MSF for locum doctors: how to collect feedback for revalidation

What MSF is and why locums need it

If you work as a locum, multi-source feedback (MSF) can feel harder than it is. You move between sites, you may not have a regular team, and no one sends you a reminder. This guide covers what you need to do and how to make it manageable.

MSF is patient and colleague feedback about your practice. The GMC requires doctors to collect both at least once in each five-year revalidation cycle. It is part of the supporting information your appraiser reviews each year, and it feeds into your revalidation recommendation.

Being a locum does not exempt you. Your responsible officer and appraiser decide whether your evidence is acceptable, so it helps to tell them early how you plan to collect it.

Do I need an employer or agency to do it?

No. You can arrange MSF yourself. You choose the colleagues you invite and share the patient feedback link in the places where you see patients. Your agency or employer is not needed to run the process, although it is sensible to check that the organisation where you see patients is happy for you to collect feedback there.

How many responses do I need?

The GMC does not set a mandatory number. Your responsible officer, college or employer may have their own expectations, so check before you start. Our standard minimums are 34 patients and 15 colleagues. If your situation justifies fewer, for example you see few patients or work in a speciality with little patient contact, you can ask for a lower number from your portal. Your report then states that a reduced minimum was agreed.

Who should I ask for colleague feedback?

Choose people who have seen your work and can comment honestly:

• Doctors and other clinicians you have worked alongside
• Nurses and allied health professionals
• Secretaries, administrators and reception staff
• Pharmacists, referrers and managers

Locums often spread colleague feedback across several sites. That is fine, and the GMC expects feedback to reflect your whole scope of practice. If you have worked in several places during the cycle, ask people from more than one of them.

How do I get patient feedback as a locum?

• Share a feedback link or QR code with patients you have seen, by text, email or in person.
• Offer a paper form to patients who prefer it, then scan and upload the forms.
• Patients complete it in about five minutes, anonymously, with no login.
• Start early. Short placements give you fewer chances to collect responses.

If your work gives you very few patient contacts, speak to your responsible officer about a lower minimum.

How long does it take?

With our service you have 90 days to collect responses, extendable to 120. Most doctors receive their reports within 3–8 weeks of opening their window, depending on how quickly they collect responses. Reports are generated once you reach your minimums and complete your self-assessment and short reflections.

A practical plan for locums

1. Check expectations. Ask your responsible officer or appraiser what they want to see.
2. Open your window when you start a longer placement, so you can collect patient feedback during it.
3. Invite colleagues straight away, while they remember your work. Invite a few extra in case some do not reply (about 24 invitations is a sensible aim for 15 responses).
4. Share the patient link at the end of consultations or sessions.
5. Finish your self-assessment and short reflections.
6. Download your reports and take them to your appraisal.

Related guides

• How many patient and colleague responses do you need?
• MSF for radiologists, pathologists and doctors with no patient contact