Bullying and harassment are unfortunately quite common in many workplaces. Both forms of behaviour are unacceptable, and the law makes it clear that employers have an obligation to tackle both types if made aware of it. Not only can issues between employees lead to distress and upset within your team, but they can leave you…

Why a training handbook? Training is essential for many reasons; it allows individuals to acquire new skills, knowledge, and expertise and it’s necessary for both personal and professional development. But then throw into the mix legal requirements, risk management, compliance, safety, and you soon realise just how significant training is. To mitigate risk, and to…

Many practices in Scotland have closed their lists to new patients as the service faces a “sustainability crisis”, GP leaders have warned. A new analysis of the state of general practice in the country shows a 10% reduction in the number of practices in the last decade – with numbers falling to 905. The British…

Ministers have claimed a milestone in the recruitment of thousands of extra staff to primary care – while practice leaders warned of “continuing” collapse. Health Secretary Steve Barclay announced the recruitment of 29,000 extra professional staff just as the local medical committee representatives gathered in London for their annual conference. The numbers met a 2019…

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week and this year’s theme is anxiety. It’s fair to say that most of us will have experienced anxiety at some point in our lives. It’s a normal emotion to experience, which at everyday levels can be helpful. It heightens our awareness and pushes us to focus, perhaps priming…

As many as 40% of practice premises are “unfit for purpose”, according to a major survey of general practice staff published today. 88% of staff said they do not have enough consulting rooms while 66% said limited space is hampering the training of GPs. As many as 75% said space shortages were limiting the number…

The public is increasingly turning to self-testing kits – but without regulation this could increase pressure on general practice, according to the Royal College of GPs. The college has now made a plea to regulators to ensure that kits have quality marks and are independently validated. The public can now buy self-testing kits for cholesterol…