Highland clamp-down on premium pay for out-of-hours agency doctors
Overnight GP service to change but Moray Firth area keeps all bases
Freelance out-of-hours doctors have been inflating their NHS Highland earnings.
On occasions the locum GPs have waited until the last moment to book unfilled shifts with the overnight service, which has forced the health board to offer them at higher rates, in desperation.
Dr Antonia Reed confirmed to MFR News: "That has happened.
"We try to stop it from happening by cross-covering rotas as best we can across a number of sites so that people aren't guaranteed that they could do that.
"Our last resort is to go to agency doctors because obviously public safety is our first concern, and we need to have staff on duty, and if it comes down to not having anybody then yes, that does happen, because that's more important."
Pay-caps have since been introduced, and new nurse practioners will be trained up to help ease the burden on GPs, with existing salaried doctors being encouraged to replace the need for locums by taking on out-of-hours shifts.
The system is being overhauled across the Highlands which has caused some concern in rural communities where some people fear the loss of access to out-of-hours healthcare.
But in the Moray Firth area the number of bases will remain the same, and the number of staff on duty will not be cut.