NHS Consultant Insourcing Opportunities: Specialties, GMC Registration and CCT Requirements

NHS Consultant Insourcing Jobs: Specialties, GMC Registration and CCT Requirements

NHS consultant jobs offer experienced doctors opportunities to use their specialist expertise to support patient care across the UK. For consultants seeking additional clinical opportunities, NHS insourcing provides a way to contribute to healthcare services while helping NHS organisations manage demand and improve patient access.

Secure Healthcare Solutions (SHS) recruits consultants across eight medical and surgical specialties to support NHS insourcing services.

Whether you are searching for consultant insourcing jobs, exploring new clinical opportunities or representing an NHS organisation looking for additional capacity, this guide explains the specialties we recruit for, the qualifications required and how NHS insourcing works.

What Are NHS Consultant Insourcing Jobs?

NHS consultant insourcing jobs involve delivering additional clinical activity through an agreed service within an NHS organisation’s existing facilities. These services may operate during evenings, weekends or other agreed sessions outside standard operating hours.

Unlike traditional locum recruitment, which generally involves filling staffing gaps, insourcing focuses on delivering additional clinical services. Depending on the agreement, this may include consultations, diagnostic investigations and treatment sessions.

For suitably qualified consultants, insourcing can provide opportunities to contribute their specialist expertise through additional clinical activity. For NHS organisations, it offers a structured approach to increasing capacity and supporting waiting-list management.

Which Consultant Jobs Are Available Through SHS?

Secure Healthcare Solutions recruits consultants across the following specialties, subject to current vacancies and service requirements.

Gastroenterology Consultant Jobs: Gastroenterology consultants specialise in conditions affecting the digestive system. Insourcing opportunities may include outpatient clinics, diagnostic services and appropriate treatment pathways.

Urology Consultant Jobs: Urology consultants assess and treat conditions affecting the urinary tract and male reproductive system. Additional clinical sessions can help improve access to specialist consultations and investigations.

General Surgery Consultant Jobs: General surgery consultants provide specialist surgical assessment and treatment. Depending on the commissioned service, insourcing may support outpatient clinics and planned surgical pathways.

Cardiology Consultant Jobs: Cardiology consultants specialise in cardiovascular conditions. Additional clinical activity may support cardiac assessments, diagnostic pathways and specialist consultations.

Dermatology Consultant Jobs: Dermatology consultants diagnose and manage skin conditions. Dermatology insourcing can help NHS services expand access to specialist assessments and support waiting-list management.

ENT Consultant Jobs: Ear, nose and throat (ENT) consultants provide specialist assessment and treatment for a range of conditions. Additional sessions may support consultations, investigations and treatment pathways.

Respiratory Consultant Jobs: Respiratory medicine consultants diagnose and manage conditions affecting the lungs and respiratory system. Insourcing services may support additional specialist appointments and diagnostic activity.

Rheumatology Consultant Jobs: Rheumatology consultants specialise in inflammatory, autoimmune and musculoskeletal conditions. Additional clinical sessions can help patients access specialist assessments and ongoing care.

Echocardiographers Consultant Jobs: Echocardiographers specialise in performing cardiac ultrasound examinations to assess the structure and function of the heart. Additional clinical sessions can help NHS services increase diagnostic capacity, support cardiac assessments and improve access to timely investigations.

If you are exploring consultant doctor jobs in the UK, contact SHS to enquire about current opportunities in your specialty.

What Qualifications Do You Need for NHS Consultant Jobs?

Consultant vacancies have specific registration, training and experience requirements. For SHS consultant insourcing roles that specify these criteria, candidates must meet the relevant GMC Specialist Registration and Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) requirements.

Understanding these qualifications is important when applying for consultant positions.

What Is the GMC?

The General Medical Council (GMC) is the UK’s independent regulator of doctors. It maintains the medical register and oversees professional standards, medical education and fitness to practise.

What Is GMC Specialist Registration?

The GMC Specialist Register identifies doctors who have met the relevant requirements for specialist registration in their field. Specialist Registration is an important requirement for many NHS consultant appointments.

Candidates should ensure their registration is appropriate to the specialty and requirements of the role they are applying for.

Find out more about GMC Specialist Registration.

What Is a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT)?

A Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) confirms that a doctor has completed an approved UK specialty training programme and met the relevant training requirements.

For SHS consultant vacancies that specify a CCT, applicants must hold the relevant certificate in their specialty alongside the required GMC Specialist Registration.

