The recruitment industry has responded to publication of the Care Quality Commission’s review published today, which concludes that lives are put at risk by out of hours GPs.

The inquiry was prompted by the case of David Gray, 70, a retired engineer who died after he was given 10 times the normal dose of diamorphine by a foreign GP employed by Take Care No, and supplied by an agency.

Salim Shahul, managing director of dr-locums, told Recruiter: “This highlights the necessity that before staff from continental Europe are used in the NHS, they go through proper practical induction to ensure patient safety,”

Tom Hadley, Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) director of external relations, adds: “The agencies that supply locum doctors are fully committed to ensuring that the right vetting and performance monitoring procedures in place. This is already a key part of an agency’s work and the industry is currently working with the Department of Health (DoH) and the General Medical Council to ensure that new revalidation requirements for all doctors can apply effectively to locum staff.
 
“The provision of out of hours and 24 hour medical care will increase the need for flexibility and speed in the way that staffing arrangements are delivered and managed. However, patient safety must always be the primary concern, which is why the vetting and evaluation work undertaken by specialised locum doctor agencies will become increasingly important.”