GPs in England should become salaried employees of the NHS, rather than be partners who run their own practices, according to controversial proposals published by a leading think-tank today. The Institute of Public Policy Research says this move, which would overturn the model of general practice that has been in place since 1948, would enable…

Life in general practice can be demanding. Workloads, difficult patients, bureaucracy, long hours…the list of stresses goes on, meaning it’s better if a practice’s staff all get along. While it’s good to be friendly and get along, is there such a thing as being too friendly? For one practice, the answer is most definitely yes!…

Patients now face average waiting times of longer than two weeks to see a GP, according to a survey published today. The figure is the estimated average waiting time faced by patients of some 900 doctors who took part in a survey. Some doctors said the rapid expansion of housing – and the building of…

Recruitment is a tough – and time-consuming job, which means ensuring you hire the right person for your vacancy is crucial. Nobody wants to go through the process of hiring a new face, only for that person to be unsuitable for the role, leaving you back at square one. Equally, it’s important that any likely…

The practice’s finances can be seen as a chore that takes practice managers away from the more important tasks of running the surgery and making sure that there are enough GPs and nurses to see patients. Specialist medical accountant David Lockitt explains that when managed efficiently, finance work can be an invaluable tool in helping…

Having spent some time recently back in the driving seat, after a few years of being at home on the range, I realised that while the workload is changing all the time, the attitude of employers towards their staff and their practice managers hasn’t changed much at all. My concern has always been the salary…

Change is a constant in this frantically fast-paced world of the NHS. (That’s the understatement of the week, Kara!) So, by now, you’ll no doubt have started to enjoy the lighter evenings, sipping wine and reading the NHS Long Term Plan and Network Contract DES from cover to cover… Hmmm…. You know as well as…