It has not escaped our notice that the regularity of our (now almost resident) pensions expert Paul Gordon’s appearances on the podcast is increasing as further changes to the NHS pension (and our wider entitlements) are introduced. Thankfully, with the wisdom of Paul, now Sanlam Wealth’s Head of Medical Specialist Wealth Planners, leading on the NHS pensions proposition, we can keep our listeners abreast of the changes. What are the headlines? How do we ensure we avoid any potential financial landmines? Where can we access further information about our own pension position and get further support? It’s all covered in this week’s podcast episode…

Introduction (9 secs)

A change of circumstance for Paul (20 secs)

What’s the latest on GP pensions? (1 min 26 secs)

Standard annual allowance (2 mins 52 secs)

Exceeding the allowance (3 mins 51 secs)

The financial impact of going above the annual allowance (5 mins 17 secs)

Payment of tax charges (6 mins 58 secs)

Annual allowance calculations (8 mins 42 secs)

Working out how much to pay (10 mins 22 secs)

Annual allowance compensation scheme (12 mins 11 secs)

Understanding my own pension status and key contact points (14 mins 15 secs)

What are the options for those with potentially significant tax liabilities and implications of opting out (15 mins 33 secs)

https://www.totalrewardstatements.nhs.uk/ (18 mins 39 secs)

BMA response to the government’s handling of the NHS pension (19 mins 7 secs)

When a pension is not index linked (22 mins 2 secs)

Finding out more and further support (23 mins 11 secs)

What to be aware of and what’s coming next (25 mins 36 secs)

If you haven’t done so already, you should speak to NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) to request at least seven years of annual allowance growth figures. Their telephone number is 0300 330 1346.

You should also visit https://www.totalrewardstatements.nhs.uk/ to access your personal pension benefit statement. Your Total Reward Statement additionally offers personalised information about the value of your employment package and includes details about remuneration and the benefits on offer from your employer at a more local level.

If you’d like to get in touch with Paul directly, you can email him here.

Episode 311 - Podcast – Practice Index – Credit where accreditation is due…

We at Ockham Healthcare have closely followed the journey of the Institute of General Practice Management (IGPM) since its inception at the beginning of 2021. Its four founding Directors, Robyn Clark, Nicola Davies, Kay Keane, and Jo Wadey have worked hard to establish the IGPM presence and ensure the voices of those working in general practice management are represented and heard. This week in a return to our joint Ockham / Practice Index Practice Manager panel podcast, Robyn, Nicola, and Kay talk to us about a major new development in the IGPM world, that of their recently launched accreditation framework which is now on offer to all managers in primary care with a minimum of two years’ experience. It is something the Directors and their regional representatives have put in tireless effort to pull together and in this episode, they explain the process from top to bottom, and why it is beneficial not only for those in Primary Care management roles, but also what the positive knock-on effect will be for wider practice teams and GP partners.

Introduction (9 secs)

An important announcement… (31 secs)

Why accreditation? (1 min 19 secs)

Putting the framework together (2 mins 2 secs)

What does the accreditation process look like and what competencies do you need to demonstrate as a Practice Manager? (3 mins 47 secs)

Improvement in standards (6 mins 3 secs)

Benefits of accreditation to practices and partners (7 mins 5 secs)

MIGPM explained (8 mins 1 sec)

The application process (8 mins 8 secs)

Support in preparing for accreditation assessment (9 mins 37 secs)

Active involvement from the IGPM regional representatives (10 mins 12 secs)

Empowerment and a celebration of skills of achievement (10 mins 59 secs)

Reaction from Practice Managers (11 mins 25 secs)

Establishing Practice Management as a recognised and respected profession (12 mins 48 secs)

Minimum experience criteria (14 mins 21 secs)

Moving from ‘nice to have’ to widespread recognition of skill (15 mins 16 secs)

The New to Partnership Scheme and Practice Managers (16 mins)

Expansion of influence (18 mins 6 secs)

What’s next for the IGPM? (18 mins 51 secs)

More representatives required! (21 mins)

Finding out more (21 min 46 secs)

All the information you need about accreditation, membership, and the work of the IGPM is available on their website here.

