for their care. It’s turning the traditional GP booking model – first in, first served – on its head, as overworked doctors try to ensure those who need them most are seen first, while others are forced to either wait longer for appointments or consult another health worker such as a nurse.

For GPs, 2020 was not only the year of Covid, but also the year of burnout. When the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (RNZCGP) put its thermometer under the tongue of more than 3000 GPs last August and September in its biennial workforce survey, it discovered a widespread fever.

The alarming symptoms of the malaise included these statistics:

■ Nearly a third of GPs (31%) rated themselves as “high” on the burnout scale – up from 26% in 2018.
■ Those reporting high burnout were more likely to be aged between 40 and 64, a practice owner or partner and working full-time.
■ 2020 was the first time the number of part-time GPs exceeded full-timers.
■ Almost a third of those questioned intend to retire within five years; almost half intend to do so within 10.

The sickness is compounded by a generational change, which has seen younger GPs working fewer hours as they balance work and parenting duties, a population that’s getting older and sicker,