‘No care left in the system’: patients on use of locum psychiatrists in Scotland

Dr Jane Morris, of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, says a reliance on locum agencies ‘would lose a great many of the checks and balances [and] quality assurances’. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

The complaints about locum psychiatrists have a clear pattern. Patients say they routinely experience inconsistent care or get contradictory advice. Some describe an indifference that borders on box-ticking.

“I had 14 locums [and] they all had different views and opinions on my care,” said one respondent to a survey of 469 patients by the advocacy group Vox Scotland. “The last locum did not bother to call me back. That was four months ago. I’ve had no contact from my mental health team since then.”