How Locum Agencies Can Help To Fill the Gaps in Out-of-Hours GP Rotas

Due to the growing GP recruitment crisis, as many as 60% of out of hours healthcare providers are struggling to fill empty spaces in their GP rotas.  As they are failing to fill shifts, many out-of-hours providers are also failing to meet national quality requirements.

In light of the increased ‘in-hours’ workloads of GPs, combined with the rising costs of indemnity insurance, the recruitment of out-of-hours GPs is becoming progressively more difficult. Many GPs are simply too tired from their normal working hours to accept extra out-of-hours shifts, whilst even finding agency staff to cover these shifts is becoming difficult.

Due to indemnity fees spiralling almost constantly upwards over the past 2 years, for many doctors, out-of-hours shifts are simply not financially feasible. If GPs are to work 30 out-of-hours sessions a year, if they are to work anymore shifts, they must work for nothing until they achieve 50 out-of-hours sessions just to be able to pay the indemnity premium. This has become a huge problem, as it is actually costing doctors to work out-of-hours.

For many GPs, in addition to the financial implications of working out-of-hours sessions, they are simply too tired to commit to working further hours after a long day’s work. With the huge workloads of many practices, and the sheer volumes of patients and paperwork that they must face every day, doctors don’t want to work as out-of-hours GPs as they will not be able to provide the high quality of care that patients are entitled to.

One the main problems facing many providers of out-of-hours healthcare is that they prefer to employ locally based GPs with a familiarity for local health services in a particular area, however, fewer and fewer GPs are interested in working out of hours. They must therefore turn to locum healthcare providers.

Locum agencies are able to find the right candidates to match each particular GP placement. Some locum GP candidates may prefer to work out-of-hours shifts as they allow them to be more flexible. Due to the high wages paid by locum agencies, the financial implications of working out-of-hours are less for locum GPs. Locum Select, a specialist locum healthcare recruitment agency based in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, are one of the highest payers for out-of-hours shifts.

If you would like to find out more about the GP locum service provided by Locum Select, whether you are a GP looking for out of hours locum work or you are a healthcare provider with temporary vacancies, feel free to telephone Locum Select on 0121 308 5125 or visit the Locum Select website.

Are GPs At Breaking Point? How New Reforms Are Affecting GP Practices

Due to financial cutbacks, considerable numbers of patients could be without a family doctor within the next few years, as many surgeries are faced with possible closure. It has become commonplace in some GP practices for patients to regularly have to wait for up to two weeks just to see a GP for a routine consultation.

Due to further cutbacks that were put into action in April, the British Medical Association warns that up to 100 GP practices could face closure in as little as a few years. Many practices are no longer able to provide the level of care that patients need, with some GPs seeing around 60 patients a day. When considering the calls that GPs must make and take, the paper work that they must complete as well as home visits to patients that are not capable of making their way to the surgery, this leaves GPs no longer than 10 minutes to spend with each patient.

Some GPs have faced such pressure from government cutbacks that they have been forced to make their boundaries smaller, leaving patients from outside these boundaries to find a new GP. However, for some patients, it is not a simple task to find another local practice that can take on new patients, as a neighbouring practice may be in a similar situation where their books are too full for them to be able to take on new patients.

For some people living in rural communities, their local GP surgery closing or shrinking its boundaries could leave them having to travel quite a distance to visit a doctor, and for some patients, this may not be possible.

With a growing population, and people generally living longer, patient demand is increasing and a lot of GPs are feeling considerable strain as their patient load and work load continues to increase. This has led to larger numbers of GPs deciding to retire early, or ever increasingly, working as locum doctors, whilst some young doctors decide against general practice altogether, preferring to work in hospitals and other healthcare facilities.

Locum GPs can benefit from flexibility in their schedules, as they can choose work placements that last anywhere between just a few days or a number of months. One of the key advantages that locum GPs can have is that they are able to take longer leaves of absence, allowing them to relax for longer periods of time, unlike fulltime GPs who cannot take long periods of annual leave at a time, and therefore, often can’t find enough time to fully unwind.

With pressure building on General Practices, it is likely that GPs will need to take leaves of absence to cope with the strains of their job. In this case, practices would be required to hire a locum GP in their place whilst they are away.

To find out more about locum healthcare, you can visit the Locum Select website.  

Hay Fever Is On The Rise, But Is It Worth A Visit To Your GP?

GP Online have reported recently that the number of hay fever sufferers who have visited their GP over the last couple of weeks has doubled since the same time last year.  But how will GP practices cope, and do you really need to visit a GP if you are suffering from hay fever?

