Arguments proposed for the potential impact of GPED on staffing and experience
| Staffing and workforce experience | |||
| Potential impact | Positive | Negative | Exemplar quote(s) |
| GPs want to work ‘beyond the walls of the surgery’ | GPED is an attractive place to work for those wanting portfolio careers. | Working ‘beyond the walls of the surgery’ is not appealing to all and may cause competition for GP staff between primary and secondary care. | ‘A concern [is] that it would, it would spread the primary care resource more thinly, so it would be less able to respond to, you know, would be less able to respond to sagittal primary care demand…’ (Service leader interview, 05) |
| Flexible working hours | Flexible working hours may make it easier to fill rotas. | Working out of hours is a deterrent for those who chose to work in general practice. | ‘Just because I’m a locum I can avoid doing nights, and chose not to do nights’. (Chestnut, staff interview, 22) |
| Locum working | Working on a locum or ad hoc basis can be attractive to some and may mitigate against GP staffing issues. | Difficult to ensure the quality of locum staff and inconsistent workforce supply negatively affects collaborative working between ED and GPs. | ‘The barriers, yes. Often, the GPs are not there all the time, it’s not the same person. They’re often locum. So, the GP will, sort of, arrive, go straight into their room and then stay in the room unless you call them out for huddle … whereas A&E nurses and all of our doctors are all quite social, we’re a team, we’re really visible to each other. I think just the mentality of a GP is you sit in your room all day, don’t you, on your own?’ (Nutmeg, staff interview, 15) |
ED, emergency department; GP, GPs working in or alongside the ED; GP, general practice.