New Drug Drive Laws: What GPs Need to Know

Our roads are now a safer place thanks to the introduction of new drug driving laws.

Since March 2015 it has become illegal to drive with more than a specified amount of some controlled drugs in the blood.  

As the law allows for a medical defence for those taking prescribed medications, GPs need to ensure they understand the new laws so that they can communicate clearly with patients about the impact of taking certain drugs when driving.

At Locum Select we like to keep our doctors up to date with the latest news so here’s our brief rundown of everything GPs need to know about the new laws:

1. Medication Evidence – the first thing GPs need to be aware of is that patients may ask for written confirmation of the drugs they are prescribed, in case they should be stopped by police.  They may also want to know the impact of the medication on their ability to drive.  This shouldn’t change the way medication is prescribed but you will have to ensure that patients have the appropriate information, such as the side effects of the drugs they are taking.
2. Which medication? – there are two groups of medications covered by the new drug drive offence – recreational drugs, which have been set at a low level and licensed medications, for which higher levels are acceptable in the blood stream. Commonly used recreational drugs may include:
   
   • Cannabis
   • Heroin
   • Cocaine
   • Ketamine
   • LSD
   
   Licensed medications covered by the new laws include:
   
   • Benzodiazepines (e.g. clonazepam, oxazepam and diazepam)
   • Methadone
   • Morphine
    
3. Medical Defence – if the police suspect a driver is unfit to drive they can stop them at the roadside to screen saliva for the presence of drugs.  A positive result will most likely lead to blood tests to determine whether drug levels are above the new legal limits.  If the individual is taking medication for therapeutic purposes they can raise a medical defence.  As a GP you should be clear on your duty and disclose only the necessary information.
4. Document advice – The MDU advises that GPs document advice given to patients about their medication, in particular advice about driving while taking medication.
5. Communicate with patients – it is important to understand whether patients are taking more drugs than they are being prescribed.  If you suspect this, or they are ordering repeat prescriptions too frequently it would be prudent to discuss their fitness to drive and ensure everything is documented.

If you need further information on the drug drive offence you can contact the MDU.

A 10-point checklist of what you will need when applying for a Locum GP position

Being a medical professional you hold the responsibility of taking good care of your patients, through being able to provide them with medical advice, to caring for their health and general wellbeing. As a Locum GP your position is important to provide the relevant care to all your patients, and ensure that they are well looked after when in your temporary care.  

If you are applying for a position as a Locum GP, it is advisable to have all the right qualifications in place, and ensure that you have the appropriate documents to support your application; which will reassure your employers that you have the right knowledge and qualifications to give your patients the best care safely and legally.

Here is a basic checklist of things you will need to ensure you have in place when applying for a Locum GP job:

• Certificate Proof of entry on the General Practitioners Medical Register with Licence to practice 
• CCT certificate from GMC 
• Medical Indemnity Insurance Certificate 
• Evidence of inclusion on the GP Performers list 
• CRB Enhanced Disclosure certificate 
• Basic Life Support (BLS) or Advanced Life support (ALS) certificate 
• Safeguarding vulnerable adults certificate 
• Safeguarding child protection certificate
•  Photographic I.D. (i.e. passport & evidence of current address e.g. utility bill or driving licence with address

Ensuring that you meet this checklist criteria will give you a better chance of being well organised when you apply for a locum GP position.  It will also show your employer that you have the relevant checks in place and experience to work as a locum GP.  

Having the right qualifications and certificates in place will reduce the amount of time it takes for you to potentially become employed, so it is important to have the relevant identification documents and all qualifications in place ready to hand over to your locum agency.  Locum Select carry out thorough checks on all locum GPs, to give clients peace of mind and to ensure all future patients will be in safe hands. To find out more about registering with a reputable locum agency, please visit the Locum Select website.  

Are Part Time Women Doctors to Blame for the GP Shortage?

This week a government immigration advisor opened a can of worms by suggesting that the number of women doctors working part time is directly contributing to the current GP shortage.  

To make matters worse, rather than resolving the crisis by putting GPs on the shortage list which would allow more to be recruited from outside the EU, the health department has been told to recruit from inside the EU.  

The reasoning behind the Migration Advisory Committee’s decision is that there is not a lack of students coming through medical schools and therefore shortages can be addressed by changing the incentive structure so that more doctors choose the GP route rather than the hospital one.