Any kind of epidemic or seasonal illness such as the Norovirus and hay fever will inevitably increase pressure on a GP practice.  Whilst many patients have a genuine need to see a doctor, many may find that they can relieve their symptoms by speaking to a pharmacist and taking over the counter medicines.  In the case of highly contagious infections such as the Norovirus, it is usually recommended that patients in fact stay away from their local GP practice, so as to prevent the infection from spreading.

To cope with the increased demand from patients, GP practices are turning to using GP locum agencies to try to ensure that as many patients are seen as possible within the recommended timescales.  Some practices may just need to hire GP locums for a couple of weeks to cover extremely busy periods, but as the summer approaches, many GPs will inevitably be wishing to take annual leave.  This leaves a number of appointments which are needed to be covered, so if you need to visit your GP this summer, you may find that you will be seen by a locum.

Hay fever is caused by a person having an allergic reaction to pollen, and different types of pollen are prevalent at different times of the year.  Mid-June does seem to see the peak of hay fever due to the types of pollen which are in the atmosphere, and weather forecasters have stated that the pollen count has been slightly higher than usual for June 2014. 

Common symptoms of hay fever include sneezing, runny or blocked nose, itchy eyes, throat and ears plus a cough.  Persistent symptoms can make you feel miserable and become cumbersome, but if possible it’s best to keep away from the GP’s surgery and instead persevere with over the counter remedies until the pollen levels begin to die down.

Further details about locum GPs can be found at the Locum Select website.

Diabetes Week Set To Run 8-14 June 2014

Here at Locum Select we are helping to raise awareness of Diabetes Week which is running from 8 to 14 June 2014.  The aim of the week is to raise awareness of diabetes and increase fundraising to allow further research into the condition.  Social media networks will no doubt be full of Tweets and Facebook posts about different fundraising activities which are planned up and down the country, and diabetes charities are also using the week to promote various products which have been designed to make the lives of diabetes patients much easier.

Diabetes is a common condition amongst people within the UK, and the number of people being diagnosed is unfortunately increasing year on year.  Figures from a report by Diabetes UK show that back in 1996 there were reported to be 1.4 million diabetes patients within the UK, but this looks set to increase to over 4 million people by 2025.  This is going to have a huge impact on the health of the population and will also cost the NHS an alarming amount of money. 

There are two main types of diabetes – Type 1 and Type 2.  Type 1 affects just 10% of patients and is usually diagnosed before the patient reaches the age of 40.  The patient is unable to naturally produce insulin, a hormone which helps glucose to enter cells where it can then be used by the body as fuel.  Patients who develop Type 2 diabetes can produce a small amount of insulin, but it may not be enough to work effectively.  Type 2 diabetes often develops as a result of genes, diet and lifestyle choices.

It is highly important that people are educated on the risks of diabetes, plus how they can change their lifestyle so as to manage and perhaps reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.  Type 2 diabetes often develops if a patient is overweight and under-active, there is a history of diabetes within the family, the patient smokes and if they have poor blood pressure control.

Type 2 diabetes can often be controlled by making changes to the diet and lifestyle, though many patients will need to take medication to control their insulin levels.  Increasing the awareness of diabetes can help patients to manage their condition in order to reduce the risk of other serious health conditions developing as a side effect.

At Locum Select we encourage everyone to take responsibility for their own health and lifestyle – eat a balanced, nutritious diet, carry out two or three hours of exercise each week, stop smoking, reduce alcohol intake and be aware of any health concerns.  If a person feels they may be developing symptoms of diabetes, such as needing to urinate more often, increased thirst, extreme tiredness or unexplained weight loss, then it’s vital they see their GP as soon as possible in order to gain the correct diagnoses.

Locum Select are a locum agency providing GPs and nurses to various health practices across the Midlands.  For further details, feel free to visit the website. 

How A Locum GP Might Save Your Life

An article in the news recently caught our eye as it emphasised how a Locum doctor may be better placed to deal with patients and diagnose conditions.  This is not to say anything against a patient’s usual GP, only that it may be a good thing to be presented with a locum when visiting your local surgery.

A Locum GP will have a fresh approach to the situation, asking more questions than the patient’s regular doctor as they have no previous experience of treating the patient and therefore want to make sure they get all the background information necessary.  In the case of Ali Stunt, a former geochemist from Surrey, a Locum doctor was able to make a lifesaving decision, referring Mrs Stunt to a pancreatic surgeon who diagnosed a 5cm cancerous tumour on the pancreas.  Three previous visits to her GP practice had resulted in the wrong diagnosis of IBS and stomach irritation.

