Training doctors on maternity wards are reporting high rates of burnout that could have a "critical impact" on patients, the General Medical Council warned, the BBC reported. The fully qualified doctors who are still training in obstetrics and gynaecology reported more overwork and sleep deprivation than similar trainees in any other field of medicine or surgery, and they were more wary of escalating concerns.
The GMC analysed its 2026 national training survey, completed by 68 percent of trainee doctors, including registrars, representing almost 52,000 people. Almost one in three maternity trainees felt hesitant or apprehensive about approaching a senior colleague about a patient, compared with one in five across all specialties. They were also more likely to be at moderate to high risk of burnout, 70 percent versus 61 percent across all specialties. One in three said they regularly suffered from sleep deprivation, compared with one in five of trainees overall.
Charlie Massey, head of the GMC, said doctors who feel they cannot speak up could have a critical impact on patients. "Creating environments where staff are supported, listened to and feel able to raise concerns is essential." He told the BBC: "Sadly, when we see when things go wrong, it is it is very often because of failures in terms of culture and leadership."
Author Adam Kay, who left medicine in 2010 after a traumatic birth and later wrote "This is Going to Hurt," told the BBC the report "makes for miserable reading" and that "nothing has been done" to improve workplace culture. He said he was not well supported after caring for a mother who delivered a stillborn baby. "There was no talk of a debrief. There was no offer of time off or counselling. It's just, you know, get on with it."
The Department of Health and Social Care said ensuring every maternity unit "meets the highest standards" was a priority. It pointed to a record number of midwives in the NHS, with more than 600 added in the past year, and to a Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce chaired by the secretary of state. Those are the government's stated steps, not an independent finding that the burnout numbers have improved. The GMC's warning is about culture, sleep, and whether trainees will raise concerns, and it is based on this year's training survey.
The GMC's concern is not only tired doctors. It is that almost a third of maternity trainees hesitate to approach a senior about a patient. Massey tied that culture problem to how things go wrong. Kay's account of a stillbirth with no debrief is older, from before 2010, but he said the new numbers look painfully familiar. The department's reply lists more midwives and a taskforce; it does not dispute the survey figures. The 70 percent burnout-risk figure, the sleep numbers, and the hesitation to speak up are the findings the regulator is putting on the record.