York GP Speciality Training Scheme
PregnancyIf you area GP trainee and are pregnant or planning a pregnancythis guide will tell what you need to know.
When do I need to tell work that I am pregnant?
Although you don’t have to notify your employer until the end of the fifteenth week before your expected due date there are benefits of declaring you are pregnant as soon as possible. This helps ensure you are not unnecessarily exposed to health and safety risks. It also allows you to take time for antenatal care.
In order to help plan your training you should make contact with your programme director early in your pregnancy, the sooner the better.
How much maternity pay and leave am I entitled to?
Maternity leave and pay are complex and vary depending on circumstances.
What you are entitled to will depend on;
- Your previous continuous NHSservice.
- Whether you are working in a hospital post or GP practice.
- How far on you are in your pregnancy in relation to the start date of the post.
Pay is also dependent on informing people at the right time, and your intention to return to work afterwards.
The BMA website has up to date information about maternity benefits for GP trainees. There is also a useful calculator available to help you work out what you need to do and when. The BMA are also able to answer questions regarding how the general guidance applies to you.
You will need to be a BMA member to access this information.
If you are not eligible for NHS contractual maternity pay, you may still be able to make a claim for Statutory Maternity Pay from your employer, or if not, then Maternity Allowance from the government.
When do I need to tell the postgraduate office about my return to work plans?
Legally an employer can expect an individual to take their maximum maternity entitlement, but by giving 8 weeks notice an individual can choose to return to work earlier.
However, being on a VTS where your posts change every 6 months is more challenging than a ‘normal 9-5 job’. As Programme Directors our role is to facilitate your training to be a GP. When you take maternity leave we work within the legal framework to help you plan your ongoing training. Trying to ensure that everyone on the scheme gets the best possible training experience is complex, and for this reason the more notice you are able to give us about your intention to return to work, the easier it is for us to explore options of suitable posts.
We are available to talk through any plans or concerns you might have.
Remember;
- to sort out childcare as soon as you can.
- to allow for travelling times to and from work for all your posts.
Can I continue the same rotation when I return after my maternity leave?
Although you have a legal entitlement to return to the VTS in Yorkshire after your maternity leave, we are not able to guarantee the same rotation of posts. This is due to the complex practicality of matching approved hospital posts with GP trainee’s wish lists and the need to cover service provision in secondary care.
The post you left when going off on maternity leave will be on another GP trainee’s rotation 6 and 12 months down the line. Hospitals rely on GP trainees for service provision and so it’s just not possible to actively leave hospital slots unfiled pending a doctors return from maternity leave.
It is however possible for you to slot back into your rotation into the job you would be doing at the time you had planned to do it but only if you return at the start of the post and plan to return full time.
If you choose to return at the change-over date in August or February there will always be a post for you. This could however be any post on the scheme; from Paediatrics in York to A+E in Hull. Returning to work in one of your hospital posts outside the change over-dates may cause problems as there may be no posts available. On some occasions it may be necessary for you to take a hospital post at some other hospital within the Deanery, if no posts on the York VTS are available on the date you wish to return. It is possible to be more flexible when returning to the GP part of your training scheme, although again it is not possible to guarantee you will be able to work in the practices you were originally allocated to, or return to the same practice after maternity leave.
This all sounds quite complex, so here is an example to help.
Dr A’s rotation
Aug 2009Psychiatry
Feb 2010Paediatrics
Aug 2010Elderly medicine
Feb2011Community women’s health
Aug 2011GP for 1 year
Some scenarios;
If Dr A goes on maternity leave in October 2009, she will leave her psychiatry post on maternity leave. If she wishes to return full time in August 2010 she can slot back into her elderly medicine post and then her community post and the programme director will work with Dr A to identify two other posts to complete her training. But it may not be possible for the two posts to be paediatrics and psychiatry.
If Dr A wishes to come back in June 2010, she can only do this if there is a post available.
If Dr A wishes to return to work in October 2010 it may not be possible to ‘hold’ her Elderly Medicine post open for her to return due to the need to try and ensure all secondary care posts are adequately staffed.
Remember
- There are a finite number of approved hospital posts.
