More than half of GPNs report working while feeling mentally unwell, finds survey

More than half (54%) of nurses working in GP practices report they have had to work while feeling mentally unwell in the last year, a Nursing in Practice survey has found.

Of those, 14% say this has happened ‘often’ – with practice nurses citing concerns around the impact on patients and colleagues if they take a day off sick, as well as pay pressures.

The findings come within the General practice nurse pay: A salary survey of the profession 2026 report, based on a survey of almost 900 nurses in general practice, carried out by Nursing in Practice in February.

It showed that in the last 12 months, some 54% of respondents said they had to work while feeling mentally unwell – including 40% who said they had done so ‘occasionally’ and 14% who said this had happened ‘often’.

General practice nurses (GPNs) informing the report said they were conscious of the impact of them taking a day off sick on their patients and colleagues.

One practice nurse said: ‘I have a great awareness of the number of people I would inconvenience if I were not able to work. I am sick only if I can’t possibly work.’

Another described working while mentally unwell ‘due to the demand of the service’ they were working in.

The report, which also highlights poor maternity pay and sick pay conditions for GPNs, also heard from nurses who said they returned to work early from maternity leave – before feeling ‘mentally ready’ or when ‘mentally exhausted’ – because of concerns over pay.

Nurses were asked if they felt they had access to appropriate mental health support and resources in the workplace. Almost half (49%) feel they do have appropriate access, though only one in 10 (10%) say they have used it, either ‘regularly’ or ‘sometimes’.

However, around one in five (22%) said they did not have access to good mental health support, and stressed that they would use it if it was provided. A further 23% said they do not have appropriate access but also do not feel they need it.

In terms of the different types of support available for those who have access to it, nurses said the most common method provided by the workplace was online/telephone access to helplines or counselling (24%), followed by signposting to NHS resources (23%) and access to an app or digital tool (23%).
Some 13% reported having access to face-to-face or in-person support, while 12% said they have an employee assistance programme if needed.

More widely, the report revealed that nurses working in general practice are earning thousands of pounds less than their hospital colleagues, and that more than a third of GPNs went without a pay rise for 2025/26.

In a foreword to the report, executive director of Royal College of Nursing (RCN) England, Patricia Marquis, said practice nurses ‘remain central’ to the success of general practice.

‘They are working under immense pressure with a growing demand that is not keeping up with the staff needed,’ she wrote.

Ms Marquis added: ‘Nursing staff are a constant presence in every general practice operation, but they continue to be left behind when it comes to pay.’