Specialist Registrar £ 1500 bonus

MPP Locums are offering Specialist Registrars a £1500 registration bonus ( terms and conditions apply) in order to attract the best locums in the UK. We are specifically looking to recruit locums with anaesthetic experience in the UK at SpR grade or higher.

MPP Locums can offer continuity of work along with some of the most competitive pay rates in the UK.

All locums will have to fully register with MPP Locums and be fully compliant to work under the Buying Solutions NHS framework agreement criteria. 

For more information call us on 0845 122 0414.

Costs of diabetes drugs spiral  

With current NHS spending under review, researchers say the NHS is now spending too much on diabetes drugs and accounts for 7% of the UK prescribing budget. 

 Researchers from Cardiff University say, “despite a big rise in the number of people being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in recent years, does not fully explain the spiralling costs.”  

As people’s lifestyle continues to change, the rate of increase of type 2 diabetes is set to continue and the NHS needs to get the budget under control, they conclude. But in answer to these claims, GPs said, “They had to look out for the best interests of their patients.”  

In 2008 the NHS spent £700m on drugs to control blood sugar levels of diabetes patients. Between 2000 and 2008 the number of prescriptions for glucose-lowering drugs had risen by 50% the researchers calculated.  

Writing in the journal Diabetic Medicine, they said, “Figures for England specifically show an increase from £290m to £591m over the study period. Even taking into account the price of inflation, this is a rise of 104%. There has been over this time period a marked increase in the use of expensive therapies. Newer drugs like rosiglitazone as well as increasing use of insulin have contributed to the increased costs.” 

Dr Chris Currie said, “The findings suggest that national guideline are not being followed. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recommends lifestyle changes as a first step in controlling type 2 diabetes, before drug treatment is started. GPs should then start people on the basic treatments before looking at other options if they do not work.” 

Despite rising costs due to new expensive treatments being marketed by drugs companies, the figures also showed cheaper generic drugs such as metformin being prescribed as first line treatments.  

With an estimated 2.6 million people in the UK having diabetes, of which 90% having type 2 and a further estimate of over 1 million not yet diagnosed, “the drugs bill is extremely high,” said Dr Currie. “Somebody has got to take a lead in managing the way we treat people with diabetes and making sure doctors adhere to the recommendations. This is going to continue to rise and part of the issue is people don’t realise how big the problem is.” 

But Dr Niti Pall, a Birmingham based GP and spokesperson for Diabetes UK said, “She did not agree with the author’s conclusions. The job of GPs was to get blood sugar levels as low as possible by whatever means possible to prevent complications in their patients. They have not looked at the health economics; we are saving the NHS money in the long run. We need to do whatever it takes to get blood sugar down and some of the cheaper drugs don’t do the job.” 

With continuing demand on the NHS to reduce costs, it is GPs and GP locums who are best placed to make these decisions for their patients.

MPP Locums provide general and specialist locum doctor jobs for the NHS trusts throughout the UK.  MPP Locums ensures that all doctors are vigorously checked before being placed in key roles for NHS doctor jobs and provide quality staff to our clients.  MPP Locums is regulated by the Care Quality Commission and NHS Buying Solutions. MPP Locums is an approved supplier of locum jobs to the NHS under the National Locum contract starting 1^st July 2008 for the next 3 years.  

If you are looking for locum doctor jobs or seeking locum doctors contact our registration team by telephone or register online and by part of the UK’s largest and fastest growing medical recruitment agencies.  

Doctors fears over NHS privatisation shake-up.

In light of the government’s white paper reform on the NHS, Kent’s representative of the British Medical Association warns profits could be put before patients.

The proposed NHS shake-up would lead to abolition of three of Kent’s primary care trusts, giving GPs far more power and control on how the money is spent. However critics of the white paper fear that many GPs do not have the tools or expertise in terms of financial knowledge to effectively implement these changes resulting in many GPs hiring cheaper external expertise to manage their budgets.

Kent BMA spokesman Dr Paul Hobday said, “the NHS might as well rename itself the National Health Business if the proposals get the go-ahead. There will be a conflict of interest and profits will be put before patients.

