FAQs

You submit a timesheet at the end of your first week with the following information:

• Name
• Hospital
• Authorising signature from consultant or senior colleague
• Hours worked
• Any travel expenses claimed

The timesheets must be faxed to Global Medics weekly before 12:00 noon on Mondays. The money will then arrive into your bank account on the following Monday. This means that when you arrive in the UK you should have enough funds with you for the first two weeks. If you prefer your money to be paid into an offshore limited company then they receive the funds on the Monday from Global Medics but it will then take another three to four days to transfer the money to you."

The hours worked will vary depending on grade, specialism and hospital. There are standard working weeks with additional "on calls" as follows:

A standard working week for a doctor is 9am to 5pm, Monday to  Friday = 40 hours.

In addition to the standard 40 hours, doctors usually work on-call. On-call includes evenings and weekends. When referring to an evening, it will be from 5pm to 9am, making an evening on call 16 hours. A weekend on-call will begin from 9am Saturday to 9am Monday, equalling 48 hours.

A doctor working as a locum for one month on a one in five on call will therefore work a minimum of 56 hours each week, with a possibility of one weekend (worth 48 hours).

The on-call ratio can vary from 1:3, 1:4, 1:5, and so on.

There are also shift systems that are more commonly used in A&E (Accident and Emergency). As the department is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, there are no standard hours of work and a shift system is implemented with hours ranging from 40 to more than 70 hours each week.

With some specialisms, hospital work and pay is organised by sessions. This is usually the case for anaesthetics doctors, who are booked by theatre time; they do a morning and an afternoon therefore two sessions each day.

Most locum doctors want to work as many hours as possible as you are paid for every hour you are on call. If you are only working for a couple of weeks this might be practical, but be careful not to overbook yourself. The pace of work in some UK hospitals is quite frantic (some Accident and Emergency Units see over 500 patients per day). Global Medics will always try to find you as many hours as possible in accordance with your instructions, even if that means having to do additional shifts at other hospitals.

Rates are dictated by the laws of supply and demand. For those grades and specialisms where there is a severe shortage, hospitals will be willing to negotiate a higher rates to get that position filled. When many doctors apply for the same position, the hospital can literally pick and choose whom they want and what rates to pay.

Rates are also determined according to level of training, skills, competencies and experience. The better the CV, the higher the rates of pay. Please keep in mind that you may be well known in your home country but not in the UK, for this very reason it is important to have a detailed, well prepared CV to put forward to potential hospital clients.

The structure within the NHS is as follows:

House Officers (HO)
Equivalent to an Internship

Senior House Officers (SHO)
Minimum of six months experience in their field of work

Registrar (REG) / Specialist Registrar (SPR) / Staff Grade / Middle Grade
Minimum of two years experience in their field of work, having begun the process of specialising, usually with part one completed of the fellowship exams.

Consultants

Are usually members of their Royal College.
Have passed both parts of the fellowship exams.
For more detailed information see http://www.rcplondon.ac.uk

With Global Medics you are collected from the airport and either driven to your hospital to the relevant train station. Your travel expenses are paid from port of entry to the hospital, which is one return journey. Any expenses you incur should be added to your first timesheet and they will be reimbursed.

Public transport in the UK is excellent. The train network north to south is very good and frequent, but less so east to west. Tickets booked in advance (over the telephone or online) can be as much as a third of the price of paying on the day of travel. Where possible, bring a credit card with you to take advantage of such savings if you are planning to do some traveling whilst in the UK.

Travel from the UK to Europe is also relatively cheap if you are planning on coming for longer and know your dates in advance.

All reimbursement/payment of travel and accommodation expenses are negotiated on a case-by-case basis by Global Medics directly with the prospective employer.

Finding married quarters’ accommodation within the NHS is extremely difficult. The apartments are highly sought after and are kept for full time staff or locums who intend to stay with the hospital for an extended period of time.

Unfortunately, for those of us who would like to have our partners with us, we have to settle with private bed and breakfast accommodation. Global Medics can assist in arranging this, or in arranging rented accommodation for those who intend to stay for six months or longer.

While working in the NHS, the hospital generally indemnifies and insures their doctors against malpractice claims. However, in the era of medical malpractice hysteria it is strongly advised that you acquire additional cover from your local insurer.

Resident Medical Officers work in the UK private sector hospitals. Generally you are one week on, then one week off. During your week “on” you have to stay on the hospital premises 24 hours a day. Functions generally include drawing of blood, putting up IV lines and rewriting prescriptions. Please note that most of these positions have very little autonomous decision making authority and the work does not contribute to your CV or training opportunities.

Within the NHS your meals are subsidised. This means that if you eat in the hospital canteen, daily meals should cost you from £6 to £10. Eating out and ‘takeaways’ are more expensive (depending on the area you are working in).

Most hospitals have a laundry where you can wash and iron your clothes. If these facilities are not available you can usually find a Laundromat very close to the hospital. Most hospitals have a doctor’s room with vending machines and a television for your comfort.

You are not allowed to locum in the private sector unless you are on the GP register.