Why are more dental practices taking out dentist locum insurance? From our experience at Approachable Locum Insurance, providing insurance policies of all types to medical facilities throughout the UK, we’ve seen policies taken out by dental practices increase significantly. 

We explore why this is the case and what you need to know if you are considering taking out a policy for your own practice. 

Dental Practices Embrace the Locum Model

Locum tenens, or the practice of one clinical professional “taking the place of” another, is just as important in dentistry as it is in other medical professions. 

For many years, physicians have been able to call upon external support from qualified professionals to cover for them when they had to be absent. And this arrangement goes back as far as the 1800s. 

Today, a robust and extensive locum industry now exists, where these kinds of arrangements are formalized and regulated, with many agencies working to set up mutually beneficial locum positions for both the individual practitioner and the institute they are assigned to. 

Nevertheless, locums are seen more as a practice that GPs and hospitals use when they have staff shortages, rather than dentists. But the truth is, the need for locum dentists is incredibly high and the benefits of locum insurance for a dental practice are just as great. 

Sector Wide Growth of the Locum Industry 

One major reason for the rapid growth of the industry is that the physician and dental practitioner shortages have grown more widespread. The simple fact is that as populations rise and demand increases, the amount of qualified professionals is not increasing at the same rate. 

Hospitals, medical groups, opticians, dentists and many other medical organizations cannot find permanent staff to fill all the roles they have available. Often, this means long waiting times during the hiring process to find new employees or situations where fewer members of staff need to cover a greater workload.

Together with the additional strain placed on employees and its direct impact on work stress, anxiety, or mental health issues, there is a greater need for more temporary locums to support organizations across the UK, so that they can continue to offer the necessary services and care to their patients. 

Sometimes, this has led to locums being used on a long-term basis, standing in almost indefinitely until a more permanent individual can take on the role. And until a more permanent solution is found, it is likely that the use of locums will continue to be an important part of keeping medical practices functioning. 

Optician Shortages

Interestingly, there is a general shortage of young individuals who are becoming dentists today. Dental school graduate rates have been dropping while patient numbers have increased. Also, government spending within the sector has not increased and the profession may no longer seem as appealing to youngsters as it once did to their parent’s generation.  

Shortages are particularly severe in rural areas. Often the recruitment process in many small practices throughout the UK in less populated villages and towns can take a great deal of time, with locums becoming a necessity to keep operations running during the interim. Sometimes these assignments can last up to a year and beyond, while the practice struggles to find a permanent dentist. 

Many professionals view roles in urban and metropolitan areas as more attractive and better for future career prospects. Also, young graduates tend to gravitate towards more populated regions during their initial years of work, making it much harder to find new dentists willing to work outside of cities and in areas that are more rural. 

Common Practice

Typically, private practice dentists will often use locum tenens dentists as part of common practice to fill in during maternity leave, vacations, illness or other such absences. The major benefits of this are that patient care can be maintained despite reduced manpower and resources. 

If you want to learn more about dentist locum insurance or inquire about a potential policy for your practice, get in touch with us at Approachable Locum Insurance and we’ll happily explain everything you need to know.