Fellowship in General Practice

The General Practice Fellowship is an NHS England funded 2-year programme of support for newly qualified GPs and GPNs beginning careers in General Practice. NHS-E and HEE have confirmed funding for entry until 2023 and we are delivering the scheme in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to help practices attract, support and retain tomorrow’s clinical team, with uplifted funding to practices participating from April 2021.

Who is it for?

The General Practice Fellowship scheme is open to any newly qualified GP or GPN who:

  • qualified within the last 12 months (rolling)
  • is employed in a Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Practice in a substantive post

Application and funding is via the employing practice (there is no funding direct to fellows), see below for further information.

Aims

The scheme:

  • Aims to encourage newly qualified GPs and Nurses to take up substantive posts in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough practices.
  • Assists with their transition from training to fully embedded roles.
  • Supports practices in recruiting and meeting the learning needs of their newly qualified GPs and Nurses.
  • Includes a financial contribution to practices to allow newly qualified GPs and Nurses to engage with education, mentoring and peer networking.
  • Aims to ensure that our trainees become our local GPs and GPNs by building an educational community and supporting workplace-based professional development beyond the end of training.

Why should my practice get involved?

The new NHS contract committed to a universal two year offering for all new GPs and Nurses of a supported start to their clinical careers, with time for learning and peer education and support programmes. The General Practice Fellowship is the first step towards this and provides a structured induction, support and educational programme for up to 24 months from starting, to help attract, recruit and retain GPs and Nurses.

Benefits to Practice:

GPs:

  • A Salaried GP/Partner rather than a locum.
  • Commitment to 2 year employment by newly qualified GP.
  • Financial grant to practice for backfill to support time to learn for each new to practice professional – now based on actual salary + 30% uplift for on-costs.
  • Financial contribution towards the cost of in-practice mentor support.
  • Involvement of newly-qualified GP with QiP and practice development.
  • Support with recruitment and improved retention of committed energised newly-qualified GPs to support the practice team.
  • Grow your own future GPs – in house professional development to meet your organisation’s needs.
  • Access to external education programme tailored to meet newly-qualified GP needs.
  • Job satisfaction for GPs in current practice team in providing mentoring/developing as mentors.
  • Access to mentor development programme (TH will provide mentorship training for staff who are not already coaches, mentors or educators.

 

GPNs:

  • New Nurses in Primary Care.
  • Financial grant to practice for backfill to support time to learn and in-practice mentor support for each newly qualified Nurse – now based on actual salary + 30% uplift for on-costs.
  • Mentoring for new to practice nurses and access to mentor development (TH will provide training and support for staff who are not already coaches, mentors or educators).
  • Funded Fundamentals of Practice Nursing course in year 1.
  • Access to education programme tailored to meet newly-qualified GPN needs.
  • Support with recruitment.
  • Improved retention in first 2 years of work.
  • Grow your own future nursing team.

Fellows benefit from:

  • A structured and supported local induction programme.
  • Protected learning time:
    • GPs – one session per week study time* – 3 out of 4 sessions spent in General Practice or personal study and 1 in 4 to attend a monthly regional education programme. (*based on F/T working, will be pro rata for fellows working less than full time.)
    • Nurses – weekly protected study time (4hrs) and practice-based learning.
  • Access to the regional education programme and in practice learning.
  • A named in-house mentor and protected mentoring time (CPTH will provide mentorship training for staff who are not already coaches, mentors or educators).
  • Access to coaching

Funding

There is no funding direct to fellows. Practices will receive a financial grant to help support each fellow to engage with education, mentoring and peer networking.

In line with new guidance issued in August 2021, backfill funding to release fellows for learning time is now based on actual salary + 30% uplift for on-costs.

Backfill funding will be calculated pro rata for fellows working less than full time.
(eg. a GP working 6 sessions will receive 66% of the backfill grant.)

Mentoring payments are a contribution towards the cost of providing in-practice mentoring. (The mentoring contribution is a fixed amount, not pro rata.)

Example of funding: GP Nurse
Annual sessional rate:* £10,000 £3,250
Uplift for on-costs: 30% 30%
Annual Backfill: £13,000 £4,225
Annual Mentoring: £500 Included
Total 2-year fellowship: £27,000 £8,450

 

*Practice will be asked to provide salary details at time of application (annual sessional rate for GPs, hourly rate for Nurses)

  • In line with August 2021 guidance, increased backfill funding applies to fellowships commenced after 5th April 2021.
  • All payments will be 6 monthly in advance, with the exception of GP annual mentoring which will be paid in month one of each fellowship year.
  • Payments will be subject to evidence of protected education time and mentoring.
  • £500/yr mentoring contribution for GPs applies to fellows enrolled after 1/8/21.
  • Once a signed MOU is in place, you will be provided with an Invoice Schedule detailing the payments that you will need to invoice to the Training Hub.
  • You must notify us of any changes to a fellow’s contract that materially affect the funding, such as leaving the practice or reducing hours, and if this occurs part way through a billing cycle then we will recalculate the amount payable and invoice you to recover overpayment. (Where the change is related to a salary increase, no adjustments will be made during a billing cycle, such adjustment will take effect from the start of the next billing cycle.)
  • A session is 4hrs 10mins and full time is deemed to be 9 sessions/wk (per national guidance).

How to apply

Application is via the employing practice only. Please click the link below to complete a simple online application form if you are a GP practice within Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and you are interested in signing up:

  • A salaried GP who qualified in the last 12 months (employed in a substantive post)
  • A practice nurse who completed their training within the last 12 months

You can submit an application prior to the start of the employment contract, or once a GP is already in post, provided the contract start is still within 12 months of qualifying.

If you don’t yet have an eligible clinician but would like to apply for the scheme in principle (pending recruitment), you should still complete an application form (leaving out the Fellows details), so that we can add you to our list of participating practices and pass your details to any prospective Fellows who contact us.

On receipt, we will verify the application and notify you of the outcome. If successful, you will be sent a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which must be signed and returned to the Training Hub via email to candptraininghub@nhs.net

(Please note if we are oversubscribed we reserve the right to allocate places based on the greatest workforce need.)

ONLINE APPLICATION

More information for Practices

If you have questions on any aspect of the fellowship or to register your interest, please do get in touch:

More information for Fellows

Find out more about the fellowship including CPD/education and Mentoring here:

MORE INFORMATION for GPs

MORE INFORMATION for Nurses

Policies

If a fellow leaves employment part way through the 2 year term, the fellowship may be transferred to a new employing practice within Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, providing the new employer is willing to participate. The new employer will need to complete the relevant paperwork to agree to the terms of the Fellowship.

The fellowship (including grant payments) will be ‘paused’ for the duration of maternity leave, and recommenced on return to work. Access to educational programme offerings may change depending on the current programme available at the time.

Backfill funding for GPs will be reserved for the fellow for maximum of 2 years (at the rate in effect on date of joining the Fellowship Scheme), paid in quarterly payments, with adjustments made on pausing the scheme.

GP Fellows remain welcome to attend any of the F5 training/peer group learning through the duration of their maternity leave, as part of Keep in Touch days, or in their own time.

We may offer a discretionary pause in the fellowship in the event of medium to long term sick leave (4 weeks or longer), please contact us to discuss if required.