- Each rotation has to be approved by the Deanery in liaison with PMETB as appropriate for training.
- You could look at job sharing with a colleague
- We are able to consider job swaps if the needs of both individuals and the training post are not compromised.
- We are here to help but it helps us if you keep us informed of your plans and have realistic expectations about what we can achieve on your behalf.
What do I have to do if I want to return to work less than full time?
If you wish to return to your training scheme and complete it on a less than full time (LTFT) basis please let us know as soon as possible.
The LTFT posts are created on a named doctor basis by direct liaison with each secondary care department. In order to set this up we need to know a definite return to work date and an idea of which posts a doctor would ideally like to undertake.
The Deanery stipulates that posts are worked at 50% full time.
It is not possible for the community posts to be worked LTFT, and each secondary care department will have a finite number of slots available for doctors to work LTFT. There are occasions where we are not able to identify posts that offer suitable training within the York scheme in these situations we use the resources at the Deanery to help support doctors.
It is easier to arrange LTFT training in the GP part of your scheme as all practices are able to accommodate you on a part time basis.
I can see all the advantages to working LTFT and having more time at home with my family are there any disadvantages?
You are working half time and so your training scheme will take twice as long to complete.
You are still required undertake the same number of tasks for the nMRCGP as a trainee working full time, so you do have to be organized as there is less work time in which to complete these.
As the hospital posts are usually supernumeraryit is often not possible to arrange OOH experience in these posts. This is because the Deanery fund the LTFT post as a supernumerary post but OOH is funded by secondary care and so the trust often do not wish to pay more to have more juniors on the on call rota. This will impact on your experience and your salary
You may find it useful to talk to a trainee who is undertaking their training on a LTFT basis.
You still need to complete your training within the 7 year time frame, the link below has further information about this.
Is there anything else I need to do?
We willliaise with the GP administration team at the Deanery who will make the necessary adjustments to extend your training program and work out the new date on which you will complete your training.
Remember
- To take care of yourself andyour unborn child.
- Book in with your midwife and attend all your antenatal care.
- Be responsible at work and don’t expose your unborn child to unnecessary risks.
- Be realistic and sensible about your finishing date, many women do work right up until very late in their pregnancy but this is not always a safe, practical or healthy decision.
What about Dads?
At the time of writing GP trainees who become Dad’s are entitled to 2 weeks paid paternity leave. As with maternity leave this only applies to eligible GP trainees who have had 12 months continuous NHS experience.
What about adoption and parental leave?
Individuals who are considering adoption may find that they are eligible for leave.
Parents of young children may be entitled to parental leave, full details including eligibility can be found on the BMA website.
Where can I get more support and advice from?
If you are considering planning a pregnancy during your VTS you might find it useful to talk to a colleague about their experiences. The practicalities of working in a training post, completing the requirements for nMRCGP while raising a young family can be very challenging.
We are around to chat too and none of us are too old or too shy to discuss any concerns you might have!
The Bumps Babies and Beyond eGroup.
This is an online forum of GPStRs in the UK who are planning pregnancy, currently pregnant or who have recently become parents who wish to link with others either for employment advice, issues relating to training or simply for networking and a bit of support.
Bumps, Babies and Beyond
For financial support during your pregnancy
Advice about planning your family can be sought from your registered GP or the Family Planning Clinic.What about after my scheme has finished are their any options for pregnant GPs and GPs supporting young families?
Many GPs do of course go back to work full time after maternity leave.
The GP retainer scheme is there to help support the needs of those GPs who wish to work a reduced number of sessions in an educationally supported post.
For information on the GPretainer scheme
The legal stuff
The rights of GP trainees during the GP part of their training are set out in the NHS Act 1977- Directions to Strategic Health Authorities concerning GP Registrars 2003 and were further amended in June 2005 to try and bring them in line with the hospital Terms and Conditions. There are still some small discrepancies between these terms and conditions at the time of writing this guide.
The information contained in this guide has been written for GP trainees on the VTS in York and is not intended as a substitute for formal legal advice where this is needed.
We hope this is informative; any suggestions to improve the information contained in the guide would be gratefully received.
Nicola, Jonathon and Stuart
Programme Directors York VTS