Additional experience, availability and role-specific criteria may also apply. Always review the individual vacancy details before applying.

How Can NHS Insourcing Help Reduce Waiting Lists?

NHS organisations need effective ways to manage patient demand, improve access to specialist services and make the best use of available clinical facilities.

NHS insourcing can support these objectives through several approaches:

Additional clinical capacity: Delivering extra consultations, investigations and treatment sessions to increase available appointments.
Waiting-list support: Helping address backlogs through additional planned clinical activity. Read the NHS guidance on hospital waiting times in England.
Flexible delivery: Providing clinical sessions during evenings and weekends where required.
Specialist expertise: Connecting services with appropriately qualified consultants across a range of medical and surgical disciplines.
Use of existing facilities: Delivering agreed clinical services within suitable NHS premises.

The benefits depend on each organisation’s requirements, the service commissioned, workforce availability and appropriate clinical governance arrangements.

Insourcing is not simply the provision of temporary doctors. It involves delivering an agreed clinical service with appropriate operational arrangements, accountability and patient safety measures.

Why Choose Secure Healthcare Solutions for NHS Insourcing?

Secure Healthcare Solutions supports healthcare organisations with workforce and clinical service requirements, including NHS insourcing.

We work with organisations to understand their operational needs and identify suitable solutions to support additional clinical capacity.

Our approach focuses on connecting service requirements with appropriately qualified healthcare professionals. Delivery is shaped by the agreed scope of work, available workforce and relevant governance arrangements.

For NHS trusts, hospitals and other healthcare organisations exploring NHS insourcing services, our team can discuss current requirements and potential solutions.

Explore Consultant Insourcing Opportunities with SHS

Are you an experienced consultant looking for additional clinical opportunities?

Secure Healthcare Solutions welcomes enquiries from suitably qualified consultants across:

Gastroenterology
Urology
General Surgery
Cardiology
Dermatology
ENT
Respiratory Medicine
Rheumatology
Echocardiographer

Candidates must meet the relevant GMC Specialist Registration, CCT and vacancy-specific requirements.

Discuss NHS Insourcing Services with Our Team – Is your NHS organisation looking to increase clinical capacity, improve patient access or support waiting-list management?

Email alroy@securehealthcaresolutions.co.uk, grant@securehealthcaresolutions.co.uk, nhs2@securehealthcaresolutions.co.uk to discuss consultant insourcing roles.

We can discuss your service requirements and explore potential insourcing solutions to support your organisation. Contact Secure Healthcare Solutions today to discuss your NHS insourcing requirements.

How to Become a Consultant Doctor in the UK: Training and What to Expect

The decision to pursue medicine as a career begins with a simple intention: to care for people. For many doctors, this intention evolves into a clear professional goal, which is to become a consultant doctor in the UK in their favourite area of speciality.

A consultant doctor in the UK commands respect and has clinical authority, which naturally follows years of structured training. The long pathway to becoming a consultant in the UK is shaped by national standards, competitive milestones, and continuous professional growth. Let’s explore how to become a consultant doctor in the UK.

What Does a Consultant Doctor Do in the UK?

A consultant doctor is a senior doctor who is responsible for delivering the highest standard of patient care in a leading role. A consultant doctor in the UK leads clinical teams and offers expert medical services in their area of expertise. Responsibilities of a consultant doctor are:

Diagnosing, treating, and managing patients
Mentoring resident doctors and supporting their growth and development
Leading research and innovation to improve patient outcomes
Playing the role of a clinical leader and following the best practices

Overview of the UK Medical Training Pathway

The General Medical Council (GMC) oversees the medical training pathways of prospective doctors. The journey to becoming a consultant starts from medical school, learning the basics in the foundation years to grow into a specialised hospital role. Let’s understand this multi-year journey.

Entry Requirements and Key Exams You’ll Need

Medical training to become a consultant doctor in the UK starts with a medical degree. The basic entry requirement is getting an undergraduate medical degree, such as MBBS/MBChB, which is generally a 5-year degree. Students learn basic science and develop foundational clinical skills.

For students who don’t qualify for a medical degree, a one-year foundation course may be taken before joining a medical degree program.

A graduate entry option is available for individuals with a prior degree. They can take up a 4-year accelerated program if they meet the requirements. Often, students opt for intercalated degrees, where they explore a new area in depth for one year on top of the medicine degree.

Foundation Training

Medical graduates start their training as a doctor through the two-year foundation training program (F1 and F2). They complete different speciality rotations, each lasting four months. Doctors who want to become consultants can then choose speciality training in their preferred core area.

