Getting started
How do I start using Dr Diary?
- Add details for your employer(s) and job plan(s).
- Personalise the list of work activities and categories to reflect the work that you do day-to-day.
- Start tracking your activities in the diary.
Watch our video on how to get started.
I can't find my employer in the list of employers
If your employer is not listed, please get in touch via our employment advice form.
How do I enter details of more than 10 PAs/sessions in my contract?
You can enter up to 10 PAs (programmed activities) or sessions of DCC (direct clinical care). If you have more than 10, please add the additional PAs as EPAs/APAs.
Entering activities
I can't find the activity I want to enter into the diary
Use the 'Work activities' section to create the list of work categories and activities that reflect the work that you do.
View our video on how to add and edit work activities.
How do I enter details of an on-call period?
You can enter 'Direct clinical care - On-call period' to mark a period of on-call in your diary. This is just to highlight the time period and is not a record of the actual work carried out.
How do I enter details of on-call duties?
Enter a DCC activity into the diary. In the activity window you will need to select either ‘Predictable’ or ‘Unpredictable' on-call work.
You can choose to enter this type of work directly or create an on-call period and then enter activities that happen during the time as overlapping activities in the diary.
I have agreed with my manager that some of my SPA time can be done at home out of hours. How do I enter this into the diary?
If there is any type of work that you choose to carry out in the evenings or weekends because it’s more convenient, enter it in your diary as normal and tick the ‘flexible work (not premium time)’ option.
How do I enter details of work that has no fixed timetable?
Dr Diary is designed for you to enter the details of your work at the time it is carried out. You can then compare this with the number of sessions allocated for this type of work in your job plan.
How do I add things like sick leave or arranged time off?
Currently Dr Diary classifies all types of leave simply as ‘Leave’. Please ensure that any kind of leave is recorded as such in order to ensure the average working week is calculated correctly.
How do I enter a non-working day?
Only work activities and leave need to be entered into the diary. Breaks from work and non-working days should be left empty.
How do I enter an activity that starts on one day and ends the next day?
Enter the start time of the activity. Enter the end time as the same time or earlier. You will see an option to confirm if this activity ends on the next working day.
How do I input travel time?
Travel between sites is an activity that you need to add under DCC (direct clinical care).
How can I add an activity as a 15-minute slot?
Using the app: You can find this option in the ‘Settings’ section.
Using the web tool: Go to 'Diary' and select calendar settings. Select the option to show diary with 15-minute time slots.
Sometimes I cannot carry out my clinical duties due to circumstances beyond my control. How do I record this?
There may be cases where you cannot carry out your usual clinical duties. For example, if your usual clinic falls on a bank holiday and is cancelled, or there is a bed shortage and you cannot carry out your usual operating list.
If this happens and you perform another duty in its place, enter that work activity and tick the ‘carried out instead of clinical duties’ option.
You will be able to see any activities recorded as ‘substituted clinical time’ in your reports.
Creating reports
How do I create reports for a custom date range or a date in the past?
Use the Dr Diary web tool on your desktop. When choosing a start date this can only be a Monday and the end date can only be a Sunday, as Dr Diary is set up to produce reports on a per week basis.
View our video on how to create reports
What types of reports can I create?
The mobile app contains summary reports. The web tool has the following reports, depending on the type of work activities in your job plan:
- overview – total PAs/sessions for the reporting period and average PAs/sessions per week
- breakdown by week - PAs/sessions each week
- on-call details – breakdown of unpredictable and predictable on-call work
- on-call by week – on-call work each week
- weekly comparison – comparison of job plan and actual values each week
- annualised report – comparison of annualised targets from job plan and actual values
How do I share reports with my employer?
You can download reports from the web tool as a PDF with can either be saved and printed or emailed to your employer.
I cannot see on-call details in my reports
In order to see the on-call work you have entered in the diary, DCC activities must be recorded as either predictable or unpredictable on-call work.
If you have been using Direct clinical care -> On-call period this is just to highlight the time period and is not a record of the actual work carried out. You can add or edit activities at any point to rectify this.
How do I enter details of on-call duties?
Enter a DCC activity into the diary. In the activity window you will need to select either ‘Predictable’ or ‘Unpredictable on-call work’.
You can choose to enter this type of work directly or create an on-call period and then enter activities that happen during the time as overlapping activities in the diary.
I’m not sure the number of sessions/PAs in my reports are correct
First make sure you can see details of on-call work in the web reports. If not take steps to ensure this type of work has been entered correctly into the diary, otherwise your overall sessions/PAs will not be accurate.
If you are still concerned about the figures in the reports, please use the web tool to download a PDF of your report and PDFs of the activities in your diary for the time period in question and email [email protected] with as much information as possible about the issue.
Will I be notified if I am working outside of my job plan?
