TY - JOUR T1 - The future of general practice: brave new dawn or dark skies ahead? JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 4 LP - 5 DO - 10.3399/bjgp17X693953 VL - 68 IS - 666 AU - Aniket Sonsale AU - Tim Thorne AU - Rahul Kalia AU - Savita Ghattaora AU - Daniel Hawkes Y1 - 2018/01/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/68/666/4.abstract N2 - With the changing economics of financing the healthcare system of the UK, the future direction of primary care remains cloudy and uncertain. GPs, as fundholders and key CCG stakeholders, will need to make decisions within an increasing resource-scare NHS. Yet the workforce demographics are shifting. The GP workforce in the UK consists of a rapidly growing proportion of salaried GPs who are not in partnership roles; this number has risen over 10-fold since 1999 to around 28%.1 Different authors have cited different reasons for this change, but common ones include feminisation of the workforce, younger professionals seeking flexibility, and wariness surrounding the future uncertainty of independent contractor status due to wider shifts in the medico-political landscape. It remains to be seen whether these changes will represent a bright new future or the gloomy demise of primary care.Looking more closely at the issue of increasing salaried GPs from the current perspective of doctors, Dale et al conducted a rigorous mixed-methods survey and statistical analysis, which found that partners were more likely than salaried GPs to cite a heavy workload as a reason for wanting to leave the profession.2 Furthermore, ever-rising levels of administration and perceived bureaucracy were highlighted as key factors contributing to this workload. It seems that these are significant issues for GP partners and may … ER -