Speciality Training and Progression to Consultant Level

The training programs vary based on the specialty. The duration also depends on the chosen speciality training, which can last from 3 to 8 years. After completing the training program, doctors who want to become consultants in the UK must take Royal College Assessments to get their Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT).

Depending on the chosen speciality, the training can be:

Run-Through Training:
Candidates apply once after foundation training, and the institution recruits them for the entire duration of the speciality program.
Uncoupled Training:
Many specialities offer uncoupled training, for which students can apply after completing the core training. The entry is not guaranteed, particularly for highly competitive specialities.
1. Depending on the speciality, the training can be Core Training (CT) for 2–3 years.
2. In 2019, core training was replaced by Internal Medicine Training (IMT) for internal medicine, which lasts for 2–3 years.
3. ACCS (Acute Care Common Stem) is a 4-year uncoupled training where students rotate through six-month placements in Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Anaesthetics, and Intensive Care Medicine.

After completing CT, IMT, or ACCS, doctors who want to become consultants must take up Higher Speciality Training (HST), which is commonly called ST3/ST4+. Recruitment for HST requires a single online application, and recruitment is done based on the candidate’s preferred location and speciality. The HST may last for 4-5 years, again based on the speciality.

Once HST is complete, consultant doctors get a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) after completing Royal College assessments. The CCT provides entry for consultant doctors as a GMC specialist or general practitioner.

How Many Years Does It Take to Become a Consultant Doctor?

When you consider it from the start of medical school, it can take 12 to 14 years to become a consultant doctor in the UK. The breakdown is as follows:

Medical school: 5-6 years
Foundation training: 2 years (FY1 and FY2)
Speciality training: 5-8 years (CT/IMT/ACCS plus HST)

What to Expect During Consultant Training

Consultant training is a paid residency program in the UK. Students rotate through different hospital departments in various settings. Based on the training program and speciality, each rotation can last for 4-6 months to gain broad experience. As one of the requirements to obtain CCT, trainees should maintain a portfolio documenting their clinical skills, audits, and teaching experience.

What to Expect Once You Become a Consultant

Once a person becomes a consultant, the ultimate clinical responsibility for patient care lies with them. They lead multi-disciplinary teams with junior doctors, therapists, and nurses. Often, they make patient-centric decisions in high-risk and complex cases.

Beyond patients, they are also responsible for managing departments, innovating to improve services, and mentoring the next generation of doctors. The basic salary for a consultant starts from £109,725 to £145,478 per year. If they wish, consultants can also work in private practice and supplement their salary.

Career Options

As a senior doctor, consultant doctors in the UK can expect permanent consultant roles within the National Health Service (NHS). They also work with private consultations. Some consultant doctors pursue academic medicine and become deeply engaged in research and teaching.

Consultant doctors can progress into management positions like clinical director or medical director. Doctors who want an alternative to a traditional consultant role can explore GP Locums Jobs in Wolverhampton, like Specialist, Associate Specialist, and Speciality SAS roles.

NHS Doctor Pay Bands 2025: Salary Scales by Grade Explained

For aspiring doctors expecting to train and work in the UK, it’s essential to understand what doctor salaries are within the National Health Service (NHS) for different jobs. Pay scales for NHS doctors are nationally determined and organised according to grade. They are subject to regular independent review.

The difference between a foundation doctor’s paycheck and a consultant’s salary might surprise you. Supplements boost a salary significantly, and gaining experience has its financial benefits, too.

Let’s look at the NHS doctor pay bands from foundation training to consultant, including the figures for 2025-26.

Understanding NHS Pay Bands and Doctor Grades

NHS doctors are remunerated under particular contract sets, which form the base of the NHS doctor pay bands system. Under the 2016 Resident Doctor Contract, trainees and senior doctors, including Speciality and Associate Specialist (SAS) doctors and consultants, have different national pay scales.

Progression across the NHS salary bands for doctors in each grade is typically based on the length of service in post and the level of responsibilities.

The salary figures given below are for basic salaries before overtime, payments for working unsociable hours, or other allowances.

Junior Doctor Pay Bands (Foundation & Core Training)

Junior doctors are now legally termed as resident doctors. They are qualified doctors who are in the midst of completing their postgraduate training. Their pay is determined based on the 2016 contract by nodal points, forming the basis of the Junior doctor salary UK structure.

