Dr Clare Sieber has joined the National Association of Sessional GPs as the organisation’s sole sessional GP workforce advocate.
Dr Sieber plans to advocate on behalf of a sessional GP workforce and NASGP amongst colleagues and patients, starting conversations and raising talking points that call for greater recognition and support for the sector.
Dr Sieber wrote: “I’m delighted to be joining the NASGP team as Sessional GP Workforce Advocate.
“I’m proud to have been a sessional GP for my whole career, since qualifying in 2013. I now locum and this suits me perfectly as it allows me to satisfy my general need for ‘variety’ and ‘new’ experiences in my life, to be flexible around my non-clinical work which I also love doing and wouldn’t want to be without, and to be around for my young children.
“As the national membership body for sessional GPs, working with NASGP makes perfect sense – our workforce needs peer support in what can be quite an isolating line of work, resources to navigate contracts, pensions, and appraisal, and a community to share our collective wisdom. I’m looking forward to supporting NASGP to advocate for its members and the essential role they play in the NHS workforce.”
Read Dr Sieber’s preview of the 2025 Autumn Budget on our blog.
Dr Sieber is a practising GP, former LMC medical director and mediator. She has also sat ex-officio on the BMA’s England General Practitioner’s Committee.
Dr Richard Fieldhouse, NASGP chair, said: “I am so pleased to welcome Clare as our Sessional GP Workforce Advocate. This is a crunch time for the profession, where thousands of experienced sessional GPs are facing widespread underemployment and financial uncertainty, and patients struggling to be seen by a GP.
“Clare brings unparalleled insight, having worked as a practicing sessional GP, former LMC Medical Director, and BMA committee member. Her experience and passion for flexibility, being so crucial for system stability, will be invaluable.
“We are dedicated to championing her work to ensure this flexible workforce – which is key to continuity and capacity – is properly integrated and supported. This is essential if we are to counter the narrative that flexibility is transient, enabling us to retain highly experienced doctors and build a truly resilient primary care system.”
Helen Holmes-Fogg, NASGP CEO, said: “I am genuinely thrilled that Clare is collaborating with us. Speaking as a CEO, this is great exposure for the NASGP. She has developed a wide and varied network through her amazing work over the years, advancing good practice on the ground and being there for GP Partners when things get tough.
“Clare will really help in our discussions with ICB systems and providers up and down the country, to make sure our members are properly recognised, understood, and integrated as an essential contributor to the workforce strategy. Alongside Richard, Clare offers that crucial, authentic voice. She is not only a real world GP but has a strategic view to support us in our national and local campaigns.”