”“Things could end up getting quite incestuous (if private firms buy their own services) and it will be the taxpayer who misses out because a lot of the NHS will end up in private hands. As it stands, business will win rather than the patients and it’s a recipe for scandalous waste. Giving more power to GPs sounds like a good thing – and it will be if it’s safeguarded with a system where patients are referred without any financial incentive.

”“But unfortunately that’s not going to happen, because the Government doesn’t want it to happen.”Under the proposed white paper Kent’s three primary care trusts – Eastern and Coastal Kent, Medway and West Kent will be scrapped. In answering critics the government believes the new GP-led structure will be held accountable by an independent NHS board.

This independent accountability would be free from political interference, while responsibility for public health will be passed onto local authorities. Also included in the white paper is the scrapping of strategic health authorities.

Graham Hills, operational director of the patients group the Kent Local Involvement Network (LINKS) said, “I think it is the right way to go, in terms of who is better to buy health care on your behalf – and who is better than your family doctor? I welcome the bottom-up approach. The worrying thing is when GP funding-holding was around it was not a level playing field because some doctors had more money than others.

”“One of the key things is making sure these consortiums have the same purchasing power, because there are health inequalities already within the county. Life expectancy in Sevenoaks is more than in Thanet, and it has to be addressed.”With growing concerns over the implementation of the NHS shake-up, the government said it will consult all parties concerned on its plans before rolling them out. 

NHS West Kent Chief Executive Steve Pheonix said, “He hoped the coalition did not make any rash decisions. I would personally prefer to see the incoming administration, who I know are impatient to make changes and improvements, take their time.”“Time is needed to air out the inevitable questions and queries that will come up.

”With the government’s proposed white paper on NHS reform, the debate and uncertainty on how this will affect patient care will continue. One thing is for sure as GP consortiums take place; the need to get on board professionals who are able to deliver the services will be paramount. MPP Locums provide general and specialist locum doctor jobs for NHS trusts throughout the UK.

 MPP Locums is regulated by the Care Quality Commission and NHS Buying Solutions. MPP Locums is an approved supplier of locum jobs to the NHS under the new National Locum contract starting 1^st July 2008 for the next 3 years.

MPP Locums ensures that all doctors are vigorously checked before being placed in key roles and provide quality professional staff to our clients.Contact our registration team by telephone or register online and be part of the UK’s largest and fastest growing medical recruitment agencies.

GPs to get more powers under NHS shake-up.

In a Government white paper due to be published next week will outline the most radical shake-up in the NHS since its creation in 1948. Under ministerial plans GP practices are to be given responsibility for most health services. Health Secretary Andrew Lansley believes “GPs are best placed to understand patients needs and to decide where the money should be spent.”

Under this proposal local trusts and strategic health authorities would be scaled back in order to make way for the new role of GPs. However there are concerns that GPs may not have the skills to take on this new role. Others have questioned how they will be held accountable under this proposed shake-up. Under the proposed white paper, GPs will be involved in setting up groups of practices where they would work together to buy the management skills necessary to deliver local services. These groups of practices/consortiums will be responsible for billions of pounds of funds for mental health, hospital and community services.

With a current NHS annual budget of £100bn a year, about 80% of this is to be handed over to the health managers working for 152 primary care trusts. This then allows them to commission the services they feel necessary for their areas.Despite the governments promise to protect the NHS budget, the health service has been told to save up to £20bn by 2014 in order to cope with rising obesity as lifestyles change, an increasing ageing population and the rising prices of drugs.

The Royal College of Nursing has claimed that almost 10,000 posts – double the number from two months ago – are being cut, despite promises by the government to protect frontline services. Nigel Edwards, the acting chief executive of the NHS Confederation said, “there were some quite significant risks in transition to the new system. Obviously it is going to take time to implement this and the PCTs at the moment are the people who keep the lid on the performance and financial management of the system.” He also said, “the reform would move the NHS from a market where large organisations place big contracts, to one similar to the gas or telecoms market, where demand is shaped by many individual decisions. I think the concept here is lots of individual decisions by GPs – when they make referrals and send people to hospital – will be added up and we will have a greater market dynamic.

