Profile of English salaried GPs: labour mobility and practice performance.
BACKGROUND
Recent national policy changes have provided greater flexibility in GPs' contracts. One such policy is salaried employment, which offers reduced hours and freedom from out-of-hours and administrative responsibilities, aimed at improving recruitment and retention in a labour market facing regional shortages.


OBJECTIVE
To profile salaried GPs and assess their mobility within the labour market.


METHODS
Serial cross-sectional study.


METHODS
All GPs practising in England during the years 1996/1997, 2000/2001, and 2004/2005.


METHODS
Descriptive analyses, logistic regression.


RESULTS
Salaried GPs tended to be either younger (<35 years) or older (> or =65 years), female, or overseas-qualified; they favoured part-time working and personal medical services contracts. Salaried GPs were more mobile than GP principals, and have become increasingly so, despite a trend towards reduced overall mobility in the GP workforce. Practices with salaried GPs scored more Quality and Outcomes Framework points and were located in slightly more affluent areas.


CONCLUSIONS
Salaried status appears to have reduced limitations in the labour market, leading to better workforce deployment from a GP's perspective. However, there is no evidence to suggest it has relieved inequalities in GP distribution.
Ding
Alexander
A
School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, California, USA.
Hann
Mark
M
Sibbald
Bonnie
B
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002321:Career Choice; D002322:Career Mobility; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004739:England; D005194:Family Practice / Q000191:economics* / Q000458:organization & administration; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010821:Physicians, Family / Q000191:economics* / Q000523:psychology; D011364:Professional Practice / Q000592:standards*; D011365:Professional Practice Location; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012456:Salaries and Fringe Benefits; D016526:Workload