For GP practices and PCNs
Remote GP cover for your practice
Request a GP to undertake suitable practice work remotely. A useful brief connects the remote session to your local team, appointment system and arrangements for patients who need to attend.
Define the remote workload first
Specify the patient work, appointment format, session length and administrative duties. Describe how appointments are allocated and which requests stay with the on-site team. Give a remote locum an agreed task list. They cannot be expected to absorb every gap in the day.
Identify who can change an appointment to an in-person assessment and how that decision reaches the relevant staff. Build this into the operational plan before confirming the session.
Prepare access that matches responsibility
List the records, communication tools and clinical system functions needed for the job. Arrange individual accounts and test access in advance, with someone responsible for resolving failures. Shared credentials are not a workable substitute for onboarding a new clinician.
Keep responsibility clear when the session ends
Set the process for unfinished consultations, messages, results and onward work. Name the local contact during the booking and the person receiving the final handover. Where several practices share a remote GP, explain which organisation owns each task and how the clinician moves between sites’ systems.
Remote sessions
Ready before the session starts
Secure access, two-step sign-in and a named contact for escalation are agreed before any remote work begins.
Register your practiceAn example of a defined remote session
A practice could request a recurring afternoon session for a specified appointment list, with records access, planned administration time and a named on-site clinician for escalation. Describe your own appointments and the support you can offer. The example shows the format only; your practice decides whether a workload is clinically suitable.
Professional requirements for the role
Check GMC registration, licence to practise and GP Register status, plus applicable national performers-list requirements.
A booking needs more than a registration number. Review recent general practice experience, indemnity, references and the practice’s onboarding requirements. Agree who owns outstanding results, correspondence and follow-up after the session.
State the country where the service is delivered. Onboarding, local service requirements and any funding conditions need checking for that assignment.
How we approach checks and bookings →| Shift | Day | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Locum GP, morning | Monday | 2 applied |
| Practice nurse | Tuesday | Offered |
| Clinical pharmacist | Wednesday | Booked |
For practices
Every shift in one place
Post GP shifts, see who has applied and confirm bookings from one workspace.
Register your practiceQuestions about booking cover
Can remote GP cover replace all on-site capacity?
The suitability of remote work depends on the service and the patients. Physical examination or another in-person assessment may be needed. Keep a clear local pathway and describe the work that remains with on-site clinicians.
Can the locum use their own equipment?
Agree this with the practice before booking. Equipment, security, remote access and support need to meet the service’s requirements. The request should say what the practice supplies and what it expects the locum to provide.
How much is the booking fee?
£19.99 + VAT per locum for each calendar day worked, including a part-day. Prices exclude VAT. The practice contracts with and pays the locum directly, including agreed expenses, separately from our fee. The same fee applies to GP, pharmacist, pharmacy technician and nursing cover.
Official professional guidance
Source review: . Use the current requirements for the country and service involved.
Our editorial policyRegister your practice for remote GP cover
Register free, then send the dates, duties and support arrangements. We’ll review suitable availability and discuss the booking.