Manpower survey: The manpower crisis in general practice is set to worsen, according to research into the retirement plans of family doctors.
A study of 223 GPs working in the medical card scheme in counties Galway, Mayo and Roscommon has found almost 60 per cent of them want to retire before the contractual retirement age of 65. One in five respondents plan to retire before they reach 60, with a significant number of female GPs wishing to hang up their stethoscopes before they reach 55. A majority of those surveyed were aged over 50.
Dr Ronan O' Connor of Tuam, a graduate of the Western GP training scheme, Dr John Keane of Westport and Dr Maureen Kelly of the Department of General Practice at the National University of Ireland, Galway, carried out the research in 2004 to determine the effect of early retirement on manpower needs.
They were responding to growing concerns of an imminent manpower crisis in general practice and evidence from the UK that GPs there are retiring earlier. A Scottish study found that 71 per cent of GPs planned to retire before the age of 60. Previous research in 2003 had found that a majority of family doctors working in the medical card scheme here are over 50 years of age.
Experts have predicted a shortfall of general practitioners due to the feminisation of medicine, an increasing population of patients and a shift in workload from hospitals to primary care. Up to seven in every 10 places in general practice training schemes are now filled by female doctors.
This latest study asked GPs to list the factors that might entice them to consider later retirement. Some 33 per cent said having no on-call commitments would help, while 26 per cent rated the availability of part-time working hours as a key factor. The authors say the Health Service Executive (HSE) must consider making the General Medical Services (GMS) scheme contract more flexible if older doctors are to remain in the health service.
Male doctors rated potential ill-health, financial security and job stress as the main reasons why they wished to retire early. Potential ill-health was the commonest reason cited by female GPs, while family commitments and a lack of job satisfaction were other important factors prompting early retirement.
The study also found that 54 per cent of GPs are in single-handed practice. The early retirement of a single-handed practitioner is likely to have an especially negative impact on patients living in rural areas.
"Female GPs in general would prefer to retire earlier; this corresponds with other studies in the UK. With a higher population of younger GPs and trainee GPs being female, this could have dramatic implications in the future," the authors state.
Lead author of the study, Dr Ronan O' Connor, said: "It is a waste of valuable experience if people retire early and abruptly. Many doctors are increasingly healthy at age 65. We must work out what factors would help retain these GPs in the workforce."