Advice and guidance for locums and doctors in short-term placements

Doctors in both primary and secondary care who locum or work within health organisations for short-term placements often face some specific challenges. They often do not have easy access to systems or structures in place to support their continuing professional development, appraisal, revalidation, and governance.

It is hoped that the guidance ‘Supporting locums and doctors in short-term placements: A practical guide for doctors in these roles’, along with the accompanying guidance ‘Supporting organisations engaging with locums and doctors in short-term placements: A practical guide for healthcare providers, locum agencies and revalidation management services’ will highlight ways that doctors working in this way may be supported to enhance their work experience and provide safe provision of healthcare as a valuable part of the workforce.

Locum doctors will revalidate in exactly the same way as any other doctor. However, they sometimes experience challenges in finding a responsible officer or collecting supporting information.

The prescribed connections for locum doctors is a guide for doctors who only work as locums in secondary care to assist them in identifying their responsible officer