For all enquiries about the Practice Index / Ockham podcast, please contact James Dillon here or Ben Gowland here

Many practices and networks up and down the country are already aware of the benefits that pharmacists and pharmacy technicians can offer however in Suffolk Primary Care, they have taken this to a whole new level with the establishment not only of a centralised Pharmacy team, but in also embedding a standardised pathway across a so-called super PCN area. On this week’s podcast, Ben is joined by Henri Cresswell, East Suffolk PCN’s Head of Pharmacy, and Dr Neil Macey, Medical Director at Suffolk Primary Care, to talk about their journey from the beginning of the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) journey and the birth of the Pharmacy team, to where they are now, the lessons they have learned, how they managed to successfully embed a centralised team and processes, within the backdrop of the pandemic and where they are aiming next.

Introductions (9 secs)

Suffolk Primary Care and the relationship with East Suffolk PCN (22 secs)

ARRS and the birth of the Pharmacy team (1 min 19 secs)

All about Henri (2 mins 51 secs)

Getting buy in for a single, standardised process from multiple practices (4 mins 7 secs)

Supporting the change process (5 mins 32 secs)

What were the major challenges? (6 mins 14 secs)

Management of a centrally based team (6 mins 53 secs)

What happens within a pharmacy clinic? (8 mins)

How the temporary shift to remote working helped to embed the service (8 mins 35 secs)

Neil’s role in promoting the team (9 mins 11 secs)

Measuring impact (10 mins 34 secs)

What has the experience been like from the pharmacists’ perspective? (11 mins 40 secs)

Training and supervision (13 mins 49 secs)

Development and progression of the staff (14 mins 33 secs)

Challenges of recruitment (15 mins 44 secs)

What does the future look like? (16 mins 4 secs)

Support from the Care Coordinators (16 mins 45 secs)

Neil’s thoughts on what comes next for the Pharmacy, and wider ARRS team (17 mins 22 secs)

Lesson learned – Neil’s view (18 mins 32 secs)

Henri’s reflections (20 mins 19 secs)

To find out more about the evolution of the Suffolk Primary Care Pharmacy Team, Henri and Neil are both happy to be contacted via their respective emails.

The Suffolk Primary Care website is here.

Here on the Ockham podcast, we are proud to have been able to feature many inspiring success stories where utilisation of the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme funding and the introduction of new roles into Primary Care. This week’s is no less thought-provoking. Our guests, GP, and Clinical Director Dr John Stevenson, PCN Development Manager Anna Straker and most importantly, Safeguarding Coordinator Sam Beaumont, talk to Ben about the incredible impact Sam’s role has made on relieving GP workload pressures, establishing and maintaining strong connections with other local systems and providers, and most importantly, ensuring that safeguarding concerns are proactively flagged and managed, to promote safer and more responsive patient care whilst building PCN and wider workforce resilience.

Introduction (9 secs)

PCN make-up (25 secs)

The inception of the Safeguarding Coordinator (51 secs)

How was the Safeguarding process managed previously? (1 min 53 secs)

Anna’s approach to implementation (2 mins 50 secs)

Working out the skills and experienced required (4 mins 37 secs)

Sam’s background and what attracted her to the role (5 mins 45 secs)

Establishment of the role and Sam’s day to day practice (7 mins 27 secs)

Linking back with the clinicians (10 mins 22 secs)

How has the role evolved since Sam started in August / September 2021? (12 mins 18 secs)

Impact on PCN and practices – from John’s perspective (13 mins 34 secs)

Anna’s endorsement (14 mins 51 secs)

Lessons learned (16 mins 17 secs)

The importance of early critical thinking (18 mins 44 secs)

Getting in touch (20 mins 31 secs)

To find out more about the Safeguarding Coordinator, and WBC’s wider approach to embedding their ARRS team members, you can contact John here, or check out the WBC website here.