A row has erupted about plans to use practices to screen patients for sexuality. NHS England is set to ask all clinicians to ask adult patients about their sexual orientation. The organisation says the move is intended to help it comply with equalities legislation but some senior GPs last night claimed that the requirement would…

Focus. It’s one of those words that’s frequently used in any workplace – including GP practices. In your time as a practice manager you’ve probably advertised for a ‘focused individual’ in your job ads. Your practice is more than likely focused on delivering the best possible care. And you probably hope to have a team…

Fun. Do we have enough at work? For most practices, the answer is probably no. Whilst there will always be a need to be serious, focused and professional – it’s the nature of what we do and the sector we work in – time must simply be found to have some fun. After all, there…

Significant increases in spending on general practice across the UK last year were not enough, according to senior GPs. An NHS digital analysis found a 3.61% increase last year across the UK in spending on primary care last year on top of inflation (a real terms increase). The total cash increase was 5.68%. According to…

According to the most recent research from The King’s Fund, 72% of patients are satisfied with GP services – the highest satisfaction rating of any NHS service. While this is clearly a healthy figure, in these days of public feedback and online reviews, just one negative patient can severely dent a practice’s reputation – and be…

NHS England has taken over the running of a large group practice in Devon after the partners handed in their contract because of their inability to recruit doctors. The four doctors who were the former partners have continued working for Ocean Health as employees – but their contract reverted to NHS England this week. The…

There is no single legal definition of bullying. ACAS refer to it as unwelcome “offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour, an abuse or misuse of power through means that undermine, humiliate, denigrate or injure the recipient”. It is “unwarranted and causes a detrimental effect”. Examples of bullying can include Ridiculing Telling jokes in public at…