Should legal advice be offered in GP practices?
The recently published Government's new strategy for legal aid is proposing that patients can access advice within GP practices. The new Legal Support Action Plan strategy, drawn up by the Ministry of Justice, said: 'Co-located legal support services may help people with multiple, linked, or difficult to diagnose legal problems, and can avoid barriers to support that may arise from multiple referrals between providers. 'Alongside our work to improve signposting and co-ordination of legal support online and by telephone, we want to assess and collect evidence as to [...]
The new GP Contract – for or against?
In this latest blog, management consultant Scott McKenzie considers the new GP contract and shares his first impressions. I’ve read through the new GP Contract and followed with interest the numerous articles, comments and social media posts. For me, this is a big step in the right direction, with good investment in to General Practice, a plan to tackle the workforce issues, which is essential, and the introduction government backed indemnity scheme. In short, I’m impressed and so is my client base. Feedback from them has been positive (in the [...]
NHS Long Term Plan – what does it mean for practice staff development?
NHS workers are amongst the most highly skilled and compassionate people. We applaud their dedication and resolve. Sadly, staff have not had the support needed to keep up with the growing challenges faced by the NHS. You may be surprised to hear that the NHS is the world’s largest employer of highly skilled professionals and the biggest employer in Europe. 1.3 million people across the health service in England are devoting their working lives to caring for others. So, how do staff currently feel about working for the NHS? [...]
Relieving the SARs pressures – don’t miss your opportunity to do things differently
With the reported increases in the numbers of SARs requests received by GP practices since the introduction of GDPR in May 2018, the increased burden on resources will be an ever-present concern and frustration. A recent pole to a number of practices showed just over half of respondents reported an increase in the numbers of SARs requests received, and with surveys performed showing that many people are still unaware of their rights under GDPR, increased requests are probable. Estimated figures of a £20.6m cost to the NHS before [...]
PMA Academy launch a Level 7 Diploma in Leadership & Management
The PMA are delighted to launch our ILM Level 7 Diploma in Leadership & Management. This is a diploma specifically for people who are at management level in primary care and likely to take on responsibility for overseeing primary care provision at scale. Some examples of this include new care models, GP or other primary care federations, GP super practices and NAPC’s primary care home and other primary care networks. The first cohort of learners will begin the course in February with recruitment continuing every 4 months on a [...]
The General Medical Services Contract Global Sum – Where is the New Allocation Formula?
Sarah Cousins is an independent management consultant with over 25 years’ experience in primary care, both as a provider and commissioner, supporting practice development and resilience Practice finances are being squeezed. Hard. And whilst the GP Forward View is on target to meet its pledge of a funding uplift of £12 billion into primary care by 2020/21 through the core contract, it’s disappointing that so far little, or discernable progress has been made over the last year in leveraging additional investment from the rest of the system into primary [...]
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