Out of Hours

Out of Hours (OOH) 

In North Cumbria as part of your employment with The Lead Employer Trust, you are paid an out of hours supplement which is an enhanced payment on top of your core hours.

Under the new Junior Doctor Contract any time spent working out of hours will not be additional to the 40h working week but will be deducted from it.

Out of Hours FAQ

ST1 and ST2 trainees in GP posts;

• GP Trainees are not required to do any OOH shifts
• They should be prepared for later work in this field by: 
  • Experience gathered through educational interventions which could include telephone triage, consulting skills in hours
  • Observation of urgent/unscheduled care provision within hours
  • In hours experiential work in the practice

ST3 trainees when in GP Post (Fulltime GP, ITPs)

• The trainee will undertake 24 hours of OOH work in each 6m GP post with Cumbria Health On Call. With no overnight shifts. The time will be deducted from in-house clinical sessions.
• Trainees on an extension or receiving targeted training should by the end of their training, have completed, at a minimum, the same number of sessions as a standard trainee.
• All trainees need to be rated amber or green to undertake out of hours work. Any trainee rated red should be actively withdrawn from their OOH commitments and the matter referred to their support TPD/Training Programme.

A note about the European Working Time Directive

Please note that this still applies, and any OOH schedule will need to maintain the necessary breaks / maximum shift lengths. The maximum shift is 13 hours and there has to be an 11-hour break. So, for example, if a trainee does a 6.30pm-12.30am shift they can only start work at 11.30am on the day of the shift and 11.30 the day after the shift. If that then results in them working less than 40 hours that week, they will need to work the “missing” hours elsewhere (not necessarily in the same week).

If you need more information or have a question that the description above or linked documents below do not answer, please speak to one of the Training Programme Directors.

It is important that you also visit the HEE OOH area - this provides details of the regulations regarding out of hours training, the EWTD and includes the most up to date versions of forms.

Paperwork requiring completion:

• OOH1 – Form for recording your shifts. Needs to be uploaded to e-portfolio
• OOH2 – Trainee feedback for Clinical Supervisor
• OOH3, OOH4 and OOH5 – Confirmation of Red/Amber/Green status for solo working

OOH Induction Course

Cumbria Health On-Call (CHOC) provide the local GP out-of-hours service.

Before commencing OOH work all trainees must attend the OOH training provided by CHOC at their highly regarded induction course run as a series of training sessions over 3 days. Once completed attendees can start their OOH work under the supervision of an experienced GP. For some trainees, the course will take place during their last hospital post and so their OOH work will start once they return to practice in their next placement. Attendance at this course forms part of evidence towards competence in Urgent and Unscheduled care.

• We expect that all GP registrars will complete the Out of Hours Training Course during their training.
• Time for attendance of the course will be taken out of formal study leave. Application for this must be made to the Training Practice or Hospital Trust (depending on what post the trainee is doing at the time of the course) in good time to ensure that it can be approved.

Clinical Supervisors for OOH 

Some GP trainees have trainers who do not do OOH work. In these circumstances, the CHoC holds an up-to-date list of doctors who have agreed to adopt the role of Out of Hours Clinical Supervisor for GPRs other than their own, or are CHOC Salaried GPs. If you are in need of an Out of Hours Clinical Supervisor please contact the CHoC office: 01228 514830 or Email: office@choc.nhs.uk 

CHoC OOH Clinical Guidelines - 

These are found on the CHoC website in the staff area (username and password required). To obtain a password email office@choc.nhs.uk. 

Cumbria Health on Call (CHoC. Ltd) Contact Details
Address: Capital Building, Hilltop Heights, London Road, Carlisle, CA1 2NS
Tel: 01228 514830
Fax: 01228 402803
Email: office@choc.nhs.uk 
Website: www.chocltd.co.uk