The NHS heavily depends on recruiting Locum General Practitioners to support their extensive healthcare system. Locum GPs are frequently required to fill temporary clinical positions to cover for staff shortages, maternity leave, holidays, and illness. Locum contracts can vary enormously from a few days to several months dependent upon the needs of the healthcare facility.
The Benefits
There are many positive reasons as to why Locum GPs really enjoy the role they do, and these include:
• Flexibility – Locum GPs get to choose the hours they work and where they prefer to work.
• Pay rates are often higher for a Locum GP as opposed to being a permanent GP.
• Pay rates can be negotiated at favourable rates.
• Locum GPs get to experience various clinical environments whilst covering different specialisms.
• Holidays can be taken & booked to fit into lifestyle patterns.
• If time off is needed for family reasons, then this is easier to plan for.
• Locum GPs can work additional hours, or even do out-of-hours work to earn supplementary income.
• Sometimes a Locum role can lead to a permanent role.
• Often there’s less administration and paperwork to do, especially when compared to being permanently employed in a GP Practice.
• Locum GPs can choose if they want to do home visits or not.
The cons
There are very little cons to being a Locum GP, but some may include:
• Unstable shift patterns. Whilst other types of contractors may suffer with a lack of work from time to time, this is never the case with General Practitioners as they are constantly in demand.
• Going into different work environments can be a little unnerving especially when you need to get up and running quickly.
• Not being familiar with individual patients and their medical history can at times lead to some frustrations. However, most patients are now comfortable with seeing various GPs at their local surgery, especially in open surgery times.
• Learning a new computer system can also be a bit daunting too, but training is usually given by the healthcare provider.
To summarise, to work as a Locum GP you need to have lots of flexibility, adaptability and be able to efficiently manage the ever-changing environment that healthcare offers. So, if you’re looking for your next Locum GP role within Primary Care, then click here. At Coben Healthcare we have 1000’s of locum roles right across the UK, some offering long term positions right up to 2022. If you want to find out more call us on 01254 693067 for an informal chat.