There are many roles within general practice and whilst some people will stay in the same job for their entire working life, others often decide they want to do something different and change their job every few years; this is now considered the norm. However, something that perhaps requires more attention than it receives is…

Now that the British Medical Association (BMA) has opened its ballot for collective action among General Practitioners (GPs) in England, in protest at the imposition of the latest GP contract, Practice Index has asked a number of Practice Managers how they feel about any upcoming action. From now until midday on Monday 29th July, GP…

Practice activity up on pre-pandemic period In April, practices in England delivered 30.5 million appointments, according to NHS England. This was six million more than in April 2019. The organisation reported that 98% of practices in England have now successfully upgraded their phone services, putting an end to the ‘engaged’ signal for most patients. In…

Practices may be struggling to pay for locums GP leaders have called for additional roles funding to include locum doctors as it has emerged that some are struggling to get work. Official NHS figures show a 35% reduction in the number of ad hoc locums working in general practice in the last year. Dr Mark…

Right care, first time Practice managers are launching a major campaign to tackle public frustration at the delays in gaining GP appointments. The “Right Care First Time” campaign, launched by the Institute of General Practice Management (IGPM), aims to encourage patients to recognise that they may get the right care by going directly to other…

The introduction of multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) in general practice was driven by the changing healthcare landscape, the need for more comprehensive and patient-centred care, and the desire to improve coordination and efficiency in healthcare delivery. In short, MDTs represent a strategic response to the challenges posed by complex health conditions and aim to enhance the…

In our latest HR clinic, Robyn Clark (aka JacksonR) and Susi O’Brien (HR Help advisor) explored the issues of managing persistent short-term absence. Here is a summary of the questions we received, and the answers given. Let’s go over some basic principles first before we jump into the questions! Firstly, we have to remember that…