So where does this leave us?

Apart from no doubt angering female GPs, many of whom are presumably working part time to bring up their children and avoid costly childcare draining their income, we can’t help thinking that this step gets us no further forward.

At the end of the day those suffering as a result of the GP crisis are patients who are forced to wait longer to see a GP or who take the alternative of going to A&E, thus putting a further strain on the already stretched NHS.   

Of course, one solution would be the hiring of locums, particularly in the short term whilst practices carry out recruitment for long term GP posts.  Locum doctors can fill the gaps both for temporary vacancies and those of a semi-permanent nature.  At least this gives the patients the reassurance they need that a fully qualified doctor is available to see them when they need an appointment.

Perhaps you have your own views on the GP crisis and how to solve it?  Why not tweet us at @LocumSelect to share your views.

Cold Weather Causes Increased Patient Demand Across England

The recent cold snap has caused a large increase in patient demand within GP surgeries and other health services.  Public Health England has even advised GPs to prioritise patients who may be particularly vulnerable to the cold, in order to prevent weather related health conditions from escalating.  Patients at risk include the elderly and infirm, infants and asthma patients.

Severe Asthma Patient Numbers Double

Figures from Public Health England have revealed that the rates of lower respiratory tract infection are at an all-time high; and the number of patients experiencing severe asthma has doubled since this time last year.  These cold weather related issues are putting a strain on a number of GP surgeries, as more and more patients are seeking prompt medical advice.  One way of dealing with the increased demand from patients during the cold spell is to hire the services of locum GPs; who can be booked at relatively short notice in order to ease the pressure from permanent GPs. 

Catch it. Kill it. Bin it

But what other methods can be used to try to combat health issues which are related to cold weather?  It has also been revealed that confirmed cases of flu are at their highest levels in three years - which understandably not only puts added pressure on GP surgeries, but also A&E departments.  Public health officials have created a campaign which informs the public to ‘Catch it.  Bin it.  Kill it,’ as a method of reminding the general public to dispose of tissues once they have been used, and to wash their hands thoroughly to help to kill the flu virus.  The campaign message is simple yet effective and aims to reduce the flu virus spreading during the winter months.

Booking Locum GPs

Whilst most Practice Managers will be aware that winter will understandably lead to a greater demand in patients needing to see their GP, as the weather is particularly cold this year they may find that their usual strategy is not coping with the sudden increased demand.  Booking one or more locum GPs can certainly help to provide a more efficient service to patients, and will also help to ease the strain on the permanent GPs.

To find out more about booking a locum GP or perhaps registering as a locum GP, feel free to visit the Locum Select website http://www.locumselect.com/locum-gp.php in order to find out more.

GP Workforce Crisis is Great News for the Locum GP

If you work in the healthcare industry then you will be only too aware of the difficulties arising from the recent NHS reforms.  As a knock-on effect of this, a wave of early retirements and increased pressure on the general practice workforce has led to vacancies at GP surgeries across the country.  

This rise in vacancies has unsurprisingly led to a surge in demand for locum GPs.  In a recent survey by Medeconomics.co.uk, 53% of the locums questioned said demand for their services had increased, despite the fact that over 60% of them said they were aware that practices in their area were trying to reduce costs.

Whilst some practices may view the custom of hiring a locum GP to be an additional squeeze on budgets, at a time when things are already stretched, the more forward-thinking surgeries are realising that this is the best way forward.  Hiring locums enables the GP practice to deliver a constantly high level of care and service to patients and can help to fill those temporary gaps caused by holidays, sick leave or recent departures.

GP practices may be desperate to balance the books and make their resources stretch as far as possible but it seems many will have little choice but to turn to the services of a Locum GP.  Yes, practices have had their budgets cut but they will continue to put the patient first, even if this does mean incurring higher costs in the short term.  After all, hiring locums is a great way to ease pressure on the workload of other practice GPs whilst actively recruiting for permanent GPs to join the workforce in place of those who have retired or departed.

Despite the cost element, there are many reasons why practices will benefit from hiring locums, these may include:

• Quick and short term solution when there is no time to recruit for permanent positions
• The locum agency will work with the client to find the most suitable candidate for vacancy
• All applicants are screened by the agency which delivers peace of mind to practice managers
• Locum GPs can offer a fresh and sometimes more thorough approach to patients as they have had no prior contact with them and will therefore need to get more background information on their condition.

