Struggling doctors are cutting hours to safeguard their wellbeing, the General Medical Council (GMC) has warned.

The regulator said in a report that years of worsening levels of satisfaction and burnout are leading doctors to "take matters into their own hands" to improve their wellbeing and reduce potential risk to patient care.

The report found that higher proportions of doctors are reducing their hours (19 per cent in 2023 compared with eight per cent in 2021) and declining to take on additional work (41 per cent in 2023 compared with 23 per cent in 2021).

Such moves can help safeguard patient care, for example by doctors not working additional hours if they are already exhausted. But the GMC warned that, if the trend continues unaddressed, the capacity of already stretched health services could be reduced even more, putting patients at risk. 

Charlie Massey, chief executive of the GMC said the data shows that "more doctors are now taking matters into their own hands, not just to protect their own health and wellbeing, but that of their patients as well."

He said: "For many, this will often be the only responsible course to deliver safe care. But this action comes with risks.

"We must be clear that doctors protecting their wellbeing is essential, but they shouldn’t feel their only option is to reduce their working hours. This presents challenges in capacity planning, adding further pressure to services that are already stretched."

According to the latest data, one in three doctors were found to be ‘struggling’, meaning they are regularly working beyond their rostered hours and feeling unable to cope with their workload.

Almost a quarter of doctors took a leave of absence due to stress in the previous year which is up by five per cent up from 2021.

The GMC added that high proportions of doctors saying they are ‘struggling’ presents risks to patients and the workforce.

Concerning patterns are seen across all groups, however some fare worse than others. Nearly half of GPs are struggling and consistently have worse experiences than others since the report began in 2019.

And disabled doctors also continue to report worse experiences than those without, being more likely to be dissatisfied in their work and consider retiring early.