Mrs Stunt said:

‘You hear so many negative things about locums missing things — but I think the fact that I was seen by someone who was looking at me through a fresh pair of eyes, and who was perhaps more up-to-date in their knowledge, saved my life.’

A quarter of the workforce is made up of Locums and it is great to hear the positive side of seeing a doctor who may not be your usual GP but who is just as capable, if not more so, of dealing with your concerns.

You can read the full article in the Daily Mail. 

To find out more about the service provided by Locum Select, feel free to visit the website.

How Has The Role Of The GP Changed Since The Launch Of The NHS?

When the NHS was set up back in 1948, the role of the GP was slightly different to how it is now.  In the early years, the GP would have usually worked at a small practice with perhaps just one other doctor, and they would have been responsible for providing a gateway for patients to further specialist medical care.  As well as treating patients within the surgery, the GP would have also been expected to carry out home visits after surgery as well as being on call to deal with emergencies during the night. 

The GPs may well have stayed at the same practice for the duration of their career.  They were often able to build up good relationships with their patients as they were usually the GP for the whole family.  However, this high workload often meant that many GPs worked under considerable pressure and had little support.  The 1960s saw GPs being issued with maximum patient lists of 2,000 patients, and measures were put into place to hire support staff and improve the accessibility of professional education resources.

GP fundholding changed again in the 1990s, as the government wanted to provide an incentive for GPs to become more involved with the wider health system.  GPs were able to commission services on their patient’s behalf and performance related pay was bought in to motivate the healthcare specialists. 

Changes to the NHS in the 2000s meant GPs were required to register and adhere to further quality care standards, meaning that more and more time was required to spend on meeting objectives and completing paperwork.  Whilst many GPs felt this could have a negative impact on the amount of time they can spend with each patient, having procedures and systems in place should mean that budgets can be managed more effectively and high standards should be met at all times.

Whilst the day to day role of the GP may have changed significantly since the 1940s as a result of the introduction of quality and standards reviews, the ultimate role of an NHS GP is still the same.  This is to provide a first point of call for patients so as to identify and treat common health conditions, plus referring patients to the relevant secondary healthcare providers.

Whilst many GPs choose to work in a permanent role, others may prefer to practice as a locum GP.  Further details regarding working as a locum GP or how to register as a locum can be found at the Locum Select website.

GP Partners Must Think Like Business Managers To Help Practices Succeed

Does the modern day General Practice partner need a business head to succeed or can practices rely solely on clinical excellence?

GP partners have additional responsibilities beyond seeing patients and completing paperwork, for example they will be charged with managing budgets and given responsibility over staff.  In the GP practice their role is vital but is this role becoming more managerial than clinical?  

Recent NHS reforms overhauled the system with the aim of tackling issues such as an ageing population, the cost of new treatments and the expectations of what a health service should deliver.  Despite the scale of this transformation many GP practices are finding it hard to balance income squeezes with rising costs.

General practice funding has been decreasing year on year for some time now but the GP contract changes imposed recently by the Department of Health, which removed £164m in funding from the organisational domain and introduced new indicators recommended by NICE, had a huge impact on many general practices. 

Whilst expenses are continuing to rise, GPs practices are facing a decrease in income, which has led to cash flow issues for many small practices.  Add to this the fact that many GP partners have had a significant pay squeeze to bring their pay in line with salaried GPs, despite their larger workload and you can start to see why GP partners must now assume the role of business manager.

The GP partner will be involved on a day to day basis with managing the budget of the practice and deciding where to allocate funds.  In the light of the recent reforms, this practice management needs to evolve and change for the practice to thrive.  There are new opportunities out there and practices need to look outside the primary care box and seek collaborative partnerships in order to develop their income. 

Practices will undoubtedly look to their GP partners for this business orientation, so GP partners must be prepared and put their very best business head on if they are to help their practice succeed.  Some practices have been setting an example by merging with other practices to share costs such as training and accountancy to take advantage of supplier discounts, where others have been going back to the drawing board and developing business plans and strategies that will help them reach their goals.

It seems the clinically led practice must now take a back seat as the GP partner assumes the role of business leader.  Practice managers and GP partners will need to work together to develop their own business skills and embrace this fast-changing world or they will surely get left behind. 

GPs may be interested to find out about working as a locum, further details can be found at the Locum Select website.