The Accessible Information Standard (AIS), known officially as SCCI1605 Accessible Information, is a new mandatory ‘information standard’ for implementation by all organisations that provide NHS or adult social care – including GP practices – that needs to be in place by 31 July 2016. The Accessible Information Standard aims to ensure that people who have…

Thousands of vulnerable people have been learning digital skills aimed at teaching them how to use the internet to manage their health and contact GPs, it was announced today. The project has seen some 200,000 people have lessons on going on-line – and led to 7% of them, some 14,000, registering with GPs on-line or using…

Boundaries Acceptable physical contact at work between employees is about maintaining appropriate boundaries: a friendly touch on the shoulder may be quite acceptable, even welcome for one person, but unwanted for another alternatively, between friends in the workplace, a touch on an arm or shoulder accompanied by a kiss to the cheek may be acceptable…

Access to GP services seven days a week is not the factor considered most important by patients when assessing their doctor’s surgery, a new study of more than 170 practices in the UK has found. In a survey to determine what aspects of NHS GP care patients most value and how well patients’ surgeries are…

Are you fastidious about keeping a tidy notice board? What information do you promote? Do you laminate the posters? Are the posters all the same size? Do you print posters in colour? Key Information The ‘key’ information that you ought to promote in your waiting room (or better still at the entrance to your surgery)…

Earlier this week the results of a survey were published suggesting that 70% of patients would be willing to pay a charge of £10 for missing a GP appointment. The relatively small poll of 507 UK patients by Astellas Pharma highlights the fact that no-shows are clearly an issue for GP practices – the health…

Unfortunately, attacks on practice staff are an ongoing problem. Only last September a GP in Nottingham was violently attacked by a mentally ill patient demanding access to his medical records. Unfortunately, such incidents don’t only occur once in a blue moon; in Nottingham alone this defendant is one of 29 patients listed on the local…