I have worked for and with a fair few GPs as a nurse. Dont envy their job and totally get the burn out. But theyre not the only part of the health service suffering. I worked in the community during Covid and honestly GPs didnt cover themselves in glory.
I have to say I would NEVER be employed directly by a Gp. I got to the stage where i left jobs because of the lack of respect for a fellow professional and I am certainly not alone. While Gp pay may not have increased it is still a good wage but few GPs invest in their staff or feel they should be paid a fair wage or increment for upskilling and taking on greater responsibility.
I know a GP nurse practitioner who is nose to the ground all day taking all the 'minor' calls, she is a prescriber, when she doesnt do that she is the Diabetes /asthma/ smear nurse. Anytime I have had to deal with her about a patient she is barely able to get a cup of tea.
Another practice nurse I know left her surgery because despite all the speciality training she had, the GPs didnt want to give her incremental pay increases in line with her skills and knowledge. Didnt mind asking her to go over and above though.
There are ways of helping to manage the influx but some GPs dont want to pay to do it.
For others interested to know and thinking they only need to see their gp, I needed to go to my surgery recently due to concerns with arm numbness/pain, saw the nurse Practitioner, first time I've had an actual physical exam in many years, much more thorough. My brother in law ex Gp by about 5 years, now early 60s, had some (post viral) cardiac issues, he was horrified by the lack of physical exam/assessment.
The system is definitely broken, the patients that aren't seen by the gp go to a+e or are redirected to a+e by gp services. Every strand of clinical services is buckling. There are unreasonable expectations and impossible targets, unfortunately it isnt a paper exercise it is peoples lives and health.