GPs will also help plan services and direct strategy for hospitals by telling hospitals what they need for the longer term. He expects many GPs to recruit former staff from PCTs to help them cope with the additional workload, which will involve quite a big step up from what they’ve been doing before.” Dr Mike Dixon, chairman of the NHS Alliance, a group of doctors who support GPs getting involved in commissioning said, “staff on the front-line know what is good care and what is bad care. They are more sensitive to the needs of patients and I think this will lead to better outcomes.”  

He added, “in recent speeches, the Health Secretary has set out the values and vision for an NHS centred on patients. He has already emphasised the need to liberate the NHS to focus on outcomes and improving results for patients. And in a speech to the BMA on 2 July, he highlighted the importance of empowering doctors and nurses in the NHS to deliver quality standards and services. The details of how this vision will take effect will be set up soon.”A spokesman for the Department of Health said, “details of its plans for a patient-centred NHS would be published in a white paper shortly.” In light of the government’s white paper, GPs face major changes in how they plan and provide health care to patients within their communities. With this change in structure, previous roles of NHS trusts will now be carried out by GP consortiums with the added need to get on board professionals who are able to deliver to the new structure.

With this change in structure, MPP Locums is ideally placed to provide general and specialist locum doctor jobs for NHS trusts and the proposed new GP consortiums throughout the UK. MPP Locums ensures that all doctors are vigorously checked before being placed in key roles and provide quality professional staff to our clients.  

MPP Locums is regulated by the Care Quality Commission and Buying Solutions. MPP Locums is an approved supplier of locum jobs to the NHS under the new National Locum contract starting 1^st July 2008 for the next 3 years.To be part of the UK’s largest and fastest growing medical recruitment agencies, contact our registration team by telephone or register online.  

Out-of-hours doctor service puts strain on A&E units

The number of people attending A&E has gone up by 1.35 million over the last 5 years according to a report by the Nuffield Trust, an independent health charity. As more GPs opt out of working nights and weekends as part of a controversial new contract, more and more A&E units are feeling the strain.

Since local GPs have been able to opt out, A&E admissions have increased by 12%. With increased demand on A&E units, figures suggest that this is costing the NHS an extra £330 million as the need to meet the demand places considerable strain on resources and hospital staff. Many A&E units are seeing increasing number of patients with medical conditions that would have normally been covered by their local GP’s out-of-hours service turning up over the weekends or in the evenings. To meet the rising demand more primary care trusts are hiring locum doctors, many of them from overseas and with a poor grasp of English.

The report also found emergency admissions now make up 355 of all hospital attendances, costing the NHS £11bn per year. But the proportion being admitted to A&E who are discharged 24 hours later has also increased from 42% in 2004/5 to 49% in 2008/9.  Dr Jennifer Dixon, director of the Nuffield Trust said, “Patients regard A&E as the easiest, less risky option. Clearly the care provided outside hospital is lacking and that is going to fuel an increase in the number of people going to casualty.”  John Heyworth, president of the College of Emergency Medicine, which represents A&E doctors said, “The simple fact is that care outside of hospital is fragmented, inconsistent and confusing. Many patients just don’t know where to go for their out-of-hours services – the whole system changes out-side the hours 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. Some services have doctors, some don’t. Patients just don’t know what to expect. They often have to wait a long time before they are seen. But they know if they go to an emergency department they will receive a very high quality of care. It is the only service that can be relied upon 24/7. ”  Mr Heyworth added, “that just because there had been a rise in patients attending A&E, it did not mean that they did not have potentially serious conditions. Many come in with chest pain or headaches which could be serious and all need checking out.”  

Faced with increasing demand in A&E units as more GPs opt out of weekend and evening work, the need for locum doctors is set to increase. MPP Locums provides general and specialist locum doctor jobs for NHS trusts throughout the UK. MPP Locums ensures that all doctors are vigorously checked before being placed in key roles. MPP Locums’ philosophy is to provide quality professional staff wherever the demands are. MPP Locums is an approved supplier of locum jobs to the NHS under the new National Locum contract starting 1^st July 2008 for the next 3 years.MPP Locums is regulated by the Care Quality Commission and NHS Buying Solutions. Contact our registration team by telephone or register online to be part of the UK’s largest and fastest growing medical recruitment agencies.