Holidaying GPs in Cornwall asked to help ease doctor shortage

The village St Mawes is one place where GPs on holiday are being offered locum shifts

Holidaying GPs are being offered locum shifts to help surgeries in Cornwall that are short of doctors.

The three Roseland Surgeries have used social media to ask visiting doctors take up the offer and "help pay for the extortionate cost of the hols".

Practice manager Nicola Davies said she had tried to fill the shifts without any luck before posting a message on Twitter.

She said: "The scenery is beautiful, so hopefully I can attract someone."

The team, which usually has four doctors based at surgeries in Tregony, Portscatho and St Mawes, has been affected by a GP relocating.

With the remaining doctors also wanting their own holidays in August, "we were struggling to fill the sessions left", Ms Davies said.

It is hoped the beautiful scenery at places like St Mawes may help attract doctors to Cornwall

The problem was made worse by a "shortage of locums in Cornwall generally" and the "geography of where we are", she added.

"There's a real drive if you want to come down to the peninsula, so getting somebody over here can be a little bit of a challenge," she said.

Having tried more conventional methods of recruitment, she said "there are just not the doctors available, so I had to think outside the box".

Nationally, there were 2000 fewer full-time doctors in March 2021, compared to March 2017.

Ms Davies said: "I thought, maybe there's somebody who, if they're here, might want to earn a bit for their Airbnb, their bed and breakfast or their holiday cottage.

"So I got the best photo that I've got of the village and posted it."

Her tweet has sparked interest from medics around the country.

Paul Cook, GP and NHS Kernow Clinical Commissioning Group chairman, said surgeries in Cornwall had a number of GP vacancies - similar to general practices "up and down the country."

He said: "We would love to encourage people to relocate and work in our wonderful county - who wouldn't want to be in such a stunning and friendly place."

Mr Cook said Cornwall was a "great place to work with a lot of career development opportunities."