The GP retainer scheme: report of a national survey

Abstract

The current context of organisational change and new working patterns, together with the high cost of medical training, mean it is of vital importance that the NHS retains its trained workforce. The GP retainer scheme supports doctors who for reasons of personal circumstance are restricted in their ability to compete for employment in medicine, and aims to facilitate the retention of their skills and confidence. This national study evaluates the experiences and views of current and past GP retainers and provides a rigorous assessment of the retainer scheme. It is a mixed method study: an online questionnaire was completed by 318 current and ex-retainers across the UK; follow-up telephone interviews were conducted with 30 respondents. The study finds that the GP retainer scheme is effective in retaining GPs through times of transition and provides evidence to support the continuing funding of the scheme across the UK. The scheme is beneficial for doctors who also have a role in caring for young children and is also highly valued by a minority of GP retainers who are using it to return to work after illness, or to practice in a more limited role, due to chronic illness or disability. This study found variations in the implementation of the educational entitlement which is fundamental to the scheme. A minority of retainers experienced problems with the implementation of the scheme and recommendations are made for improvements.

A systematic review of strategies to recruit and retain primary care doctors

“… Travel, accommodation + locum support subsidised 341/426 (80 %) of respondents agreed or strongly agreed they were less likely to remain in rural practice without access to CME workshop Retainer schemes 35 The GP Retainer Scheme: report of a national survey. Lockyer et al (2014) [ 65 ] UK Cross sectional non comparative n = 318 The GP retainer scheme (1998-present) combines a service commitment and educational element. It allows a limited number of sessions in clinical practice (1–4 sessions per week, 5 years max (unless in exceptional circumstances) to aid the retention of skills when taking time out Retainer payment £59.18 per session £310 for professional expenses Of those who had left the scheme in the last 2 years (2012–2013) n = 105 were working as: • 91/105 (86.3 %) GPs, • 49/105 (47.1 %) in salaried GP posts.…”

“…Four studies, without a comparison group, assessed retainer schemes in the UK, including the Women’s Doctors Retainer Scheme [ 63 , 64 ], the GP retainer scheme [ 65 ] and the Doctors’ retainer scheme [ 66 ]. Retainer schemes allow primary care doctors to work reduced hours (a maximum of four sessions a week, a minimum of one) with an educational component, for up to five years.…”

“…Participants from a retainer scheme in Scotland reported that the scheme prevented them leaving medicine (32 % of former members (33/104) and 46 % of current members (69/152) [ 66 ]. All studies showed high retention of primary care doctors from retainer schemes (86 % (91/105) [ 65 ], 91 % (33/36) [ 63 ] and 71 % (10/14) [ 64 ] but the lack of a comparator group made it difficult to draw conclusions about the effect of the scheme.…”