From February 2023, Obstetrics and Gynaecology locum doctors will need a Certificate of Eligibility (CEL) from The Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (RCOG) as a prerequisite before undertaking short-term middle grade locum shifts and placements in a maternity setting.
If you are a doctor and want to learn what the Certificate of Eligibility for short-term locums is, how to get one and if you’ll need one, you’ve come to the right place.
There are currently widespread shortages of suitably qualified obstetricians and gynaecologists within the NHS. To maintain a level of safe staffing level, long and short-term locum doctors are required. In short-term locum assignments, doctors may have only been with the department for a day or two before facing highly complex situations within a short space of time. On occasion, this is before they have had time to get used to the team, environment, and department-specific guidelines.
RCOG has released this guidance to better support locum doctors in maternity settings, employers in covering gaps in rotas, and permanent staff when they are covering gaps.
RCOG has developed new guidance on the engagement of locum doctors in maternity care in collaboration with the NHS. From February 2023, doctors undertaking short-term locum placements will be required to have a Certificate of Eligibility (CEL).
This will be a pre-requisite for employment of short-term obs & gynae locums for tier 2nd and 3rd on-call rotas.
The certificate identifies that a doctor has completed a series of competencies expected to work in a short-term locum post with indirect supervision at either a junior registrar level (ST3- 5) or a senior registrar level (ST6-7). This certificate is achieved through the collating of evidence submitted to the Royal College.
For the purpose of this guidance, a locum doctor refers to a doctor who is provided by a locum agency, or locum bank, or directly engages with healthcare organisations for short-term work. In this context, short-term work is defined as placements that are two weeks or less in duration. Doctors who are working as Middle-Grade O&G locums, in positions of 2 weeks or less, and who are not on the GMC Specialist Register, will need to have a Certificate of Eligibility. Full guidance on the engagement of short-term locums in maternity care can be found in this document from RCOG.
Obstetrics and Gynaecology locum doctors will need a Certificate of Eligibility (CEL) from The Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (RCOG) as a prerequisite before undertaking short-term middle grade locum shifts and placements in a maternity setting. These are the five steps to getting your Certificate of Eligibility:
Register your interest and we will be in touch to discuss your work preferences.
At the time of writing this article, the prices are as follows:
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RCOG has developed a locum certificate registry on their website where you can search for a doctor by name or GMC number.
If you are a doctor looking for obstetrics or gynaecology jobs, browse locum and permanent job opportunities. If you a looking for O&G career support, you can access our MRCOG guides. We’ve searched the internet and spoken to former candidates to create a one-stop guide for all of your MRCOG resources and guidance.
At Pulse, we’re passionate about the quality of our people and proud of the services we provide. For more information about CEL or career support, register today with Pulse. Our team is here to help doctors find job opportunities in obstetrics and gynaecology.
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