A survey carried out by Dundee University researchers – commissioned by NHS employers, the British Medical Association, and the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and Faculties in Scotland – found many were planning to retire between two and eight years early, with others planning to reduce their working hours gradually. Just 22 per cent said they expected to work their full hours until retirement age.

The main reason doctors gave was the pension taxation regime, which Chancellor Jeremy Hunt recently sought to address by abolishing the £1.07 million cap on private pension pots and increasing the annual tax-free allowance. While this may have removed one incentive to retire early, the second biggest reason was dissatisfaction with the NHS.

Professor Graeme Martin said their research found “a strong sense of disillusionment with [doctors’] organisational and NHS leaders, declining engagement with work and its sense of moral purpose” and “evidence of burnout”. Their survey was “more worrying” than previous work in this area because it found many doctors felt “their work lacks the meaning it once held for them”.

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