Morgan M, McKevitt C, Hudson M
Department of Public Health Sciences, Guy's, King's and St Thomas' School of Medicine, Kings College London, UK.
Fam Pract. 2000 Feb;17(1):53-5. doi: 10.1093/fampra/17.1.53.
Locum doctors provide cover during normal working hours for GPs absent due to holidays, sickness, maternity leave or for educational purposes. However, there is little information on the extent of the use of locums or of GPs' perception of their services.
To examine the level of use of locum doctors by GPs, the ease of recruitment and satisfaction with their services.
A postal survey of all general practices in one of the six health regions in England was carried out. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the independent effects on locum use of practice size and type of area, source of recruitment and GPs' satisfaction with their services.
A total of 935 (80.6%) general practices responded. Locum GPs were employed by 81.7% of practices in the previous 12 months. Two-thirds of practices reported problems obtaining locum cover, especially at short notice and for holiday periods. One-fifth of practices employing a locum in the previous 12 months were dissatisfied with the locum.
There are high demands for, but a considerable shortage of, locum doctors in general practice. Educational and other initiatives for GPs may contribute to increased demands for locum cover. Difficulties in recruitment may be reduced by measures to improve the conditions of employment for doctors working as locums on a longer term basis. New codes of practice for employing locums may increase satisfaction with locum services.
临时代理医生在正常工作时间为因假期、疾病、产假或教育目的而缺勤的全科医生提供替补服务。然而，关于临时代理医生的使用范围或全科医生对其服务的看法，相关信息较少。
研究全科医生对临时代理医生的使用水平、招聘的难易程度以及对其服务的满意度。
对英格兰六个健康区域之一的所有全科诊所进行了邮寄调查。采用逻辑回归分析来检验诊所规模、地区类型、招聘来源以及全科医生对其服务的满意度对临时代理医生使用情况的独立影响。
共有935家（80.6%）全科诊所做出回应。在过去12个月中，81.7%的诊所雇佣了临时代理全科医生。三分之二的诊所报告在获得临时代理医生替补方面存在问题，尤其是在短时间通知和假期期间。在过去12个月中雇佣了临时代理医生的诊所中有五分之一对临时代理医生不满意。
全科医疗中对临时代理医生的需求很高，但供应严重短缺。针对全科医生的教育及其他举措可能会导致对临时代理医生替补的需求增加。通过采取措施改善长期担任临时代理医生的医生的就业条件，可能会减少招聘困难。新的临时代理医生雇佣执业规范可能会提高对临时代理医生服务的满意度。
