Innovative ‘Champion Programme’ launched to create more positive GP experiences

As part of Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Group's (CCG’s) commitment to creating a more positive experience for our GP colleagues, we are delighted to announce the launch of two exciting new opportunities to become a GP Champion.

Our ‘Newly-Qualified GP Locum Champion’ and ‘Ethnically Diverse GP Champion’ are two important new roles that are being funded by the CCG to offer more support to:

• our newly-qualified GPs who choose to work as a Locum following their Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT), and;
• GPs from ethnically diverse backgrounds – both UK residents and from overseas.

For both groups, the champion roles will provide a resource that GPs from these cohorts will hopefully find useful and can benefit from.

Although we are proudly among only a few CCGs to launch a GP champion programme such as this, those CCGs that have already taken this step have witnessed real success in their efforts – making a difference to the experience of GPs.

We are therefore calling on our current GP colleagues to consider these new roles (see role outlines above) and submit an expression of interest to Phil Morgan at philip.morgan3@nhs.net by Friday 24 September 2021.

The roles of the ‘Newly-Qualified GP Locum Champion’ and the ‘Ethnically Diverse GP Champion’ will be very similar, but for two separate cohorts of our workforce. Our champions will be the ‘go to’ person for those individuals who need more support, who are perhaps feeling isolated and just need to feel like they’re not on their own.

The positions will enable our champions to establish and build a network of support - being the first champions of their kind – to form relationships across the network and help to improve people’s experiences of working as a GP in STW.

The champions will also be an important point of contact for the CCG: highlighting issues that are being experienced by our newly-qualified locum GPs and ethnically diverse GPs, informing our leaders about the challenges and barriers faces by these cohorts, and raising the profile of these groups – thereby helping to bring about change.

We are looking for a positive and motivated member of staff for each position who will reinforce the values of the NHS including respect and dignity, compassion, and inclusion. They should also promote the values of diversity of voices, views, skills, experiences and backgrounds, and act as a real ally to these cohorts.

If you are a GP colleague and interested in either position, or would like to find out more, please contact Phil on the email address above.