Our hospitals, practices and surgeries are at maximum capacity across the country and any unplanned vacancies or even planned staff absences can cause major challenges and headache for management. Staffing levels are vital in healthcare and meeting those required levels can often be a massive struggle.
When understaffing occurs, existing staff are left to carry the responsibility, pick up the slack and are far more likely to suffer from emotional and physical burn-out, leading to more absence. With this kind of pressure, patients won’t be receiving the best possible care.
There are numerous reasons for finding yourself with a staff shortage. It doesn’t matter whether you need cover for a day or a year, the solution could be to hire more locum doctors. Here are some compelling reasons why locums could be the best fit:
- Short-Term Cover
Any temporary positions can be filled by a locum, no matter what the duration. If a resident GP becomes unwell, goes on holiday, maternity leave or a sabbatical, an experienced locum could be with you in 24 hours.
- Long-Term Cover
However, don’t just think of locums as providing cover for short-term vacancies. Should long-term needs arise, there are sensible reasons for filling that gap with a locum doctor. If you have a resident GP leave or retire, a locum can stand in until you hire a replacement. This allows you the freedom to take your time in decision-making, knowing you have adequate cover until you can hire a permanent physician.
- Find specific skills
The beauty of hiring a locum is that they are likely to have worked in many different settings and gained a wealth of invaluable and diverse experience. If you have specific needs, you can choose http://www.thegplocumagency.co.uk/ to fill your GP Locum Jobs with people who perfectly meet your required skills.
- Help decrease burn-out issues
In short-staffed practices, health professionals can soon begin to feel the strain of being overworked and suffer from burn-out. Burnout generally leads to increased staff absence and patients receiving a lower than normal level of care. Locums can help ease these pressures, will work with your permanent staff and increase care levels for your patients.
- Fit right in
Locums have lots of experience of working in many different settings, so should be able to settle right into your practice straight away. They are used to taking on new environments, learning on their feet and using different electronic platforms. They should, therefore, find it easier to adapt to your way of doing things and hit the ground running. There will be far less training and induction time than needed for a permanent member of staff.