While the approval and subsequent roll-out of vaccines to fight coronavirus have provided much-needed hope for the nation, the actual process of doing this appears to be piling pressure on GP practices while also confusing patients. Several practice managers have reported problems with how the process is unfolding and their practices are continuing to be…

Practices have been ordered to step up vaccination programmes for care homes – completing first doses by 24 January. New guidance from NHS England orders practices to concentrate on care homes and offers a £30 fee for each care home resident vaccinated before 17 January. The fee is a £20 increase on the standard fee…

Many practices have refused to cancel second appointments for the COVID-19 vaccine, it has been reported. The decision to delay the second dose by 12 weeks dismayed many doctors and practices, partly because patients were already booked in for their three week boosters. The British Medical Association promised to support practices that refused to cancel…

A vaccination programme for all doctors will be up and running within the week in England, the government has promised. It came as a GP in one county, Kent, warned that many practices have half their staff off sick with COVID-19. The government promised a programme to include all health and social care workers, delivered…

My stomach lurched last weekend as I prepared myself for ‘getting back to work’. Although I’d actually only had one day off over the holidays, there was a feeling in the pit of my stomach as if I’d chewed up a disposable mask and it was sitting there, churning. In a lame attempt to better…

How do we sum up 2020? Do we really want to look back over the year? Well, January and February started out as per normal with the usual practice management pressures – PCN, annual leave, salaries, and no mention of pandemics or face coverings. In fact, it’s interesting to note that the first Practice Index…

The government must use the expanding vaccination programme to give full priority to health staff, doctors’ leaders have said. Vaccination of staff has continued to be “ad hoc and often chaotic,” the British Medical Association said. It said that some practices have vaccinated a “reasonable” number of staff while others have done none at all.…