Locum GPs with contract for additional sessions can be funded via new scheme, says NHSE

Locums GPs can be funded via the new practice level GP reimbursement scheme, as long as they hold an employment contract for the additional sessions, NHS England has clarified. 

As part of this year’s imposed GP contract, NHS England said it would ‘repurpose’ £292m from PCNs to fund ‘a new practice-level GP reimbursement scheme’ to ‘enable practices to recruit new GPs’ or ‘increase the number of sessions from GPs already working in the practice’.

As exclusively revealed by Pulse, GP leaders raised concerns that the scheme could be ‘prohibitively narrow in scope’ and only include salaried doctors.

Government documents have since confirmed that the scheme would only cover salaried GPs. However, NHS England has now published supplementary information which clarified that locums can also be funded via the scheme, but they must hold an employment contract, which would make them a new salaried GP under the scheme.

The document said: ‘GPs who are locums within the practice can also be funded via the practice level GP reimbursement scheme, but they must hold an employment contract with the practice for the additional sessions (that is, they would be a new salaried GP under the scheme).’ 

NHS England also said that practices will submit reimbursement claims via the CQRS (Calculating Quality Reporting Services) Local system used by ICBs across England to administer claims and payments for primary care providers.

ICBs are responsible for onboarding their practices to the GP reimbursement scheme service in CQRS Local and managing user accounts, NHSE added.

An amendment to the statement of financial entitlements (SFE) which came into effect this month said GP practices are entitled to make a claim under the scheme in relation to one or more of the following: 

• the employment of ‘a new salaried GP’ 

• the ‘increased participation’ of an existing salaried GP 

• where the contractor is a core network member of a PCN ‘to enable the continuation of employment or engagement of a salaried GP’ previously funded through Capacity and Access Payments

The SFE said that the scheme applies from 1 April this and has effect in relation to the current financial year. 

Practices with more than 3,500 patients per GP must seek approval from NHS England to be eligible to participate in the scheme, the document added. 

And the SFE also said that total claims per contractor under this scheme are subject to a financial entitlement cap of £4.57, multiplied by the practice adjusted population per practice during the financial year. 

Responding to NHS England’s clarification, the BMA’s sessional GPs committee told Pulse it was ‘cautiously optimistic’ about the scheme but said it still raised ‘significant practical concerns’ for locum GPs.

Committee co-chairs Dr Kim Rollinson and Dr Amy Small told Pulse: ‘The committee is cautiously supportive of the GP reimbursement scheme. While it may ease some current unemployment pressures among sessional GPs, it does not go far enough to address the wider crisis in general practice.

‘We note that locum GPs may be included where they take on additional sessions as employees. However, this raises significant practical concerns around tax, pension, and administrative complexity from moving between self-employed and employed status. For some, this risks reducing flexibility and adding financial uncertainty for both doctors and practices.

‘While any additional support is welcome, this is recycled funding rather than new investment, and it remains a drop in the ocean compared with what is required to stabilise primary care in England. It does not guarantee sufficient work for sessional GPs, fair remuneration, or safe, sustainable working conditions for GPs or patients.’

The supplementary document has also confirmed that all advice and guidance (A&G) requests must be submitted or approved by a named GP.