Need advice on locum or salaried work? Ask an expert
Our new Q&A feature, hosted by NASGP CEO Dr Richard Fieldhouse, will offer advice on issues faced by locum and salaried GPs. Submit your questions here
Working as a locum or salaried GP has its own particular range of challenges and difficulties and it can be difficult to know where to turn for advice.
But Pulse is working with the National Association of Sessional GPs on a monthly ‘ask the expert’ feature to help provide some support.
The Q&A will be hosted by Dr Richard Fieldhouse and will cover everything from pensions to revalidation. We hope to give you the answers to any problem you are experiencing.
You can submit your questions in the comments section below, or on Twitter using #AskDrRichard. It is fine to leave them anonymously, but we may contact you privately for clarification.
Readers' comments (8)
Anonymous | Sessional/Locum GP26 Jun 2015 5:44pm
Would you remain in the NHS pension as a 32y old locum GP given that it is very unlikely I will want to continue clinical work beyond the age of 60y old and currently my pension won't kick in until aged 67 /68yold.
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Anonymous | Salaried GP26 Jun 2015 7:02pm
As a 30 year old salaried GP, which country should I move to. Australia or Canada? The weather in Canada suits me better, but I think the pay is better in Australia..
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Anonymous | Salaried GP26 Jun 2015 7:05pm
Can I do Telephone Triage session for Out-of-hours organization while being based in Australia.
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Anonymous | Sessional/Locum GP26 Jun 2015 11:02pm
pay is similar in Canada and Oz in pounds but Oz is much more expensive to live than UK and that is much of reason for high wage. Canada on the other hand is a cheap place to live.
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Anonymous | GP Partner27 Jun 2015 1:38am
Dear Richard. As a partner I am considering jumping the ship to form a Locum chambers in my area. My concern is that locums are on the doh radar and it's likely they may make appraisal more difficult or impossible or stop locums nhs pensions. It's also possible that when large federations start working, Locum work will dry up with floating salaried doctors at cheap rates. How likely do you think these things may come to Pass? Is it worth pallant looking at other options such as facilitating Locum private appointments in gp practices as partners cannot charge their own patients? This could be a subtle way of bringing in mixed nhs and private practice to England.
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Anonymous | Salaried GP28 Jun 2015 11:19pm
Dear Richard,
a question that may interest many GPs who are thinking of working outside the NHS ...
Is it possible to pause NHS pension contributions for a few years whilst working privately and then re-enter the NHS at a later date and continue NHS pensions where one left off?
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Anonymous | Salaried GP28 Jun 2015 11:25pm
Dear Richard,
a general question - what is the future of locuming in the UK? i ask as the government looks to have locums in their sights
an example is an agency has been asking me to get certification in areas to be CQC compliant even though I don't need certfication in the areas requested to satisfy revalidation. My gut reaction is to ignore the CQC criteria as they are a bunch of half-wits.
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Anonymous | Salaried GP02 Jul 2015 5:31pm
What are you doing to improve the working conditions of salaried and sessional GPs?
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