A fast-growing, flexible working platform has joined with leading healthcare technology group, Agilio Software – allowing for increased support for self-employed professionals and boost staff retention in Primary Care.
My Locum Manager (MLM), founded by two GPs, Dr Matthew Beddoe and Dr Surina Chibber who, having worked in General Practice, were acutely aware of the workforce challenges facing the NHS. Together, they developed a comprehensive solution that helps communities of practices build relationships with self-employed GPs who want to work with flexibility. More recently, MLM were successfully part of the national framework for the delivery of flexible pools which has led to rapid growth in their customer base.
Recent data has revealed that a third of GPs would want to quit the profession within five years, citing their struggles being down to factors including; increased working hours, paperwork, rising workloads, and insufficient time to do their job properly.
In light of this, MLM has announced it has been acquired by Agilio Software and will be integrated into its Primary Care division to provide a complete solution to allow for flexible working, supporting locum and portfolio GPs to work more on their own terms, as well as helping staff retention across Integrated Care Systems, GP practices, and Primary Care Networks. This will be delivered through Agilio TeamNet, used by over 64% of Primary Care and will provide a unique, single solution that enables comprehensive HR and workforce management of all staff types within a practice and across sites
The integration of MLM with TeamNet will allow organisations to identify gaps in their rotas and find cover for sessions, whether locums, self-employed or permanent GPs and other allied healthcare professionals. This will save Practice Managers time by automating key associated administrative tasks, increase staffing by bringing together permanent and self-employed staff across area practices, as well as saving money normally spent on locum agencies to choose from their own pool of talented, trusted individuals.
From a compliance perspective, it will provide everything that a practice requires as evidence, including HR checks and credentials, mandatory training, to staff availability to provide greater continuity and ultimately safer and reliable care for patients.
Additionally, the MLM platform offers self-employment support and guidance for those looking to move to a more flexible working setup, including invoicing, pensions and tax returns. For self employed professionals, it also means instant access to local practice policies and documentation usually stored in TeamNet, and a mechanism to complete mandatory training which can be a headache for clinicians when moving between workplaces
My Locum Manager Co-Founder, Dr Surina Chibber said: “I have been a locum medical professional for 10 years, and following the birth of my daughter, I wanted to have more flexibility with how I worked. However, it has always been a struggle to look after everything that comes with being self-employed and handling my data from practice to practice.
“We developed My Locum Manager to help healthcare professionals be flexible with their working lives without the need to go through agencies – we’re excited to be joining Agilio Primary Care to provide additional support for GP practices and help ease the pressure on their staff with trusted locums that are right for them.”
Agilio Primary Care Managing Director, David Taylor said: “It is increasingly clear that helping GPs have better access to resources and tools in these key areas, is crucial to solving the current staffing crisis in primary care.
This acquisition is part of our plan to continue to invest in creating more powerful solutions for Primary Care so that practices can be more efficient and support them as they deal with the enormous pressures in the sector.”
