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,

So, it happened; we got the dreaded email: “We will be inspecting your surgery in two weeks.” Two weeks! That really isn’t long! So much to do! Re-read those blogs on KLOEs and work out what on earth they’re all about, check that all the infection control stuff is okay, double-check that the HR files

While 96% of practices have been rated good or outstanding by the CQC, the scrutiny is relentless, with more ‘boots on the ground’ inspections for a proportion of good and outstanding practices each year. Here are five tips on keeping your website CQC-ready at all times. 1) Display your CQC rating The regulations state that

Practices are to be spared overall increases in fees to the Care Quality Commission in the coming year – but will not benefit from successful cost-cutting, it has been announced. Some practices may face changes because of changes in patient numbers – but there will be no overall increase in fees, according to proposals published