Table 3.
How care is perceived when provided by locums rather than permanent doctors
| Much better | Somewhat better | About the same | Somewhat worse | Much worse | χ2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trust typea | |||||||
| In your experience, when care is provided by locums rather than permanent doctors what effect, if any, do you think it has on the following aspects of care? | Adherence to organisational policies and guidelines (for example, prescribing guidelines) | 1 (1.1) | 2 (2.2) | 60 (65.9) | 27 (29.7) | 1 (1.1) | 0.32 |
| Providing continuity of care | 1 (1.1) | 1 (1.1) | 44 (48.4) | 42 (46.2) | 3 (3.3) | 3.40 | |
| Avoiding drug prescribing errors | 1 (1.1) | 1 (1.1) | 75 (82.4) | 14 (15.4) | (0.0) | 2.58 | |
| Avoiding administrative errors | 1 (1.1) | (0.0) | 62 (68.1) | 26 (28.6) | 2 (2.2) | 1.68 | |
| Keeping clear and accurate patient notes/clinical records | 1 (1.1) | 2 (2.2) | 73 (80.2) | 14 (15.4) | 1 (1.1) | 1.25 | |
| Reporting of adverse events or untoward incidents | (0.0) | 2 (2.2) | 63 (69.2) | 22 (24.2) | 4 (4.4) | 0.26 | |
| Appropriateness of referrals | (0.0) | 1 (1.1) | 71 (78.0) | 18 (19.8) | 1 (1.1) | 0.05 | |
| The functioning of the healthcare team | 1 (1.1) | 3 (3.0) | 70 (76.9) | 14 (15.4) | 3 (3.3) | 3.15 | |
| Workload for permanent members of staff in the healthcare team | 4 (4.0) | 16 (17.6) | 54 (59.3) | 17 (18.7) | (0.0) | 14.77** | |
N = 91. Data is presented as frequency (%). adf = 2, *p < .05, **p < .001