According to a recent survey, GPs are leaving full-time work in practices to become locums, as there is little financial incentive for them to stay in permanent jobs. As a result, there is concern for patients, who may lack continuity of care.

However, for the GPs who move to supply work, it can be very lucrative, as they can earn up to £150 an hour, equivalent to £1,899 for a 12-hour shift, and can work whenever they want. This compares with the average salary of a family doctor, who now earns £98,800 a year, the first time this has dropped below £100,000 in a decade.

A spokesman for the British Medical Association’s (BMA) GP Committee sad that becoming a locum allows doctors to regain control of their workload and work-life balance but warned that it is at the expense of continuity of care.

He added that the rising costs of hiring locums and the need for more of them, as practices struggle to retain GPs or recruit new ones, added more to the costs of running a practice. This then becomes a damaging vicious circle, as rising expenses leads to less funding for the practice workforce, which leads to more workload pressures for those left.

The survey found that 31 per cent of the locums polled had been employed at surgeries full time 12 months ago and most agreed that they had left these jobs for financial reasons, to enjoy a better work-life balance or for the flexibility.

A spokeswoman for the Patients Association described the figures as ‘very concerning’ and warned that rising workloads and shortages of staff are ultimately going to have a detrimental effect on patient care.

Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for the Royal College of GPs said that the profession must address the GP recruitment crisis immediately. Figures show that around 14 million patients have to wait a week to see their GP but in some surgeries it is longer than a month.