NEARLY one in five doctors are at high risk of burnout, new figures have revealed, with many in the profession considering leaving Britain because they are “treated better” abroad.

A survey by the General Medical Council revealed widespread concerns over training opportunities, workloads and patient care.

Four out of 10 said that they had witnessed patient safety or care compromised last year, with inadequate staffing, pressure on workloads, and time spent on administration cited as key barriers.

Some 43 per cent told the GMC that they had researched career opportunities in other countries.

Fifteen per cent said that they had taken “hard steps” towards leaving practice in Britain, such as applying for roles overseas or contacting recruiters.

The most common reason given for considering moving abroad was that doctors were “treated better” elsewhere, followed by a desire for higher pay.

One in three said they are unable to progress their education, training and careers in the way they want.  

Factors affecting career growth included high workloads, competition for training posts and a lack of support from management. 

Council chair of the British Medical Association Dr Tom Dolphin said: “We face a bizarre contradiction: we still have near record-high waiting lists and patients are desperate to be seen by doctors, but at the same time able and enthusiastic doctors are forced to consider moving abroad because they see no future in the UK.

“The solutions to this problem are clear: ensure there are enough roles to keep doctors who have put such time and effort into their training here, while ensuring these jobs are supportive and paid well enough to stop the haemorrhaging of UK doctors overseas when patients and the NHS need them most.”

Resident doctors are in a dispute with the government over pay and a lack of places for doctors in training.

Talks between Health Secretary Wes Streeting and the BMA restarted this week following a five day walk-out in July.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson admitted doctors have “legitimate complaints” after years of neglect.

“We want to work with them to address these and improve their working lives, which includes our plans set out in the 10 Year Health Plan to prioritise UK graduates and increase speciality training posts.”