The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), the representative body for recruitment agencies, has stressed that patient safety must come first, following a BBC Newsnight report into locum doctors who commute from abroad.
ìPatient safety has to be the primary concern of locum doctor recruiters,î says Tom Hadley, the RECís Director of External Relations. ìLocum doctors agencies are required by law to make the necessary checks on qualifications and criminal records to ensure that all the doctors they supply are up to the job.î
Responding to the increase in locum doctors being recruited from abroad, Kim-Marie Freeston, Chair of the RECís Medical Sector Group said: ìLocum doctors provide vital coverage within the NHS. The ability to call on locum doctors when they are needed to cover shifts is a vital component in the smooth running of our health service.
In recent years, locum doctor agencies have found it necessary to recruit some of their doctors from abroad to ensure that shifts are covered. Of course additional care should be taken to ensure that doctors from abroad are familiar with the UKís healthcare system and have the requisite communication skills to work in Britain.
However ultimately all doctors have a responsibility to ensure they are alert and ready for work when they start a shift, whether they are based in the UK or not.î
All REC members are bound by a Code of Professional Practice, which is operated through its complaints and disciplinary procedure here
Patient safety should be at the heart of locum coverage says REC
REC has stressed that patient safety must come first, following a BBC Newsnight report into locum doctors who commute from abroad
