Sessional GPs now make up a substantial part of the GP workforce in London. Londonwide LMCs is dedicated to ensuring that the interests of this important part of the workforce is fully represented on LMCs across the capital.
LMCs support and represent all GPs, including sessional GPs. We are continually encouraging GP partners to provide the best possible working agreements for all sessional GPs and practice staff. We also welcome sessional GPs onto our LMCs. Any GP on a Medical Performers list working in the area can stand for election to become an LMC member.
What LMCs and Londonwide LMCs do to support sessional GPs
- Advocate for a model of general practice care that many will relate to.
- Secure sustainable funding models that supports sessional GPs’ employers and in turn provides more security for your employment. This includes safeguarding practice viability ensures job permanency for salaried and locums, whose futures are directly/indirectly linked to practice sustainability.
- Just because someone is salaried/locum now, does not mean that they will not want to be a partner in the future- we support aspiring partners.
- Pushback on un-commissioned and unreasonable requests protects from a workload perspective and collectively galvanises the profession to be able to say no, knowing the voice is shared by many outside your practices.
- LMCs can provide opportunities to lead and shape general practice without having to take on partnership.
- Offer opportunities for professional development through being part of local leadership and national conversations as a member of LMCs and all the training an opportunities that provides.
- Salaried and locum GPs on our committees ensure we represent your perspectives on contracts, job planning and pay.
- Making sessionals feel part of the whole GP community through being supported and represented by Londonwide LMCs.
- Training through LEAD, Blended Learning and GP Professional Support Network events.
- Potential opportunities for networking and job offers either via our jobs board or through your local LMC.
- Our guidance relates to all working GPs, for example:
- vaccinations,
- work you can decline,
- interface issues (including work that should be done by trusts),
- safe working, and
- dealing with abusive patients.
- Sessionals can contact your LMC or Londonwide LMCs for advice, in some cases we have worked with them to produce new guidance where there is an information gap.
Support with professional difficulties
- Most GPs think that these kinds of situations will never happen to them, until they do.
- Assistance provided by our GP Support team is very valuable, there are many examples where sessionals get no assistance from their medical defence organisation (MDO).
- Any personal conduct matters being considered by NHS England are out of scope for MDOs. They do assist if the GMC are considering the same issues but have no involvement with the NHS England process. NHS England can have conditions put on a GP’s inclusion on the Performer’s List, be suspended from it or even be removed from it entirely.
- Allegations of safeguarding against the GP – we have worked on cases where an allegation against a GP has triggered the involvement of social services, with children taken into care, and NHS England involved. The basis for NHS England involvement is that if a GPs has a safeguarding allegations upheld against them, them they are perhaps not able to recognise safeguarding issues in their patients.
- Domestic fall outs where an allegation is made to the police, no charges are brought but information is passed by them to NHS England. Much the same with the above example, NHS England may investigate the veracity of such allegations and whether they impact on a GP’s ability to practice safely.
- Allegations of inappropriate conduct with staff/colleagues – inappropriate conduct with a patient will be covered by an MDO if a GP has cover, but if a colleague makes a complaint the MDO will not assist.
- Advice regarding professional obligations – salaried GPs and locums contact us about their professional obligations to report concerns when they have worked in GP surgery and are concerned about the care provided.