Locum tenens is a Latin phrase meaning "place holding", akin to the French lieutenant.
Some GPs have been employed by the primary care trusts (PCTs) to provide locum cover.
However, PCTs were abolished in 2013 and replaced by the clinical commissioning groups (CCGs).
[4] Locums provide a ready means for organizations to fill positions that are temporarily vacant or for which no long-term funding is available.
[5][6] Some locum recruitment agencies offer pre-employment training to foreign medical graduates before their first professional experience in the primary care system.