Support for child health workforce needed after GMC says nearly 20% of paediatric trainees are at high risk of burnout

Data published by the GMC on 25 July 2024 shows that paediatric trainees are reporting the third heaviest workload of all specialties for doctors in training, and that nearly 20% of trainees are at real risk of burnout.
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The General Medical Council’s survey of all doctors in training and the paediatricians who train them came out on 25 July 2024. It had over 74,000 responses. Worryingly, the data from paediatric trainees showed that: 

  • 19% of paediatric trainees are at high risk of burnout
  • 12% of paediatric trainers are at high risk of burnout  
  • 51% of paediatric trainees rated the intensity of their workload as very heavy or heavy
  • A year-on-year reduction in the number of paediatric trainees that said, “In this post I am given opportunities to develop my leadership skills relevant for my stage of training.”

As part of its wider report, the GMC has called for more trainer capacity and notes that plans for the workforce could fail without wider support for trainers. Further information can be found on the GMC’s data portal and overarching report. 

Professor Steve Turner, President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said:

"To see that nearly 20% of our trainees are at real risk of burnout is a huge worry for these trainees, their patients and the wider provision of paediatric services.

Trainees are the backbone of our current paediatric workforce and will be its future consultants.  

"It is immensely disappointing that we have come to this point.  For many years, as a College we have been highlighting to Government the ever-increasing strain that our members face when trying to deliver care to patients.  Our trainees are key to all aspects of child health services and these results  are an inevitable outcome of constantly bearing the brunt of the rising and heavy workload all of our members face.

"We are already experiencing gaps in trainee rotas on paediatric services across all the countries of the UK and these workforce issues are being felt directly by children and young people in waiting lists, as well as by other paediatricians who have to fill in these gaps, usually at very short notice. 

"We are delighted that the new UK Labour Government has listened to our calls for a focus on child health, through their Child Health Action Plan and related missions across prevention and wellbeing. In order to meet these ambitious and very welcome goals, there has to be support for the child health workforce. If the Government is serious about creating the healthiest generation of children and young people than ever across all four nations, they must immediately turn their attention to child health workforce planning. 

"In England, the present NHS Long Term Workforce Plan has ignored child health entirely. Adult nurses have increased by 92% whilst the rise in child health nursing is 0%. There has been no discussion about the wider child health workforce, including paediatricians.  We need an evidence based, sustainable, long term child health workforce plan rolled out as soon as possible, which includes a focus on making all paediatricians thrive."

As a College we will be engaging with the new Government to call for this change at every opportunity, including through the upcoming Lord Darzi review and 10 year NHS productivity plan.  

Dr Emma Dyer, Chair of the Trainees Committee said: 

"As Chair of the Trainees Committee, I am deeply concerned by these statistics. Our future paediatric workforce is dependent on the support we provide to trainers and trainees now. This is not a conversation to kick down the road. The RCPCH Training Charter outlines what the College expects from every training unit in the UK, but there are clear challenges for deaneries and system leaders in an overstretched NHS. 

We recognise the incredible hard work from all our members to maintain patient care and their commitment to trainees and to training, but the GMC survey shows that the system is heading towards breaking point.

"Paediatric services need urgent support from government if we are to help our paediatricians to thrive. 

"If any paediatric trainees or trainers are experiencing these issues, remember you are not alone. Talk to your teams locally, and please do look through the College’s wellbeing resource pages – there is also a link to a range of support tools."

Other College content and activities for members

For trainees: RCPCH Progress+ domain resources: Leadership and team working - this is a support tool for the Progress + domain on leadership. It contains the principles, approaches and techniques of leadership - both in supervising others and working as part of a team.

For trainers: The soon to be re-released Paediatrician of the Future resource also provides guidance on how Paediatric doctors in training can hone their leadership skills, encouraging inter-professional and inter-disciplinary work across a range of teams within both primary and secondary care (including social care) environments. 

Further information for journalists 

You can find out more information about our work to call on Governments around the UK to take action to support the workforce on the nations pages of this website and public affairs pages.

You will also find links to our workforce evidence library, and our waiting times reports for ScotlandWales and Northern Ireland on our website. These show the impact of devaluing the workforce and call for specific scoping of gaps, setting of projections and support for the paediatric workforce across our devolved nations.