Seven in 10 GPs in UK suffer from compassion fatigue, survey finds

Seven in 10 GPs suffer from compassion fatigue and struggle to empathise with patients because they are worn out from caring for them, a survey has found.

Family doctors say they are so emotionally and physically exhausted from hearing about patients’ problems and circumstances that it is compromising the quality of care they provide.

A poll of 1,855 doctors across the UK found that 71% of GPs and 62% of medics overall have experienced compassion fatigue, which undermines the doctor-patient relationship.

“Compassion fatigue is effectively a hidden, secondary trauma with symptoms that can ultimately make it extraordinarily difficult for family doctors to treat their patients,” said Dr John Holden, the chief medical officer at the Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland (MDDUS), which undertook the survey.

GPs are “particularly vulnerable” to the syndrome because of their “prolonged exposure to patients’ suffering and trauma”, and their heavy workloads because the NHS is overloaded, he said.

Holden added: “The extent of compassion fatigue being suffered across all doctors is shocking but the impact on GPs is markedly more pronounced.”

Doctors being too exhausted to provide compassionate care “inevitably has an impact upon patient safety”, he said.

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Source: The Guardian, 2 January 2025