A course that aims to provide GPs and practice managers with top-level business and management skills has been launched in Manchester.

All ten GPs who are board members of the Manchester Primary Care Partnership and nine primary healthcare managers, have begun a 12-month board development programme that will lead to a certificate in strategic leadership and management from the Chartered Management Institute.

Run by training provider Salford Professional Development, it aims to equip them with the knowledge and skills they need to follow financial, governance and operational best practice.

It comprises monthly sessions that cover topics such as leadership, executive coaching, financial skills, performance management, understanding business law, leading organisational change and quality management.

Dr Colin Tate, practice director at The Range, one of 31 surgeries in the central Manchester GPPO, who is undertaking the training programme, said: “This development programme is ground-breaking in terms of what it offers clinicians.

“GPs are well-educated people with many transferable skills in leadership, but not so many in management. By definition, they are medically trained but tend not to be experienced in running an organisation of scale.

“The MPCP directors have responsibility for its governance and finance and, through this programme, they will be in post on merit and not simply by choice or circumstance.

“This approach will assist their personal development and that of the board, through which the MPCP will benefit greatly, enabling it to be an effective force for the improvement of healthcare provision across Manchester.”

MPCP chairman Dr Sohail Munshi, a partner at the Five Oaks Family Practice and chairman of the GPPO which covers north Manchester, added: “We very much see the course as equipping us with some of the managerial skills required to navigate, lead and inspire others in this field.

“The board recognises the importance of building our knowledge, skills and attributes to help us achieve our goals and provide the organisation with resilience and credibility.”

Marc Davis, chief executive of Salford Professional Development, said: “We are delighted to be involved in this pioneering training programme, which we anticipate will bring major benefits to GPs and the general public in Manchester as well as providing a model for other similar initiatives across the country.”

The MPCP was formed last year as an alliance of the three general practice provider organisations in Manchester, with financial backing from the Prime Minister’s GP Access Fund.