Federation Duty Doctor in Hove

We are seeking experienced and motivated General Practitioners to support our core clinical services. This role is primarily remote, with the option to work from our offices or one of our member practices if preferred. The post contributes to several services, including Enhanced Access, and therefore requires evening cover between 18:30 and 20:30. The remaining working hours are flexible but need to be agreed in advance, to ensure consistency. The successful candidate will have opportunities to contribute beyond direct clinical care, including involvement in service development, operational processes, and quality improvement initiatives. This is an excellent opportunity to join a growing GP Federation working at city scale to strengthen general practice and support a sustainable health system for local communities. There may be opportunities for the role to develop further as the organisation continues to evolve. This post is offered on an initial 12 month fixed term contract, with the possibility of extension subject to service requirements and funding. A good understanding of local primary care processes and pathways is essential. Current or past experience working in a GP practice in Brighton and Hove is preferable.

Main duties of the job

The Federation Duty GP will work across multiple Federation clinical services, predominantly supporting the Enhanced Access (EA) service. The postholder will provide high quality remote clinical care, urgent decision making, results management, and clinical oversight to ensure safe, efficient delivery of primary care services across the federation. We are seeking a clinician comfortable managing the risks of remote work, with expertise in handling results without increasing workload for the EA service or the patients practice, mirroring in-hours general practice processes. The ideal candidate will be an excellent communicator, experienced in remote telephone consultations and liaising effectively with practices. This role combines direct clinical activity with systemwide support functions, including urgent prescribing, responding to clinical queries, and providing real time guidance to multidisciplinary staff delivering remote and face to face clinical services. Sessions for this role are required every weekday, Monday to Friday. The core EA hours of 18:30-20:30 must always be covered. The additional flexible hours may be arranged within the day, but they should follow a consistent pattern and must be agreed in advance. This ensures the team knows when the duty doctor is available for contact. This role may be shared between two GPs to ensure 5-day coverage.

About us

Brighton and Hove GP Federation is a practice owned organisation working at city scale to strengthen general practice and support a sustainable local health system. It enables GP practices to collaborate where this adds value, while remaining independent, locally accountable and clinically led. The Federation delivers services and shared infrastructure at scale, reducing duplication and managing shared operational and financial risk. By coordinating delivery and investment, it supports practices to focus on patient care while addressing system pressures collectively. It works closely with member practices, PCNs, the Integrated Care Board and partners to develop practical, long term solutions aligned with NHS values. Any surplus generated is reinvested locally to support the workforce, strengthen primary care and build resilience without private profit extraction. Membership provides access to shared services, collective problem solving and a stronger voice within the wider system. The Federation's work is guided by collaboration, sustainability, quality, equity and innovation, with the sole purpose of helping general practice thrive now and in the future.

Job responsibilities

• Results Management
  • The Federation is now responsible for safety and timely processing all blood and pathology results generated by clinicians within the EA service.
  • Review and file all pathology and radiology results received on EMIS and SystmOne within Federation services.
  • Take appropriate action on all abnormal / clinically significant results, including:
  • arranging follow-up
  • issuing onward referrals
  • communicating outcomes to patients or relevant services
  • Prioritise and manage urgent same day result phone calls from pathology laboratories. Triage based on the clinical urgency of slightly out-of-range results. This may involve advising repeat tests, signposting patients to their GP for chronic conditions or issues not suitable for the extended access service, or recommending appropriate follow-up within EA.
• Enhanced Access Clinical Support
  • Provide clinical support when EA appointment capacity is exceeded, including managing urgent referrals or tasks.
  • Issue urgent prescriptions for patients using Enhanced Access services.
  • Provide same day clinical advice to staff ANPs, pharmacists, nurses, remote clinicians, and other team members working within the Federation.
  • Handle inappropriate or misallocated appointments e.g., outside ANP or pharmacist scope, ensuring safe redirection and clinical follow-up.
  • Covering appointments if a clinician calls in sick, e.g. triage a clinic list and phone patients who may not be able to wait for a rescheduled appointment.
• Cross Service Support
  • Provide urgent prescriptions for Smoking Cessation service, INR Monitoring service and other Federation services, where clinically appropriate.
  • Providing advice to ADHD prescribing clinical staff regarding management of high blood pressures or reviewing hypertensive ADHD patients.
• Clinical Governance & Workforce Support
  • Act as a buddy GP for new clinicians undertaking their first remote shift, ensuring safe escalation of queries.
  • Support the delivery teams with clinical queries requiring GP oversight.
  • Contribute to clinical governance processes, incident reviews, audits, and service improvement discussions.
• Other Duties
  • Maintain accurate and contemporaneous clinical records.
  • Follow local and national prescribing guidelines.
  • Ensure safeguarding concerns are escalated appropriately.
  • Engage in CPD, including Federation-led training and meetings.
  • Ensure compliance with statutory, regulatory, and contractual requirements at all times.
  • Keep abreast of relevant policy, professional and organisational developments.
  • Any other duties appropriate to the role as required by the Senior Leadership Team.

Person Specification

Experience

• Experience working in NHS primary care or urgent care settings.
• Demonstrable experience managing clinical results, urgent decision making, and complex cases.
• Experience with remote or telephone based clinical work.
• Experience supervising or supporting multi-disciplinary teams.
• Experience within GP Federations or PCN level services.
• Experience in urgent care, triage, or extended hours services.
• Experience in quality improvement or audit.

Other requirements

• Flexibility to work outside core office hours.
• Maintains confidentiality at all times.

Personal Qualities

• Polite and confident.
• Motivated and proactive.
• Ability to use initiative and judgement.
• Forward thinker with a solutions-focused approach.
• High levels of integrity and loyalty.
• Sensitive and empathetic in distressing situations.
• Ability to work under pressure.

Qualifications

• Fully qualified GP with MRCGP (or equivalent).
• GMC registration with licence to practise.
• Registered on the GP performers list.
• Evidence of continuing professional development.

Knowledge and skills

• Strong clinical reasoning and ability to manage risk in remote environments.
• Competent in use of SystmOne and EMIS.
• Ability to manage urgent prescriptions safely and efficiently.
• Ability to work independently and make autonomous clinical decisions.
• Committed to data-informed decision making and continuous learning.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Effective time management (planning & organising).
• Understanding of Enhanced Access and other primary care extended services.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.