Dr. Diarmuid Quinlan:

Dr. Crowley and Dr. Farrell have addressed some of the issues. With regard to burnout, we know that 40% of GPs have had great difficulty in securing a locum for sickness or holiday leave in the past two years. This is a substantial driver of personal burnout. Very good research from Ireland shows that for every two hours a GP consults patients, a further hidden one hour of non-patient-facing work is generated, including reading letters, writing referral letters, managing blood test results and making phone calls to hospitals and patients. There is a substantial hidden workload. My door seems to close at 6 p.m. but I will be there until 7.30 p.m. or 8 p.m. doing this hidden work. These are factors that contribute to the pressure in general practice.