Understanding the experiences of Locum Agency Locums
What were the key findings?
- Respondents had positive and negative views about working as an agency locum.
- 52% of agency locums described working as a locum positively.
- Most decided to work as an agency locum to benefit from a more flexible lifestyle and higher pay.
- Early career doctors said working as an agency locum let them experience different settings before deciding where to specialise.
- Doctors new to the UK said it helped them to gain NHS experience.
- Unfamiliarity with work settings, instability, being treated differently to permanent staff and a lack of career progression were key challenges for agency locums.
- Many agency locums also found it challenging to obtain and gather the evidence needed for appraisal due to the way in which they worked.
Why did we commission this research?
We wanted to better understand a specific subgroup of locum doctors. Those who are working either full or part time as locums and are connected for the purposes of revalidation through locum agencies in the UK (rather than through an NHS connection).
We wanted to understand the specific experiences and challenges facing this group of doctors.
What did the research involve?
The research was delivered by an independent research agency, ICE Creates. It included an online survey with 499 agency locums. A follow-up telephone interview was conducted with 42 locums. This provided a more in-depth understanding of the experiences and needs of this group.
