IF you fall ill, you may be able to claim payments from the FHSA to help with paying a locum. Whether or not you can get the money depends upon the average number of patients each remaining partner is left with. A single-handed doctor will almost certainly be allowed the payment – that is unless he works in a group. Payment also depends upon how long you are ill. For less than 2 weeks, a full-time partner away will need to leave the partners with at least 3,600 patients each. Between 2 and 6 weeks, it is 3,100 each, and over 6 weeks, 2,700. So if you have a partnership of 4 and 10,000 patients, a partner away ill will leave the remaining partners with an average of 3,333 each. His illness will need to last at least 2 weeks to qualify.