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Supporting locally employed doctors: Blueprint for Change
Locally employed doctors (LEDs) are a diverse group of doctors employed on local terms and conditions by NHS trusts. They are not in formal, specific training posts, yet they form the fastest-growing part of the UK medical workforce.
They are a huge asset to the NHS working across all levels of the health service and play an important role in delivering excellent patient care, however they have had few structured career development opportunities outside of specialty training.
The Blueprint for Change outlines a range of actions to address the historical challenges faced by this group of doctors.
Blueprint for Change
The Blueprint for Change marks an important step towards our LEDs being well supported. It outlines a set of targeted high impact actions for Trusts to use to enhance opportunities for training, skills improvement, career pathways and progression to support professional development.
It has been shaped by LEDs and other key stakeholders including, Academy of Medical Royal Colleges , General Medical Council, NHS Employers and British Medical Association, in response to actions outlined in the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (NHS LTWP). Many of these actions are to be carried out locally in organisations and systems with national support. Collaboration and partnership are key to achieving success.
The actions have been centred around Train and Retain, two of the three pillars of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan.
Train
We want to enhance existing medical training and career pathways so that there is a broader range of more flexible career pathways and opportunities available to the medical workforce from early in their careers.
Action 1
- The national team, working with NHS organisations, will explore the possibility of establishing regional Associate Deans to oversee training opportunities for LEDs and create high quality training
Action 2
- The national team, working with partners, will ensure the LED role is supported, developed and promoted as a viable medical career pathway
Action 3
- Integrated Care Boards should have oversight of the NHS workforce and the needs of LEDs and different groups of staff
Action 4
- Organisations should appoint an LED lead or tutor to support LED supervisors and offer career guidance to LEDs, identifying their relevant learning needs
Action 5
- Organisations and their LED leads or tutors should implement a strategy for addressing recruitment, retention and workforce needs of LEDs. The offer employers provide should be multi-faceted, locally designed to suit the different needs of the different groups of LEDs
Retain
We want to improve LEDs’ experience of working in the NHS by tackling prejudice and discrimination, delivering effective induction programmes, providing support for study leave and enabling LEDs to gather evidence for appraisal and revalidation.
Action 6
- The national team, working with partners, will develop an improved data set about LEDs to inform workforce planning and development
Action 7
- All partners should deliver against the high impact actions 5 and 6 in the NHS equality, diversity and inclusion improvement plan, taking into account the NHS People Promise
Action 8
- Organisations and their LED leads or tutors should support all LEDs to access lifelong learning, captured in an appraisal portfolio regardless of where on the pathway it has been practised or learnt.
These actions will ensure that LEDs experience an increase in job satisfaction, develop a sense of belonging, and ultimately thrive in their careers.