It’s Monday morning at a GP surgery in the West Midlands. Two doctors have called in sick. There’s a full day of patient appointments on the books, and the phone won’t stop ringing. The practice manager has one option – call a healthcare staffing agency for locum GP cover.
Locum GPs are doctors who provide short-term clinical cover at GP practices. They aren’t a stopgap. They’ve become a key part of how primary care works in the UK. And as the GP shortage grows, their role matters more than ever.
The numbers are stark. As of December 2025, just 38,220 full-time equivalent GPs worked in NHS general practice in England. But that number alone hides a deeper problem.
GP training remains competitive, with applications continuing to rise year on year. Yet the NHS still struggles with GP recruitment.
New research found that between 2015 and 2024, for every five new GPs licensed, the NHS lost one full-time equivalent GP. By 2024, one in three licensed GPs no longer worked in NHS general practice.
The reasons are clear. Workloads are too high. Running costs keep rising. The partnership model is breaking down. Many GPs now prefer portfolio careers, private practice, or work abroad.
This creates a real paradox. Practices can’t fill GP vacancies. At the same time, newly qualified GPs can’t find permanent NHS posts.
Patient needs keep growing. The average GP now looks after 2,257 patients – up 15% since 2015. The number of GP practices has dropped to 6,229. That’s a loss of over 1,000 practices in eight years.
An ageing population, rising long-term illness, and the post-pandemic backlog all add pressure. The current NHS workforce cannot keep up. The King’s Fund notes that rural, coastal, and deprived areas face the worst shortages. In these regions, locum cover is often the only way to keep services running.
Locum GPs now play a central role in keeping primary care safe and open.
When a GP is off sick, on leave, or a post sits empty, a locum can step in fast. One unfilled GP session can mean dozens of appointments cancelled in a single day. Left unfilled, gaps like this compound – patient access suffers, and the pressure falls on the rest of the team.
Good staffing agencies keep a pool of checked, ready GPs. They can provide same-day or next-day cover. This stops clinics from closing and takes pressure off the team.
Locum GPs also help practices in trouble. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) may flag a surgery for unsafe staffing. In these cases, locum cover can steady the ship while the practice recruits.
Research shows locum use is higher in struggling practices. Extra clinical hands help meet patient safety standards. Healthwatch England flags patient access as a top concern. Locum GPs tackle this head-on by keeping doors open.
Not all agencies are the same. Practices and integrated care boards (ICBs) should check for strong compliance. This means the General Medical Council (GMC) checks, enhanced DBS screening, right-to-work proof, valid indemnity, and current appraisal records.
Speed matters too. The best agencies fill shifts fast from a deep pool of vetted GPs. They don’t scramble to recruit at the last minute.
Look for primary care know-how. The agency should know EMIS Web, SystmOne, and Vision. They should grasp the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF), enhanced services, and PCN targets.
Continuity of care is a common worry with locum use. Good agencies fix this by sending the same GPs back to the same practices. This builds trust with patients and staff. And for most practices, a locum session is often less costly than the disruption a cancelled clinic creates.
For practice managers and Primary Care Network (PCN) leads, the gains are clear. Locum cover means no cancelled clinics and no burned-out colleagues. The agency handles hiring, compliance, and payroll. Practices can scale up during winter, flu season, or QOF deadlines.
Every locum should be fully checked: GMC-registered, on the National Performers List, DBS-cleared, with valid indemnity and up-to-date revalidation. Patient safety stays high because the same standards apply as for permanent staff.
For patients, it’s simple – they can still see a doctor when they need one.
For GPs, locum work fits a modern portfolio career. Some work part salaried, part sessional, part in teaching or research. This keeps them in the NHS rather than leaving for good. GP retention improves, and the NHS keeps their clinical skills.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has made changes that support flexible staffing. NHS England’s 2026/27 GP contract moved £292 million from the PCN-level Capacity and Access Payment (CAP) to a practice-level fund. This gives each practice more control over how it boosts capacity – including paying for locum sessions.
The Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) has also been expanded. PCNs can now recruit GPs at any career stage, not just those within two years of qualifying – a welcome flexibility, though it doesn’t solve the longer-term need for permanent GP partners.
The RCGP keeps pushing to cut red tape. Admin burden drives burnout and makes GPs leave. Locum GPs help here too. They handle clinical work while permanent staff deal with targets, governance, and planning.
Secure Healthcare Solutions is a CQC-registered healthcare staffing agency that has worked across primary care since 2015. Today we support over 200 organisations across the West Midlands and England, with a compliance-checked pool of GPs alongside our 200+ nursing staff and 500+ healthcare assistants.
We handle GMC checks, National Performers List verification, DBS screening, and indemnity confirmation before a locum ever sets foot in your practice – so you get fast, compliant cover without the admin. Whether you’re a practice manager needing urgent GP cover or a GP looking for flexible sessional work, get in touch today.
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