The Medical Chambers Newsletter: July 2025

How available are you?

We are reaching out to kindly request that you update your availability in the ImpaxHub system for as far in advance as you can provide.

We currently have a significant number of outstanding sessions, specifically over 140, for July and August that we have not yet been able to fill. Your proactive assistance in covering these sessions is crucial for maintaining comprehensive service during this busy period.

To facilitate efficient scheduling, please take a moment to:

• Input Your Availability: Update your availability in the system for the longest possible timeframe.
• Indicate Session Interest: Review the available sessions on the system and, if you are interested in any, please mark yourselves as 'interested'. Kindly specify your preferred working times for these particular sessions, if applicable.

Your prompt attention to this request is greatly appreciated, because if in July and August sessions are increasing, we may need to start looking at reopening recruitment to Chambers later in the year.

Stay connected with The Medical Chambers

Communication Channels:

WhatsApp Groups: We have two active WhatsApp groups (East and West) for instant clinical support, updates, and discussions. Members can choose to join one or both groups. Carolyn and Kirsty manage both groups.

• Not on WhatsApp? Reach out to us, and we'll be happy to welcome you to the group.
• Out of Office Hours: Contact Carole or Sarah via ImpaxHub's Emergency Contact function (sends an email to admin@medical-chambers.com).
• Office Hours (Mon-Fri, 8 AM - 5 PM): Call us at 01904 297 995 or send a message via WhatsApp (for work-related enquiries only) at xxxxx xxxxxx.

Resources for Members:

• NB Medical: Access a wealth of free medical content by creating an account on NB Medical using the code xxxxxxxxxx.
• 14 Fish Discount: Chambers members receive a 15% discount on the 14 Fish Appraisal Toolkit.
• NB Plus Discount: Existing 14 Fish customers can get NB Plus for £295 (usually £345). New Chambers members will receive a free 1-year NB Plus subscription (terms and conditions apply).

Recommend a Practice and Earn £150!

Refer a practice to The Medical Chambers. Once they register, book, and pay for a session, you'll receive a £150 bonus directly deposited into your bank account. Contact admin@medical-chambers.com with the practice's contact information (name, phone number, email) to get started.

Where can you find us:
https://www.medical-chambers.com/
https://www.facebook.com/themedicalchambers
https://www.instagram.com/the_medical_chambers/

Don’t forget to keep us up to date with your membership plans

Perhaps you've been meaning to connect with us but haven't had a chance yet. Any update, even a brief one, would be greatly appreciated. It helps us understand your needs and plan accordingly, including whether we need to consider adding new members to areas where we've seen some departures.

• Are you planning to stay on with Chambers still?
• Have you found alternative work and no longer require Chambers' support? If so, please let us know so we can archive your ImpaxHub profile and remove you from our distribution list.
• Have there been any changes to your career path (e.g., partnerships, salaried positions) that might have reduced your need for sessions?
• Have you got work that's taken/taking you away from Chambers? We do have members that come back to us after a hiatus so do keep us in the loop if its only temporary, we would rather not lose you completely but at least know you still need us at some point.

As a reminder, The Medical Chambers offers:

• Sessional booking service: Access to our network of practices requests.
• Full administrative support: Including booking, invoicing, NHS pension, workflow, and IT support.
• Clinical governance and CPD: Education for appraisals and revalidation support through NB Medical and our Clinical Leads.
• An admin team that works Mon to Fri 8-5pm: We can help with as much or as little as you need us, we can be a useful middleman between you and a practice when needed

Your membership fee is 10% + VAT for every month you work through us. We actively promote your availability (if its listed) twice a week and provide you with a system that shows you all the sessions our network of practices needs.

We're committed to making freelance work as stress-free as possible and helping you avoid the isolation that can come with locum work.

Please don't hesitate to get in touch and let us know where you stand.

We know many of you are consistently looking for work and actively use our services. However, if your situation has changed, please let us know so we can adjust our records accordingly. We'll be reaching out individually to members who have been inactive over the past year to see if Chambers is still the right fit.

Alumni Members

Understanding Alumni Members

Some members of our network may be referred to as “Alumni.”

