Scottish general practitioners' willingness to take part in a post-retirement retention scheme: questionnaire survey

There is evidence that general practitioners are retiring earlier, 3 4 and we therefore undertook a survey of all unrestricted principals over the age of 55 practising in Scotland, to investigate their intentions for retirement and assess their interest in a retention scheme along the lines of the retainer scheme for general practitioners. 5 Method and results The 15 primary care NHS trusts in Scotland provided the means for contacting all general practitioner principals over the age of 55. Activities No of sessions Total No of respondents Surgeries Visits Admin Teaching Other 1 2 2 1 0 1 0 2 77 76 23 10 29 5 3 80 80 31 17 22 3 4 84 81 43 15 38 7 Total 243 239 98 42 90 15 Other activities indicated by 15 doctors included audit, out of hours work, minor surgery, practice visits, chronic disease management, mentoring, methadone supervision, information technology, hypnosis, and acupuncture.