In some places across the country, Primary Care Network (PCN) managers have struggled with their local practice managers (PMs). This has, on rare occasions, led to the PCN manager resigning from the role, claiming that the job is “impossible”. So why is there sometimes tension between PCN managers and PMs, and are there ways of…

There’s no question that the last 17 months have been especially challenging for general practice. But could things be about to get worse? COVID-19 is refusing to fade into the background, and the length of the pandemic is in itself creating issues; there’s a huge backlog of built-up demand that’s now flooding general practice. At…

There has been a call in recent times – both from practice managers themselves and from those outside the profession – for practice managers to receive a professional accreditation. But what does professional accreditation actually mean, and is it something PMs should aspire to? Professional accreditation is the formal recognition of an individual’s competence to…

The powerful If I Die It Will Be Your Fault video produced by the Institute of General Practice Management (IGPM) highlights the abuse those working in practices suffer every day.  It has to stop.  But unfortunately those in national positions are making it worse. The public letter that went out to practices, and the newspaper…

The PCN DES was published on 31st March, and at the very end of this 104-page document (from p96 onwards!) we find detail of the Investment and impact Fund (IIF). In our latest Practice Manager Panel podcast episode, we discussed the impact of QOF on practices, so in this article I will focus on the…

Life, as we know, is a challenge in general practice.  But will 2021/22 prove to be the biggest challenge so far? Now, 2020/21 was challenging enough!  It is not every year that practices have to completely change the way they do things, cope with a pandemic, run the biggest ever flu vaccination programme, and then…

I was really struck when we were recording this month’s episode of the Practice Manager Panel podcast of just how positive an experience the vaccination programme has been so far for general practice.  What is important is that the money flows to practices do not make it all turn sour. The vaccination programme really has…