• Who are Alumni? Alumni are former Chambers members who have stepped back from regular locum work but wish to maintain their connection with the Chambers community. Their ImpaxHub profile is archived to prevent them from receiving daily "Find Work" emails.

Benefits of Alumni Membership:

• Support and Guidance: Alumni often provide valuable support, knowledge, and wisdom to current members through channels like WhatsApp groups and meetings.
• Networking Opportunities: Maintaining an Alumni connection allows you to stay connected with the Chambers network and potentially benefit from valuable contacts within the community. They continue to be invited to monthly meetings and social gatherings
  Feedback

Feedback from members on practices you have worked at?

We'd love to hear about your recent experiences at the practices you've worked with. Your insights are invaluable and can greatly benefit other members of our community!

Please share any feedback via email or WhatsApp, especially concerning:

Template layouts, car parking, useful practice contacts you discovered. Any "locum hacks" that made your shifts smoother or more efficient.

Don't Forget Practice Alerts!

Before your next shift, remember to check the practice alerts in ImpaxHub. This is where we add important, up-to-date information that could be relevant to your work.

Staying informed helps everyone!

Upcoming meetings or social gatherings

Our now bi-monthly meetings take place on the last Thursday of each month at 7:00 PM, excluding school holidays. These meetings are bookable through Eventbrite. We highly value the expertise within our membership and warmly welcome event proposals from both current members and our esteemed alumni. All upcoming meetings are listed on our Eventbrite page. Please register your interest to ensure you don't miss out!

Meeting links will be sent via Eventbrite to book a place but do save the dates!

Useful Updates

We will continue to circulate slides and relevant links following chambers monthly meetings.

The following are regular update general newsletters you can subscribe to:

https://www.westyorkshire.icb.nhs.uk/
https://www.leedslmc.org/
https://www.england.nhs.uk/gp/

Au Revoir’s, Goodbye’s, congratulations and thank you’s

We're wishing Ruth Hall (Leeds) and Gina Jackson (York) all the very best as they retire. We hope you both enjoy having more time to do exactly what you want…They both stay on as Alumnis!

A couple of our members doing epic things too!

Bruce Willoughby, East Chambers:

Some of you may already know that Bruce was running 1,000 miles from Land’s End to John O’Groats over 5 weeks – starting on May 31st! That’s 33 miles a day.

He is raising money for two charities close to his heart, Claro Enterprises – a brilliant mental health charity in North Yorkshire and IA Support – helping people with ileostomies and internal pouches. He had his colon removed in his 20s due to UC, so this one’s personal.

Please sponsor him if you can: https://www.justgiving.com/team/brucelepetitjog. Every penny goes directly to the charities!

Matt Button, West Chambers:

Matt will be undertaking the Snowdon trail marathon in July in aid of the brain tumour charity. Having a tumour himself and one that has continued to come back as they often do (he has just started on a novel drug therapy - vorasidenib - after having had two operations previously), He is keen to raise the profile of rare tumours in general and brain tumours specifically. He has an oligodendroglioma - there's probably just a few hundred diagnosed in the UK each year, but over 12,000 different brain and CNS tumours are diagnosed each year and just under a fifth of all cancers are a collection of rare tumours. And yet, there is little research, poor recruitment to trials and challenges with the orphan status of novel drugs of rare cancers of uncertain cost effectiveness, but potentially clinically beneficial.

A rare cancer bill is currently undergoing its third reading in parliament, but may be stalled by a last minute amendment, if not enough MPs vote. (https://www.thebraintumourcharity.org/news/blog-post/urgent-the-rare-cancers-bill-is-at-risk-we-need-your-help/).

Here's the link if you fancy writing to your MP: https://www.writetothem.com/

And here's the link, in case you fancy donating to the brain tumour charity for his fundraiser: https://www.justgiving.com/team/buttonfamily?utm_medium=TE&utm_source=CL

Don't feel under any obligation to do anything, but if you happened to take action on either account, it would be greatly appreciated.

Amy Small:

Chambers would also like to congratulate Amy Small who has been elected Co-chair of the new BMA Sessional GP Committee. She is taking up the shared role with Kim Rollinson who represents Scotland, congratulations Amy!