The resident optometrist is off next month
Your resident optometrist has booked a fortnight's holiday, and another is on reduced days. The manager starts texting locums. One is free on the Tuesday but not the Thursday. Another wants a longer test time and no contact lens appointments. A third replies a day later, after the slot has gone. Once the dates are fixed, someone rebuilds the diary for each session: test lengths, breaks, which appointment types this locum does.
After the sessions, the invoices arrive, each in a different format, and the manager checks them against a diary that may have changed since.
Why locum cover is so manual
- Availability is gathered one message at a time.
- Each locum's preferences, such as test length and appointment types, are not written down.
- Registration and indemnity documents are checked once and not tracked.
- Diary templates are rebuilt for each session.
- Invoices are checked against memory rather than a record of sessions worked.
Locums are essential for many independent practices, and good ones are in demand. A practice that is easy to work with gets them back.
What the chaos costs
| Problem | Effect |
|---|---|
| Slow availability gathering | Good locums booked elsewhere first |
| Diary rebuilt by hand | Errors in test lengths and appointment types |
| Documents not tracked | Uncertainty about who is current |
| Invoices checked loosely | Overpayment or disputes |
| No record of past locums | Starting from scratch each time |
How we build the locum system
- A register holds each locum's contact details, GOC registration number, indemnity expiry and preferences, such as test length, appointment types and equipment they are comfortable with.
- When you need cover, you choose the sessions, and a request goes to selected locums by text or email with a link to accept.
- The first suitable acceptance is confirmed, others are told the session is filled, and the booking is recorded.
- The diary for that session is set up automatically from the locum's template in your practice system, where it allows this, or presented as a checklist for staff to apply.
- Registration and indemnity dates are checked against the register, and anything expired is flagged before the session is confirmed.
- After the session, the log records the hours and tests actually done.
- Locum invoices are matched to the log, and differences are shown for the manager to query.
Each locum is responsible for their own registration and insurance. The register only helps the practice see what it has been given and when it expires.
When cover is needed next time
Requests go out in minutes, to the right people. Locums confirm from their phone. The diary is ready before the session. Invoices are checked against a record, not memory. And the practice builds a picture of which locums work well with it and like coming back.
Locums appreciate it too. Clear sessions, a diary set up the way they prefer and prompt, accurate payment are exactly what makes a practice easy to work for.
Planned absences become easier to handle well ahead. When a resident optometrist books leave three months out, the requests can go out the same day, while the best locums still have gaps, instead of the week before when the choice is whoever is left. Recurring cover, such as every other Saturday, can be requested as a series and confirmed in one go.
Is this your practice?
- Locum cover is arranged by individual texts.
- The diary is rebuilt by hand for each locum session.
- Locum preferences are remembered rather than recorded.
- You do not track locums' registration and indemnity dates.
- Locum invoices are hard to check.