Following the recent completion of their latest round of telephone-based CQC inspections, a pair of practice managers have kindly shared their top findings and handy hints to help other PMs better prepare for the ordeal. Grab a hot drink (or something stronger), settle down and buckle up… Be prepared. You have the questions in advance,

Whether you’re just starting out in your career or a veteran of general practice, there will be one three-letter abbreviation you’ll never forget, and that’s ‘CQC’. Now, the seasoned GP workforce knows that CQC stands for ‘Care Quality Commission’ and I’m certain we all have differing opinions of the CQC. However, for today, my views

There has been a wealth of information detailing the recent change for general practice to the CQC inspection procedures that came into force on 1st April 2019. This will affect those practices rated outstanding or good, which of course is the vast majority of you.  Whilst the formal inspection every five years will remain, to ensure

Recent media headlines have stated: “Over 15 million GP appointments missed per year!” “This costs the NHS £216 million per year”, followed by “the equivalent of employing over 2,000 new GPs!” The problem is, DNAs are a very sticky subject. Okay, perhaps not quite as polarising as the never-ending Brexit debate, but trust me when

Recruiting new practice managers and keeping the good ones is a major problem for GP practices as the demands of the job continue to develop and change, and the attraction of better-paid jobs looms. I attribute my survival in the post from 1992 to 2010 to an ability to smile in adversity, a positive attitude,

“Audit is the process of critically and systematically assessing our own professional activities with a commitment to improving personal performance and ultimately the quality and/or cost-effectiveness of patient care” Although I’d normally avoid clinical audits like the plague, there are ways in which practice managers and their staff can help doctors carry out ‘administrative’ audits

Imagine you work at a practice where you only ever receive comments, compliments or suggestions to improve your working practices. Your patients only want to see you to tell you how good your team is; they send thank-you cards and bring gifts as a way of showing their appreciation for the service they receive. Okay,