GP protest action to be coordinated Local health boards have been warned that GPs may take “coordinated” action against the practice contract they have rejected this year. The BMA has now written to all ICBs in England, warning them to prepare for “industrial action”. The letter calls for ICBs to hold discussions with local medical committees to understand what, “if any”, measures may be possible to mitigate against the effects of action. The LMCs should also be invited to discuss the full extent of pressures on practices and their vulnerabilities, according to the letter signed by Dr Katie B ..read more

Another funding storm is on the horizon with the recently announced rise in national practice contract funding for England. For all the people working in general practice, a rise is a rise, but when it amounts to about 2% in the context of an overstretched service, in which some doctors working in other parts of the health service have been awarded double-digit pay rises, it’s easy to feel underwhelmed. Even worse, this uplift to the GMS contract is in dispute and may take months to be agreed as the BMA’s members are considering taking industrial action involving doctors in primary care. In t ..read more

Stress Awareness Month has been running since 1992, each year with a different theme. This year the theme is ‘little by little’, based on the concept that our overall wellbeing can be transformed with small, consistent, positive actions. The Stress Management Society[1]  “…want to emphasise how even the smallest steps taken each day towards self-care and stress reduction can yield significant improvements in mental health over time”. As some of you will know, in my wellbeing blogs I usually focus on looking after you because, as managers and leaders, we tend to forget that we need lookin ..read more

The newly updated handbook contains 45 pages filled with everything you need to ensure compliance with mandatory and role-essential training requirements. This must-have handbook covers all of the following: Training requirements Assessing learning needs Continued professional development Revalidation requirements Clinical supervision Competency frameworks Appraisals Organisation-facilitated training Leave for training Funding for training Records for training FAQS and much more… To download the Training Handbook click here. (Please note, you’ll need to be logged into the forum and be a Pra ..read more

GPs go into contract dispute after rejection Last night, GP leaders declared a formal dispute over this year’s contract settlement following the overwhelming vote of doctors to reject it, warning of the threat of industrial action or other sanctions. The BMA has advised NHS England that local health boards should now add potential GP action to their risk registers. GPs and Practice Managers are angry that funding for practices has been increased by just 2.2% this year in spite of the growing crisis in primary care. Also, the BMA says the contract could have done more to support practices in r ..read more

The thought of having to tackle potential bullying or inappropriate behaviour is enough to get the pulse racing of any Practice Manager. However, these things do crop up – and even more so these days when everyone is feeling the pressure and stress. But what constitutes bullying? And what is the definition of workplace harassment? And where does victimisation fit in? In our latest HR clinic, Robyn Clark (aka JacksonR) and Susi O’Brien (HR Help advisor) focused on this tricky subject. Here is a summary of the questions we received, and the answers given. Let’s start off with a definition, shal ..read more

On 3rd April, my practice wrote a letter to all our patients to tell them about the pressures general practice is under and what this means for them in terms of their care. I was pretty nervous about sending it out, as we know how things can be portrayed and how some people seem to have a vendetta against GP surgeries no matter what we do. The letter, which came from the IGPM template, was picked up by the local media. It turns out a patient is related to a BBC reporter who got wind of it and sent someone down to the health centre to investigate the story. Poor muggins here was asked to comme ..read more

Right care, first time Practice managers are launching a major campaign to tackle public frustration at the delays in gaining GP appointments. The “Right Care First Time” campaign, launched by the Institute of General Practice Management (IGPM), aims to encourage patients to recognise that they may get the right care by going directly to other members of practice staff, such as pharmacists and physiotherapists. It follows the national drive to diversify primary care teams, introducing a range of professions to support GPs. The IGPM has stated: “You don’t always need to see a GP.” Boost for MM ..read more

The brand new campaign video from the IGPM helps explain why you don’t always need to see the GP. General practice is facing unprecedented pressure. Demand is exceeding capacity, patients are facing longer delays and abuse in practice is rising as a result. This new campaign is designed to try to reduce the burden on GPs by explaining why you don’t always need to see the doctor. GP surgeries frequently now have teams of exceptionally skilled, qualified healthcare professionals who have the experience and competency to treat many of the patients who traditionally believe they need to see the G ..read more

Hi from a very tired PM Polly! Sorry it’s been a long time since I put pen to paper – or should that be fingers to keyboard? I felt compelled to do so when I read something that made me laugh out loud yesterday; I just had to share it with you! One of the forums I read regularly had a post on it that said something along the lines of: ‘I’m thinking of a change of career. There’s an advertisement near where I live for a practice manager. I’m thinking of trying for it; I think it could be fun.’ Fun?! Now before you start commenting, we all know there are some aspects of practice management that ..read more