The Care Quality Commission has published another batch of reports on the quality of care provided by GP practices that have been inspected under its new approach. Always interesting reading, the reports provide practice managers with plenty of insight regarding what’s working well at practices – and what’s not so good of course! Practice Index…

Dealing with difficult patients at the reception desk and in the waiting room is, like it or not, part and parcel of your job as a Practice Manager. It’s your responsibility to demonstrate confident and compassionate handling of difficult patients, displaying techniques your team – especially newer recruits – can learn and gain self-assurance from.…

Following on from previous Practice Index blogs that have focused on staffing levels and ratios of staff to numbers of patients, this week we’re concentrating on the number of GP appointments per 1,000 patients and what practices can do to ensure they’re offering the best possible access to their patients. Plenty of figures are available…

Mindfulness is a massive buzzword at the moment, celebrated by all manner of celebs but also fully recognised now by the NHS as a potential means to preventing or remedying burnout, stress and depression. Practising mindfulness in some way could be hugely beneficial to Practice Managers, since it’s built on the premise that by slowing…

Burnout of all staff – not just GPs – is a real concern for practices up and down the country. An incredible four out of every ten GPs have taken or expect to take time off because of burnout as a result of increasing workloads and intense scrutiny, according to a survey by Pulse magazine.…

You’re only human. We’re sure you’ve said things in the office before that you regretted immediately, and it’s possible that you have ways of communicating with your team even now that might not send out the most positive message. Have a look through some of our worst Practice Manager clangers inspired by stories from Dave…

When I started work in the NHS I was 16 years old and my take home pay was £23. I couldn’t join the NHS pension scheme until I was 18 when my pay would increase annually until I was 21. I began on the Clerical grade and over the next 25 years I would progress…