Personal productivity: every little helps Frankly, we’re just not pulling our weight. According to the Office for Budget Responsibility, British productivity used to grow at a solid 2% a year, but in the last decade it’s hardly grown at all. Productivity is now lagging behind the majority of Western Europe – and it’s a problem…

A GP practice manager is a solitary being, alone but a member of a brigade of over 9,000 managers scattered across the UK, working in large multi-premises practices and very small practices with one surgery and one doctor, in cities, towns and rural locations. The make-up of each practice is unique and although there are…

Current UK legislation awards, as a right, 28 days’ leave to all employed persons. These 28 leave days can include 8 days’ worth of bank holidays, which some might think reduces the leave entitlement to 20 days or four working weeks. Most GPs enjoy at least 30 days’ leave per annum, plus a week’s study…

By PM Polly That document that we have to write in a hurry. Once it’s done we spend a ‘bit’ of time refreshing it and we spend a ‘lot’ of time hoping that it’ll never need to leave the safety of the ‘business continuity’ file. How your BC plan?! In 2012 my previous practice flooded,…

By Nicola Davies This month’s little missive comes to you fresh from a near-death experience… well, not quite near-death but I was on the other side of the fence for a short while and it was a bit hairy, let me tell you. I won’t bore you with the details (unlike some who are only too…

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…

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…