32. Dr Richard Fieldhouse

The chair of the National Association of Sessional GPs was nominated for ‘maintaining awareness of the role of locums and helping to drive up standards and professionalise their role’.

Dr Fieldhouse branded NHS England’s plan for an ‘indicative maximum rate’ for GP locums, ‘a knee-jerk, cock-eyed, half-witted reaction’, and called the exclusion of locums from the GP Forward View a ‘massive oversight’.

Behind the scenes he has created the NASGP’s Standardised Practice Information Portal (SPIP), which he describes as a ‘an information air-traffic-control system’ to help locums navigate local systems and procedures when working in GP practices. ‘It’s potentially a huge game changer,’ he says, ‘and could save the NHS millions in wastage.’ 

He hopes to continue its momentum next year and get help in introducing it into more practices.

But the Chichester-based locum is clearly a family man at heart, saying his wife Sara is his hero for ‘stretching her comfort zone’ and helping him create SPIP and many other NASGP projects. ‘She’s the boss’, he says. While working from home with her is what he loves about the job, he tells Pulse.

Dr Fieldhouse is also founder of the chambers model or partnership for locum GPs and a clinical lead for HNS Coastal West Sussex CCG. 

Why influential: Energetic voice of sessional GPs

Surprising fact: Unwinds playing Battleship 4 on his Playstation and teaching himself to touch-type