If you have enabled notifications in the app, you will see in-app messages when you look at the week reports in the app and are working more DCC than in your job plan.
When you create reports using the web tool, you will see a comparison with all the categories in your job plan and if you are working outside of this for each week of the report period.
Can I change the number of sessions/PAs for different activities?
Dr Diary does not currently support variations in the number of PAs/sessions you might have agreed with your employer that vary from the latest version of your contract.
PAs, premium and non-premium time
The tables below show how Dr Diary handles PAs, standard time and premium time across roles and contracts in the four nations.
Non-premium/core working hours
| Nation | SAS doctors (2008 contract) | SAS doctors (2021 contract) | Consultants |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 4 hours = 1 PA Weekdays standard time is 7am – 7pm. | 4 hours = 1 PA Weekdays standard time is 7am – 9pm. | 4 hours = 1 PA Weekdays standard time is 7am – 7pm. |
| Northern Ireland | 4 hours = 1 PA Weekdays standard time is 7am – 7pm. | 4 hours = 1 PA Weekdays standard time is 7am – 9pm. | 4 hours = 1 PA Weekdays standard time is 7am – 7pm. |
| Scotland | 4 hours = 1 PA Weekdays standard time is 7am – 7pm. | Not applicable | 4 hours = 1 PA Weekdays standard time is 8am – 8pm. |
| Wales | 4 hours = 1 session. Weekdays standard time is 7am – 7pm. | 4 hours = 1 session. Weekdays standard time is 7am – 9pm. | 3.75 hours = 1 session. Unpredictable on-call work between 5pm – 9am on weekdays or any time on weekends - the first 3 hours = 1 session. Any extra unpredictable on-call work (inc. public holidays) standard measures apply. |
Premium time
| Nation | SAS doctors (2008 contract) | SAS doctors (2021 contract) | Consultants |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 3 hours = 1 PA Any time outside 7am – 7pm. Weekends and bank holidays are premium time. | 3 hours = 1 PA Any time outside 7am – 9pm. Weekends and bank holidays a are premium time. | 3 hours = 1 PA Any time outside 7am – 7pm. Weekends and bank holidays are premium time. |
| Northern Ireland | 3 hours = 1 PA Any time outside 7am – 7pm. Weekends and bank holidays are premium time. | 3 hours = 1 PA Any time outside 7am – 9pm. Weekends and bank holidays a are premium time. | 3 hours = 1 PA Any time outside 7am – 7pm. Weekends and bank holidays are premium time. |
| Scotland | 3 hours = 1 PA Any time outside 7am – 7pm. Weekends and bank holidays are premium time. | Not applicable | 3 hours = 1 PA Any time outside 8am – 8pm. Weekends and bank holidays are premium time. |
| Wales | 3 hours = 1 session. Any time outside 7am – 7pm. Weekends and bank holidays are premium time. | 3 hours = 1 session Any time outside 7am – 9pm. Weekends and bank holidays are premium time. | 3.75 hours = 1 session. Unpredictable on-call work between 5pm – 9am on weekdays or any time on weekends - the first 3 hours = 1 session. Any extra unpredictable on-call work (inc. public holidays) standard measures apply. |
Annualised job plans
I have a partially annualised contract but I can only state that it is fully annualised or not at all.
If you have a partially annualised contract where some but not all activities are annualised (i.e. clinics), we recommend stating that your contract is not fully annualised. You can then add the details of your average weekly PAs/sessions, as this will give you the most useful reports.
You will be able to see a running total of all activities in the report overview, which will help you to compare this data to your annualised sessions.
I have an annualised job plan that runs over 42 weeks, but I also do resident on-call duties. How do I enter this?
We recommend setting up your job plan as an annualised job plan running over 42 weeks. You can create a new activity under DCC called ‘resident on-call’ so that you can monitor this activity separately from other types of on-call work in the diary.
Please note that Dr Diary works to the principle that for employers in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, 1 PA is 3 hours of work in premium time and 4 hours outside premium time. For employers in Wales, 1 session is 3.75 hours of work, and 3 hours of unpredictable on-call work during evenings and weekends. It does not currently support variations in the number of PAs/sessions you might have agreed with your employer.
Troubleshooting
The app is slow to load
Download the latest version of the app and ensure your mobile operating system is also on the latest version.
I have entered activities in the app but cannot see them on the web tool
You can enter activities on the app if you are offline. In order to synchronise with the web version, you will need to have internet access.
What are the technical requirements to use Dr Diary?
The mobile app will work on most iOS and Android devices.
The web tool will work on computers with Windows XP (or above) or Mac OX 10.6 (or above).
Who can I contact for technical support?
You can contact us through our employment advice form. Please describe the problem you are having, when it occurred, and if it is the web or mobile app. If it is the mobile app, please state if it is iOS or Android and which version of the app you are on.