GMC warns burned-out maternity trainees raise patient safety fears

Almost one in three obstetrics and gynaecology trainees said they felt hesitant or apprehensive about approaching a senior colleague over a patient, compared with one in five across all specialties. The GMC's national training survey, completed by 68% of trainee doctors including registrars in 2026 — nearly 52,000 people — also found 70% of them at moderate to high risk of burnout, against 61% overall. A third reported regular sleep deprivation, versus a fifth of the wider pool.

Charlie Massey, head of the GMC, said doctors who feel unable to speak up could have a critical impact on patients. Creating workplaces where staff are supported, listened to and able to raise concerns is essential, he said. He told the BBC that when things go wrong in medicine, it is very often down to failures of culture and leadership.

Author Adam Kay, who left medicine in 2010 after a traumatic birth incident, called the report miserable reading and said nothing has been done to fix workplace culture in the 16 years since. He said he received no debrief, no time off and no counselling after caring for a mother who delivered a stillborn baby. Kay also pointed to staffing, saying he can't remember the last doctor in the specialty who wasn't working out a plan B — going part time, moving abroad or leaving for the pharmaceutical industry.

Dr Miriam Broughton, 27, a second-year resident doctor training to become an obstetrics and gynaecology consultant, said the demands are relentless: two or three women needing their babies delivered, a patient on maternity triage whose baby isn't moving, and calls from A&E about a woman bleeding heavily after a miscarriage — all handled by one doctor. She said she wouldn't change her job for the world, but that it's important to look at the wider culture, including stories from other hospitals of people feeling nervous about calling the consultant.

Dr Kat Barton, who chairs the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' National Trainee Committee, said staff feel overstretched and close to burnout because of shortages and working beyond their hours, and that the care women receive is being affected. She called on the government to invest in safe staffing at every level, protect training time and support wellbeing. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said all NHS trusts must now have a dedicated Freedom to Speak Up Guardian, that over 600 midwives have been added in the past year, and that the Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce chaired by the Secretary of State since July is working to ensure every maternity unit meets the highest standards.