About the survey and key findings
We invited RCPCH members aged 55 years and over for whom our records show are working as a consultant paediatrician or SAS doctor in the UK to complete our survey in spring 2026.
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- Background
There is an overwhelming need to retain experienced senior doctors to ensure high-quality service and to support newly qualified and resident doctors. However, as paediatricians enter the latter part of their career, workload and in particular out of hours working need to be accommodated, both at the individual, and more critically, the departmental level.
To understand the way in which the latter stages of senior paediatricians’ careers can impact service provided, it is necessary to characterise later career workload allowing both changes in day to day working and retirement intentions to be factored into future work and succession planning at both a local and national level.
In spring 2026, the College conducted a snapshot survey of UK consultant paediatricians and SAS doctors aged 55 years plus gathering information. We explored out-of-hours working, non-clinical alongside the extent to which individuals have begun to, or are planning to, make changes to their workload and retirement intentions.
- Key findings
- Fifty-six percent of senior paediatricians aged 55 years plus were working out of hours (OOH) mainly as Category A NROC (non-resident on-call).
- Seventy-two percent of those working full time performed OOH duties, compared to 34% working less than full time (LTFT).
- Forty-four percent had stopped working OOH mainly due to intensity of work and wellbeing, while 23% had reduced their OOH working.
- Confidence in newly appointed consultants to manage OOH was significantly higher than confidence in ST6/ST7 resident doctors.
- Over half of respondents were working 10 Professional Activities (PAs) or more, with the average number of PAs as 11 for those working full time and seven for LTFT.
- Half of respondents had reduced the number of PAs they worked, primarily in terms of clinical care.
- The majority of respondents were working one to two PAs as managers and/or in education.
- Thirty-five percent plan to retire within the next one to three years, with 31% plan to retire in three to five years.
Conclusions
Reduced PAs and plans for full retirement within the next three years suggests a significant impact on both service delivery and supervision/training of the future paediatric workforce.
Workforce plans need to urgently consider the impact on delivery of acute services as well as essential non-clinical roles including training, supervision, research and strategic development of clinical services.
Wellbeing and job satisfaction need to be addressed to ensure paediatrics remains an attractive career path, with consideration to team job planning to support the changing workplans of senior paediatricians.
Recommendations
- 1. Workforce planning and new ways of working
- Use data on turnover, flexible working and service demands to guide strategic discussions at least six to twelve months ahead of any potential workplan or personnel changes
- Take a team-based approach to job planning and consider the wider workforce ensuring roles are complementary with policies and processes clearly defined
- Embed non-clinical and voluntary roles undertaken by senior doctors in to job planning
- 2. Flexible working for senior doctors
- Promote and support options for flexible working including reduced or no on-call/out-of-hours responsibilities, job sharing, annualised hours contract and remote working
- Consider alternatives to on-call working including evening and weekend elective clinical sessions
- Consider skill mix across the broader multi-disciplinary team
- 3. Retirement conversations
- Hold conversations around retirement early enough to help senior paediatricians plan and consider their options
- Identify senior paediatricians most likely to leave and discuss possible options between the individual, team, and employer to support retention
- Ensure support for later-career doctors is communicated and provide formal information for doctors nearing retirement
- 4. Flexible retirement
- Have a clear and accessible policy on flexible retirement
- Support senior doctors to reduce pensionable pay by 10%, without reducing hours/ programmed activities
- Signpost doctors in late-stage career to financial advice and provide access to information to help raise awareness around pension taxation
- 5. Support health and wellbeing
- Optimise health and wellbeing, offering proactive and confidential occupational health support