BMA survey shows GP practice struggling to find locum cover

The British Medical Association (BMA) has reported the findings of a new survey showing the lack of locum cover that many GPs are facing.

A total of 2,814 GP practices in England were polled for this survey, which revealed that almost nine out of ten are struggling to find locum cover to fill staffing gaps, with a similar number regularly needing temporary GPs to staff their services.

It was shown that 46 percent of practices reported having trouble finding locum cover frequently, with a further 40 percent saying they occasionally have issues. By contrast, only one in ten did not require locum cover at all.

The south and south-west are the worst affected areas, with around six out of ten saying they frequently have problems finding locum cover. These findings follow recent BMA surveys showing that half of GP practices have seen their services deteriorate in the last 12 months.

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, the BMA's GP committee chair, said: "The government needs to begin addressing this crisis and deliver its promised support package for general practice. We need a long term, well financed plan to prevent GP services from collapsing."