Ad-hoc Locums: the concept of an ad-hoc locum is an artificial construct implemented for data collection and publication purposes. Ad-hoc locums are locum or sessional GPs who typically work briefly at practices – perhaps only a single one-off session – to cover for short-term or unexpected absences. GPs working in these roles do not consider themselves to be “ad-hoc locums” per se, but the nomenclature can help to understand how these sessional GPs interact with practices.
Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) - These were established as statutory organisations from April 2013 and took over the responsibilities of Primary Care Trusts (PCTs). They are clinically led statutory NHS bodies responsible for the planning and commissioning of health care services for their local area. On 1 July 2022 CCGs were replaced with Integrated Care Systems which will have responsibility for larger geographical areas. The 106 geographical areas previously covered by CCGs have been retained in the data, as Sub-ICB Locations.
Direct Patient Care (DPC) staff include anyone who is directly involved in delivering patient care within general practice but who is not a Nurse or GP. This group includes Dispensers, Health Care Assistants, Phlebotomists, Pharmacists, Physiotherapists, Podiatrists, Therapists and Other.
Electronic Staff Record (ESR) is a payroll database system commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care that NHS organisations are entitled to use free of charge. The system is currently used by 99% of NHS Trusts and manages the payroll for over one million NHS employees
Full-time equivalent (FTE) is a standardised measure of the workload of an employed person. An FTE of 1.0 means that the hours a person works is equivalent to a full-time worker; an FTE of 0.5 signals that the worker is half-time.
For the purposes of NHS workforce statistics, we define full-time working hours as 37.5 hours per week. Using FTE, we can convert part-time and additional working hours into an equivalent number of full-time staff. We calculate FTE by dividing the total number of weekly hours worked by individuals in a specific staff group by 37.5.
General Medical Services (GMS) is the contract under which most GPs are employed. It is a national agreement between the provider and NHS England and NHS Improvement which sets out the financial arrangements, the services to be provided and support arrangements.
General Practice is an organisation where patients can be registered and held on a list which offers Primary Care medical services from a qualified General Practitioner who can prescribe medicine. Generally, the term General Practice describes what is traditionally thought of as a high street family doctor’s surgery. For the purposes of this publication the term General Practice does not include Prisons, Army Bases, Educational Establishments, Specialist Care Centres including Drug Rehabilitation Centres, urgent treatment centres and minor injury units. Walk-In Centres are also excluded from the scope of this series of Official Statistics, although some may be included for data quality reasons.
A General Practitioner (GP) is a medical practitioner who treats all illnesses and provides preventative care and health education for patients of all ages. All Practitioners include GP Providers, Salaried/Other GPs, GPs in training, Retainers and Locums.
A GP Provider is a practitioner who holds a contract to provide services to patients. These GPs are referred to as GP Partners in these Official Statistics and may also be known as Contractor GPs.
GPs in training / GP Registrar is a fully registered physician who is being trained for general practice under an arrangement approved by the Secretary of State. This category of GPs includes Foundation Training (FT) 1/2 and Speciality Training (ST).
GPs in training - grade ST1/2 are fully qualified and registered doctors who are in their first or second years of Speciality Training and are working at the general practice on a rotation.
GPs in training - grade ST3/4 are fully qualified and registered doctors in final training and are working at the practice on a rotation with a view to becoming a GP.
GPs in training - grade F1/F2 are fully qualified and registered doctors who are in the first two years of foundation training and are working at the practice on a rotation with a view to becoming a GP.
GP Retainers are fully qualified GPs who deliver a maximum of four sessions in general practice per week to retain skills and progress their careers potentially with a view to increasing their working commitment in the future.
Integrated Care Board (ICB) – A statutory NHS organisation responsible for developing a plan for meeting the health needs of the population, managing the NHS budget and arranging for the provision of health services in the Integrated Care System (ICS) area. The establishment of ICBs resulted in clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) being closed down.
Integrated Care System (ICS) – Partnerships of organisations that come together to plan and deliver joined up health and care services, and to improve the lives of people who live and work in their area. Following several years of locally led development, recommendations of NHS England and passage of the Health and Care Act (2022), 42 ICSs were established across England on a statutory basis on 1 July 2022
Locum GPs (also known as sessional GPs) are GPs who provide service sessions in general practice on a temporary basis. They may work in the practices for relatively long periods but may also provide cover on a short-term or ad hoc basis. This group includes Locums covering vacancies, sickness, and maternity/paternity absence.
NHS England and NHS Improvement formed in April 2019 and is the combined organisation of NHS England (preferred name for NHS Commissioning Board) and NHS Improvement which is responsible for overseeing secondary care and independent organisations that provide NHS-funded care.
Nurses include all registered and trainee Nurses working within general practice. This group includes Practice Nurses, Advanced Nurse Practitioners, Nurse Specialists and Trainee Nurses.
National Workforce Reporting Service (NWRS) the National Workforce Reporting Service is used by general practices and primary care networks in England to report data on their workforce. We extract information directly from the system and use it to publish official statistics. More information about the NWRS is available from https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/areas-of-interest/workforce/national-workforce-reporting-system-nwrs-workforce-census-module/the-new-national-workforce-reporting-service.
Primary Care Network (PCN) – They are groups of practices working together and with other local health and care providers (e.g., hospitals, mental health or community trusts, community pharmacies and charities) within what are considered natural local communities, to provide coordinated care through integrated teams.
Salaried GPs work within partnerships and are generally remunerated by salary.
Single-Handed Practice is a practice which has only one working (Partner/Provider or Salaried) GP, although a GP in training or GP retainer also may work in the practice.
Snapshot statistic - relates to the situation at a specific date, which for these workforce statistics is the last calendar day in the reporting period.
Sub-ICB Location - 106 former CCG geographical areas, retained for operational purposes when CCGs ceased to become statutory bodies and ICBs were introduced.
Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STP) – These were established in 2016 as five-year plans to cover all aspects of NHS funding in England. There were initially forty-four geographical areas on which these plans were based covering populations ranging from 300,000 to 2.9 million with an average of 1.2 million. They ceased to become statutory organisations on 1st July 2022, when ICBs were introduced, covering the same 42 areas.
Vacancy is where the practice has a substantive post which is not currently filled.
Workforce Minimum Data Set (wMDS) – following the reforms set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2012, the Department of Health and Social Care established the Workforce Information Architecture (WIA) work stream to review and improve handling of the workforce data and intelligence. The WIA recommended that a workforce Minimum Data Set be collected from all providers of NHS funded care. More information about the wMDS is available from our website at https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/areas-of-interest/workforce/workforce-minimum-data-set-wmds.