Knowledgebase

Q&A: What is a chambers meeting?

NASGP chair Dr Richard Fieldhouse explains how chambers meetings work, where GPs meet, how long they talk for, and why discussing complaints is so important

NASGP CV builder

Get a fresh new CV in minutes with NASGP's free tool for members. 

How to make the most of a career coach

Uncertain work and finances can create stress, writers Dr Caroline Walker, but 2020 might be a fertile year for GP locums to reassess your portfolio career – or even make decisions about a salaried role – with a coach.

‘We’re paratroopers, we’re supposed to be surrounded’: starting off as a GP locum

Dr Richard Fieldhouse, NASGP chairman, explains how to start a career as a GP locum.

GPs are still hard at work – whether the Government knows it or not

Jaws dropped when an MP blithely remarked that GPs could safely ‘recommence’ face-to-face services in a ‘regular’ manner in Parliament the other day, Dr Richard Fieldhouse writes.

Salaried GP contract checklist

This ‘practice CV’ template that provides GP locums with a checklist of questions to ask before signing a contract.

Q&A: Dr Chloe Evans on doing GP locum sessions outside your area

NASGP member Dr Chloe Evans splits her time between Oxford and Shetland. She explains how she works across two areas, and how NASGP membership supports her work

Q&A: What is a chambers? 

NASGP’s Locum Chambers model connects GP locums, so having a flexible career no longer means working in isolation.

Q&A: Why GP locums need terms

Terms keep GP locums, and the practices that book them, working safely – and they also help practices make the most of the locum cover they book. This year, new policies for PPE, infection control and remote working make it more important than ever to write good terms before making a booking. Dr Sara Chambers, NASGP Head of Clinical Excellence and Safety, answers frequently-asked questions on GP locum terms

Ten tips for starting out as a GP locum in 2020

Richard Fieldhouse lists the skills, products and memberships that will have a positive impact on a new GP locum's career this year

Day in the life of a Locum Chambers manager

Ali Lewis, NASGP’s longstanding Locum Chambers Manager, told us about a day in the life behind the scenes: how long it takes to join a Chambers, how managers get more practices on board, and how Instant Book is keeping locums busy during remote working

Q&A: How NASGP Locum Chambers manage complaints and significant events

Complaints and significant events can be a stressful part of a GP locum’s career, especially when faced alone. But they also pose an opportunity to improve patient satisfaction, and support the GP locum to learn and grow

Parents

NASGP membership is completely free from the point you notify us that you’re on parenting leave.

GP locum chambers

Locum chambers are small, independent groups of local self-employed locum GPs all working together through a shared management and clinical governance structure. They support NHS GP practices and locums to maintain, and in some cases improve, local GP services

Preparing for a 
Covid-19 winter

Dr Rachel Birch, medicolegal consultant at MPS, provides advice and practical tips for locum GPs

Financial advice for GP locums working ‘overtime’

Beware of unforeseen financial impact on NHS pension, national insurance and tax, specialist medical accountant Liz Densley advises

Remote working: the blurred line between triage and consultation

It is imperative that triage and consultation are recognised as unique, and different, skills by partners and professional bodies

How can I find out more about NASGP Locum Chambers?

Whether you’re a GP locum, GP practice or primary care organisation, our NASGP Locum Chambers page gives you plenty of useful information. If you need to know more, please email us at info@nasgp.org.uk.

GP locum skills and how to achieve them

Code of Good Practice

NASGP has a continued aim to promote high standards of medical care. In doing so the NASGP has detailed its Code of Good Practice, which endorses the GMCs ‘Good Medical Practice’

Standardised Practice Information Portal

NASGP’s free Standardised Practice Information Portal (Spip) allows every practice to store, share and retrieve all those ever-changing practice-specific phone numbers, email addresses, contact details, policies, guidelines, soft intelligence and service changes  in one easy-to-find place at the moment you need it

Risk management

The Medical Protection Society has supported the NASGP for over 10 years with help and advice for sessional GPs around the management of risk

Working as a salaried GP

Frequently-asked questions about practice, paperwork and training as a salaried GP

Setting the right locum rates

You need to charge rates that work both for you and for the GP practices that book you. We help you calculate what’s fair and profitable, and support you in negotiating the best terms.

Working as a freelance GP locum

Everything any GP needs to know about stepping into the exciting world of working as a GP locum

The GP locum tutor

An anoymous survey of GP locums finds that the majority of respondents were very happy with their role and recommended a GP locum career to students thanks to flexibility, workload autonomy and patient care, and reduction of admin and bureaucracy. But GP locums also said they faced isolation, disrespect and difficulty accessing knowledge updates

Tax-free 
childcare (TFC) scheme during Covid-19

If you or your spouse/partner have ‘adjusted income’ under £100,000 in this tax year, you may be entitled to support under new rules

Reducing risk 
on busy days

Dr Rachel Birch from MPS provides practical advice on how GP locums can catch omissions such as missed referrals, and prevent similar incidents in future

e-learning – Leg ulcer infection: antibiotic prescribing

A NICE update on antibiotic prescribing for leg ulcers published in February 2020 includes a good visual guide to best practice

Medicolegal risks for GP locums during Covid-19

GP locums may be asked to work in new ways in unfamiliar environments as a result of the Covid-19 crisis. Dr Rachel Birch, medicolegal consultant at MPS, advises on dilemmas they may face

Actions after incorrect use of combined hormonal contraception (ie missed pills guidance)

The FSRH provided a good summary of guidance for those advising women about what to do after a missed pill

Giving effective feedback to a GP colleague

Dr Rachel Birch presents two case studies of GP locums who fed back to practices.

e-learning | Thyroid disease

Symptoms may lag behind treatment changes by weeks, or even months, new NICE guidance warns

Parental benefits

The New Year seems an appropriate time to think about new babies, so here we consider some money matters you might need to think about.

My journey to life as a locum

Like many highly skilled professions, a career in general practice can be a journey with obstacles to overcome, barriers to navigate and choices to make. NASGP member Tina Sumner describes how she came to be working as a GP locum and how NASGP has helped her in that journey.

Have yourself a merry 
risk-free Christmas

Dr Rachel Birch, Medicolegal Consultant at Medical Protection, offers practical advice on how to make this year as safe and enjoyable as possible.

Working 
until i’m 67

Many of us are looking down the barrel of our ‘normal retirement age’ being 67. A chilling thought. One that drops to freezing when you think about how you’re going to finance the gap between when you want to retire and when you can actually afford to retire.

Off duty dilemmas

As doctors, we may sometimes feel that we are never off duty. Even when we are not at work, those close to us may seek our advice on medical matters, or even request for emergency medical assistance.

Dapagliflozin with insulin for patients with Type 1 Diabetes

This is a new guideline from NICE on using dapagliflozin in patients with Type 1 diabetes.

Locums as educators – every day is a learning day

Every day is a learning day in general practice. We are constantly learning from patients, members of the primary care team, and our secondary care colleagues.

Being mindful of 
medical hierarchy

Medical hierarchy may present a challenge, and at times a possible reluctance, to open discussions about patients. Dr Rachel Birch, medicolegal consultant at Medical Protection, discusses possible reasons for this and provides helpful strategies to overcome this.

Meet the locum GP specialist

For years, we’ve been calling for recognition that locuming involves performing in a specialised environment requiring at least a mention in formal GP training. We brought that together in a one-day GP locum masterclass with the BMJ.