GP stress and patient dissatisfaction with nights on call: an exploratory study - GP stress and patient satisfaction

Abstract

Objectives - To compare the relative effects of being on or off duty at night on general practitioners' (GPs') levels of stress, and the satisfaction of their patients with daytime consultations surrounding these nights. Design - A within-subjects, counterbalanced design was used. Two ''on-call'' and two ''off-duty'' nights were studied per GP over 4 weeks. Setting - Primary health care in the UK. Participants - 26 GPs and their patients seen in consultations either side of nights studied. Main outcome measures - GPs completed validated stress questionnaires at the beginning and end of the consultation sessions immediately before and after nights on call and off duty. Results ? GPs experienced elevated levels of stress when on call, compared to when they were off duty. Patients seen in the consultation sessions before and after a night on call were less satisfied than patients seen before and after a night off duty. Conclusion ? Being on call at night raised GP stress levels from at least the start of the afternoon consultation session before until the end of the morning consultation after the night on call. Daytime patient satisfaction is also reduced in periods surrounding nights on call.