As the number of swine flu cases continues to rise, a locum recruiter is calling for greater guidance from health organisations on the insurance position of sessional GPs.

Akbar Hassam, a recruitment manager, said that the insurance position of these locums who work within the NHS but are not contracted to it was unclear and needed clarifying. “At the moment the advice is based on the views of individual trusts, and there is no national consensus.” Hassam claims.

He also says he is particularly concerned about what would happen were these locums to refer patients on to hospitals which did not have the capacity to take them because of the pandemic, and whose conditions subsequently worsened.

There was also a question mark as to whether death-in-service benefits that the family of NHS contracted locums were entitled to also applied to sessional GPs.

“If it is going to affect our staff, we will be looking for somewhere they can get that advice, whether that is the British Medical Council, NHS Employers, The General Practitioners Committee, or The National Association of Sessional GPs.”

Hassam exepcts a rise in demand for temporary cover from primary care organisations across the UK as the summer progresses. “We will be following developments closely with the aim of keeping our Locum GPs fully informed and supported throughout this flu crisis,” he adds.