I’ve been expecting the new contract changes to arrive, so I’ve been keeping an eye on my emails more closely than usual. At first glance, some of the changes seem relatively innocuous – that is, until you get to the ‘work late’ and ‘Saturday too’ bit. It’s just slipped in there, almost as if we…

GP leaders reacted in anger last night after being served notice of GP contract changes, which they said they had not agreed. The latest rift with NHS England increases the risk of GPs triggering protest action, which they are thought to have supported in a vote last year. The latest changes will require some practices…

General practice continues to work under “intense pressure,” professional leaders have warned after the latest appointment data delivered a mixed picture of activity. Practices in England recorded 25,555,604 appointments in January, according to NHS Digital, nearly 500,000 more than in December.In January last year practices recorded just 22 million appointments but in January 2020 they…

The UK’s COVID vaccination programme wins rare praise from auditors today – amid concerns about how it will be continued. Digital systems proved successful in coordinating the drive across multiple outlets while wastage of doses was less than anticipated at just 4%, the National Audit Office reports. Community health facilities ended up delivering many more…

When I attended my first practice manager meeting many, many years ago, I thought to myself, ‘What a bunch of cynics! That’s never going to be me.’ My positivity did last for a fair few years; through the first five years, I was still certain that I could effect change and I wasn’t going to…

As a busy practice manager, how many times a day do members of the admin team ask you questions that start with: ‘Have you got a minute to…’, or ‘Can you just…’, or ‘How do we do…’? If this sounds all too familiar, then the Practice Index policy team may just be able to reduce…

People who are prescribed physical exercise in primary care settings increase their levels of moderate to vigorous intensity activity by an average of 14 minutes a week, according to a new study. A study published in The BMJ find in most countries physical activity programmes have been ineffective. Overall, one in four adults do not…