For the 2025-26 financial year:

Foundation Year 1 (FY1): £38,831
Foundation Year 2 (FY2): £44,439
Core Training 1-2/ ST1-2: £52,656
Core Training 3-2/ST3-5: £65,048
ST6 – ST8: £73,992

These pay rates represent the minimum pay of junior doctors’ salaries in the UK framework. Many doctors make additional income from banding supplements for nights, weekends, and on-call duties.

This reflects an estimated 5.4% overall increase in the 2025-26 award for resident doctors, comprising 4% uplift plus a consolidated £750 payment.

Further analysis also shows that when banding supplements are factored in, many foundation doctors actually take home more than their basic salary.

Registrar & Speciality Training Doctor Pay Bands

Specialist registrars (ST3-ST8) are specialised doctors within training, in either medicine or surgery. They assume more clinical responsibility and have longer rotations. Their pay falls under the NHS registrar doctor salary structure.

The pay scale for registrars applicable for 2025-26 is:

ST1-2: £52,656
ST3-5: £65,048
ST6 – ST8: £73,992

These rates relate to registrar doctor salary in all years of training. Gross income frequently is higher than base salary for work not only in unsociable hours, but also in performance supplements.

Based on independent analysis, the pay may reach around £80,500 a year for senior registrars when other elements of pay are also considered.

SAS (Speciality and Associate Specialist) Doctor Pay Bands

SAS doctors are fully trained doctors who have not taken up formal training pathways and who are often appointed following core or speciality training overseas or within the UK. They provide consistent care in hospital and community environments. Their pay is categorised under the SAS doctor salary UK pay framework.

As per the 2025 pay circular, SAS pay has been uplifted in line with consultant uplifts (usually approximately 4% on the basic pay scales).

The exact base pay scale for SAS doctors in England tends to follow national scales, which puts them above senior registrars but below consultants. Analysis from pay resources indicates:

For specialists on the 2021 contract, the salary may vary from £100,870 to £111,441 based on experience.

Consultant Pay Bands in the NHS

Consultants are the highest grade of clinical doctors in the NHS. Their basic pay grade defines the upper end of the consultant doctor salary UK structure, which bears leadership responsibility and clinical supervision.

From an analysis of NHS earnings, the starting salary for a consultant is £109,725, while for a consultant with 14+ years of experience, the same grade can be £145,475. Full-time consultants have an average earning of £161,600, including supplements.

For an established doctor in the UK, the basic salary is often augmented with pay for being on-call and working out of hours. This may mean a lot in certain places, particularly those working in emergency sections.

Additional Earnings and Allowances

Basic pay is only one part of an NHS doctor’s remuneration across all NHS salary bands. Other earnings include:

Overnight, weekend, and holiday working, which are available as unsocial hours payment
Banding supplements depending on the intensity and antisocial nature of the work rota
High-cost area supplements for geographical location in high-cost locations such as London
Flexible pay premia, which is uplifted by 4% in the 2025-26 pay award
SAS doctors and consultants may also get clinical impact awards (CIAs) for exceptional contributions

How NHS Doctor Pay Has Changed in 2025

Doctors’ pay in the NHS is reviewed each year, following recommendations of the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration. In 2025-26, the government accepted the recommendations for an average pay rise of 5.4% for doctors in training, including a consolidated payment.

Consultant and SAS pay scales were also uplifted by approximately 4% from April 2025 to align with the wider NHS pay awards.

Conclusion

For doctors joining the medical workforce in the United Kingdom, NHS doctor pay bands provide clarity on the salaries. Pay increases as training grade and level of responsibilities increase.

In addition to the basic salary, earnings can be substantially boosted by extra pay for working unsociable hours and being on call.

Prospective physicians may also want to look beyond headline salary and consider how allowances and long-term pension benefits contribute to overall remuneration. For those seeking clinical internships or jobs through a healthcare agency in Wolverhampton, knowing these salary ranges helps determine educational and career options.

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References:

https://shrgroup.uk/blog/nhs-pay-scales-for-doctors/
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-pay-awards-2025-to-2026-resident-doctors/resident-doctors-pay-award-2025-to-2026-investing-in-our-medical-workforce
https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/resource/exploring-the-earnings-of-nhs-doctors-in-england-2025-update
https://www.nhsemployers.org/system/files/2025-06/Pay-and-Conditions-Circular-MD-2-2025_0.pdf
https://www.bma.org.uk/pay-and-contracts/pay/specialist-associate-specialist-and-specialty-doctors-pay-scales/pay-scales-for-sas-doctors-in-england