General practice nurses (GPNs) have described the ‘constant pressure’ and sometimes unsafe conditions they are working under to meet increasing demands, as part of an exclusive Nursing in Practice survey.
Some 97% of general practice nursing staff told us their workload was ‘very’ or ‘somewhat intense’ during a survey carried out towards the end of 2024.
Busy workloads have also meant that, on average, GPNs are working 3.5 hours above their contracted requirements per week, our survey of more than 500 general practice nursing staff found.
One GPN responding to our survey said: ‘Practice nursing has become relentless. We have little or no say in our list size and at times I feel we work unsafely with no support from GP.’
An enhanced level practice nurse described their workload as ‘constant pressure without let up’, while a nurse team lead said: ‘Conditions in primary care continue to get worse.’
The team lead added: ‘Patients expectations are through the roof, and I find a lot of my job is engaged in managing expectations. Would not recommend nursing as a career to anyone.’
| How would you describe your workload? | |
| Very intense | 40% |
| Somewhat intense | 57% |
| Not intense at all | 2% |
| Don’t know/would rather not say | 1% |
| Answered | 510 |
Other general practice nursing staff responding to our survey said workload was ‘increasing every year’ and that they were seeing more patients but with no extra staff.
One added: ‘The role of practice nurses has massively changed in the last five years or so.
‘We have taken on loads more responsibility, manage very complex cases, deal with almost all of the chronic disease management… and yet our pay and terms and conditions are dreadful in comparison [to secondary care].
‘We are incredibly passionate and have gone above and beyond with all the immunisation programmes, but I honestly think things have got to change now.’
As previously reported, our survey revealed several concerns over the issue of pay and how in many ways this was connected to nursing staff wanting to walk away from general practice altogether.
Our findings showed that half of general practice nursing staff across the UK had not yet received a pay rise for 2024/25.
Responding to our survey results, nurse educator and Queen’s Nurse in Bromley, Rebecca Corneck, said: ‘I agree the GPN workload is very intense and often we go over and above for our patients, often seeing them in their lunch break or at the end of the shift, all to support the practice in delivering good quality care to their patients’ population.’
Though she added that the workload of a GPN was sometimes ‘hard to quantify and prove as so much is done in each consultation which generates admin and extra work on top’.
‘GPN shift pattern is not done in sessions – it is normally done with AM and PM shifts, leaving often little gap to catch up and have a break before the afternoon session.’
This survey was open from 20 September until 18 October 2024, collating responses using the SurveyMonkey tool. A total of 510 general practice nursing staff responded to these questions from across the UK, with the majority within England. The survey was advertised to our readers via our website and email newsletter, with a prize draw for £100 vouchers as an incentive to complete the survey. The survey was unweighted, and we do not claim this to be scientific – only a snapshot.
