Table 1.

Strategies for managing GP workload

Major themeSub-themes
Patient-level strategies

  • Patient education on self-management

  • Charging for services

GP-level strategies

  • Improving the efficiency of the working day

  • Managing patients with multiple agendas

  • Personal coping strategies

  • Taking leave

Practice-level strategies

  • Delegating tasks: clinical and non-clinical staff

  • Telephone appointments

  • Triage

  • Staff recruitment

  • Practice management

Systems-level strategies

  • A need for additional funding

  • Improving recruitment to general practice

  • Reducing bureaucracy

  • Redistributing workload and improving communications with secondary care

  • Federations and hubs