The versatility of the locum doctor makes them an ideal candidate to fill temporary roles within general practice.  If you would like to find out more about the advantages of hiring a locum GP please visit the Locum Select website.

Current GPs Are Facing Burnout – Could Working As A Locum Be The Answer?

A recent article published on the GP Online website (http://www.gponline.com/) has stated that trainee GPs ought to be given resilience training in order to prevent them from reaching burnout during their career.  GPs face all sorts of pressure during their working life, whether they are a newly qualified GP or whether they have been in the role for a number of years.  Getting the work-life balance just right is a tricky task and one which very few GPs get right, but could working as a locum GP be the answer?

Providing resilience training for GPs was a main topic of discussion at 2014’s annual RCGP conference which was held in Liverpool.  It was felt that whilst trainee GPs are given adequate training from a clinical point of view, little support or guidance was offered in relation to how they ought to manage their role from a personal point of view.  Being able to sustain the amount of time trainees can spend in real life working situations, such as during half day release, is very important as this time can provide trainees with a clear idea of the pressures they will be facing on a daily basis.  They need to learn and develop tools during their training on how to handle heavy workloads and difficult situations which they can rely upon once they are qualified.

Many GPs are turning to locum GP agencies as an alternative to working in a full time, permanent role.  In fact, around 15,500 GPs in the UK are now working as a locum GP, and for good reason too:

• Locum GPs can have greater flexibility in terms of choosing their working hours.  They may only wish to sign up to work a handful of sessions per week, or they could choose a greater number of hours if they so wished.
• Working as a locum can give more variety, instead of working at the same practice every day, locum GPs can work in an assortment of healthcare settings.  This can benefit newly qualified doctors as they may not be sure about which area of practice they wish to follow, or it can help to keep an experienced GP on their toes by having the opportunity to deal with different kinds of patients.
• Working as a locum GP can be financially rewarding for the GP, as they can charge a higher hourly rate than they would receive as a permanent GP.

Of course, working as a Locum GP also means that the individual does not have the usual stresses and strains which are commonly felt by employed GPs.  It can give them the flexibility to take time off as and when they need it, meaning they will be more productive during their working hours.

To find out more about working as a locum GP or to get intouch with a locum GP agency, feel free to take a look at the Locum Select website. 

Does Working As A Locum Provide GPs With A Better Work-Life Balance And Therefore Improve Their Morale?

A recent survey by the British Medical Association shows that GPs are more likely than any other branch of medical practice to experience low morale. The results of the BMA poll show that almost three quarters (72.8%) of GPs currently feel that their workload is not only unmanageable, but also unsustainable.

This figure is almost double that of consultants, of whom only 40% felt that their current workload was unmanageable or unsustainable, considering they were the second most likely group of medical practitioners to feel this way. It is therefore not a surprise that GPs were also found to have the lowest morale of any group of doctors.

The results of the BMA poll found that roughly 40% of all doctors described themselves as experiencing low morale, however, GP morale was found to be lowest of all. On a scale of one being very low morale, to five being high morale, GPs scored an average of 2.38, suggesting that low morale within general practice is widespread.

Given that so many GPs feel that their workload is unmanageable and they are experiencing diminished morale, GPs have also been found to be the least satisfied group of doctors in terms of their work life balance. Around 55% of GPs admitted to always working beyond their normal expected hours of work over the past month; as with their overall morale, this is a much higher percentage than in any other branch of medical practice.

Given that so many GPs feel overworked and generally unhappy with their profession, it comes as no surprise that 44% have considered early retirement, or at least quitting general practice before they reach retirement age.

With GP morale at an all-time low, increasing numbers of GPs are deciding against full-time positions, and are instead deciding to work on a locum basis. Locum GPs generally have a much higher morale than full-time general practice doctors as they are able to manage their own work load so that it is sustainable for them.

Due to being able to pick and choose placements from locum agencies, Locums are able to benefit from considerable flexibility in their schedule, so if they choose, they can work consistently for a long period, before taking some time off to be able to properly unwind, or even working on a more sporadic basis. Working as a locum does not have anywhere near the same level of pressures of working as a full-time GP, allowing individuals to enjoy a much healthier work-life balance.

If you are a GP and feel that your current workload is unmanageable and are experiencing low morale, you can visit the Locum Select website to find out more about how being a locum GP could benefit you.