Things to have in your bag as a locum GP

Every locum builds their own version of this list after a few sessions where they wished they’d packed something. Here’s a head start, so you don’t have to learn all of it the hard way.

The obvious ones (but easy to forget in a rush)

• GMC and photo ID — some practices ask, and it’s a bad first impression when you can’t produce it
• Stethoscope and any personal kit you actually prefer over what’s provided
• Prescribing details / smartcard, if the site needs it and you don’t already have local access sorted
• Phone charger — a dead phone mid-session, when you’re relying on it for anything, is a genuinely bad afternoon

The ones people forget until they need them

• Parking permit or change for a meter — new sites, new parking rules, every time. Check this before you arrive, not when you’re already late.
• A note of the practice’s address and a contact number — satnavs occasionally send you to the wrong entrance of a health centre with three buildings that all look the same.
• Printed or digital copy of your indemnity certificate and DBS — most sites won’t ask, some will, and it’s a five-second problem if you have it and a genuinely awkward one if you don’t.
• A list of your own useful contacts — your indemnity provider’s number, your usual pharmacy queries line, whoever you’d call about a form you don’t recognise.

Comfort matters more than people admit

• Water and something to eat between sessions — new sites don’t always have an obvious kitchen, and asking on your first visit feels more awkward than just having brought something.
• A layer you can add or remove — every practice’s heating is calibrated differently, and you’re there for hours.

For the admin side

• A way to log the session before you forget details — even a two-line note on your phone (site, hours, anything unusual about the booking) means you’re not reconstructing the day from memory a week later when you sit down to do invoices.

Building your own version

This list will look slightly different for everyone depending on your specialty interests, whether you drive or use public transport, and how many different sites you cover. The point isn’t to copy this exactly — it’s to have thought about it once, properly, rather than discovering the gaps one uncomfortable session at a time.