PMA Blog

Guiding Principles ‘High-quality care and support that is safe, consistent and person-centred’ is what we would all aim to achieve. They are also the stated guiding principles for the ‘Delegated healthcare activities’ from the Department of Health and Social Care and Skills for Health. The delegation of some activities undertaken by regulated professionals, such as nurses, to care workers, is not new. In fact, it has been happening for some time, and was identified in research by York Consulting in 2022 as providing more ‘timely and flexible delivery of activities, resulting in better continuity and person-centred care’. The [...]

Priorities for the CQC’s Local Authority AssessmentsAs the Health and Care Act 2022 required, the priorities for the Care Quality Commission’s Local Authority Assessments have been set out.It is agreed that the quality and person-focused nature of care provided can have a major impact on wellbeing and quality of life of those receiving it. Consistency in the provision of this is also key, crossing sector and provider boundaries with seamless care. It, therefore, follows, that the monitoring and assurance systems required to ensure performance, transparency and accountability across all Health and Care providers, should also be consistent.The Single Assessment [...]

After years of working for a bank supporting clients in the healthcare sector, I have a great understanding of how successful practices structure themselves. The practice structure can be considered from both an internal and external viewpoint. Internal - looks at the day-to-day operations - staffing and utilisation of skills. External - takes a step back from the business and looks at the wider picture – examining how the practice is equipped for the future. So just what is the key to a successful practice? It is having someone with a business focus driving the practice. Benchmarking performance [...]

Staff recruitment and retention are a challenge. This a statement most would agree with, and some may think it a major understatement. In June 2022 the Health and Social Care Workforce Committee reported that a further 490,000 jobs would be needed in the care sector by 2030 to meet demand. Yet by August vacancy rates rose above pre-pandemic levels at 8.2%. Add to this the doubled levels of sickness and absence, and we clearly have a crisis, that cannot simply be ridden out. Something needs to change. A general consensus of opinion is that this is a workforce [...]

As the Kickstart Scheme finishes, PMA has been reflecting on one of its biggest success stories that has been life-changing for one young Kickstarter. Matthew Cornish, 27, has cerebral palsy. After many disappointments, he was beginning to think he would never get a job – or even an interview – when he managed to secure a role via the Kickstart Scheme at West Pottergate Surgery in Norwich in August last year. “For many years I felt I was unemployable, having been continually rejected for jobs ever since leaving school,” said Matthew. “So it was very refreshing to find an [...]

Just 3 months ago, I was yet another university graduate spat out into society and unable to find a job.  Living off Universal Credit, applying for everything relevant that popped up on Indeed, subscribing to hundreds of company websites and eagerly awaiting a job opening, yet finding no luck at all.  Luckily, my UC work coach told me about a government scheme called 'Kickstart'. I’d not heard of it before, never seen it advertised, and had no idea what it would entail.  Through Kickstart, however, I found my current job as an employee at PMA — the Practice [...]