It has been arguably some of the toughest few weeks general practice has ever known. The pressure of the delivery of the vaccination programme has been felt by teams up and down the country and our joint Ockham / Practice Index podcast regulars are no different. In this sixth instalment of our hugely popular practice manager panel posts, Nicola Davies, Robyn Clark and Ben are joined by Business Manager Amita Gokani to discuss their experiences of working at the forefront of the vaccination programme, so far. Each have faced their own challenges locally and are at different stages in the immunisation campaign and we have been fortunate to get their insights on how the first six weeks have gone for each of them; the highs, the lows and then what comes next.
Introductions (35 secs)
Robyn in the headlines (1 min)
The Institute of General Practice Management (IGPM) update (2 mins 47 secs)
The last 6 weeks in Nicola’s patch (3 mins 1 sec)
Dealing with local frustrations (3 mins 57 secs)
Amita’s recent experiences in Redbridge (5 mins 9 secs)
The impact of short notice, unannounced and cancelled deliveries (6 mins 49 secs)
Working through the cohorts versus potential for wastage (7 mins 30 secs)
Progress in Robyn’s area (8 mins 15 secs)
The potential for increased flexibility and where this has been limited (9 mins 3 secs)
What happened when the guidelines for administering the second dosage changed? (10 mins 57 secs)
The challenges presented by continually changing guidance and regulation (11 mins 42 secs)
Nicola’s view on these continuous changes (12 mins)
Managing staffing and rotas (14 mins 19 secs)
The limitations of running services on staffing good will (15 mins 45 secs)
The approach to care homes and housebound patients in Robyn’s area (17 mins 15 secs)
Anticipating the weeks ahead: Robyn and Amita (18 mins 9 secs)
All systems go for Nicola (19 mins 31 secs)
The Practice Index website can be found here
For all enquiries, please contact James Dillon here
Recruiting from the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) pot isn’t simply a case of picking out which services and posts you think would best suit your network or practice. As many are discovering, it requires a bit of a step back and some critical thinking as to what might work now versus in the future, what the needs of the local population are, how much capacity there might be to support new, additional team members and how they can best function across large networks and / or multiple practices. In this week’s podcast, we welcome back Dr Riaz Jetha, GP and Director of Health Integration Partners, whose team have adopted a novel approach to managing the process of applying for, funding and integrating new clinical posts into existing teams. Can there really be a magic formula which supports us in identifying the right roles, which can ensure we better meet the needs of the PCN and stay within the funding budget?
Introduction (40 secs)
How did the adoption of the process mapping methodology come about? (1 min)
How would we use a role instead of what role should we get (an alternative mindset) (3 mins 3 secs)
Where to begin (4 mins 26 secs)
Some surprising outcomes (7 mins 47 secs)
The value of the non-clinical functions (9 mins 33 secs)
Summing up a phased approach to the ARRS process (12 mins 28 secs)
Blending clinical and leadership skills (13 mins 30 secs)
Plugging the gaps in developmental and holistic support for newly recruited ARRS staff (13 mins 52 secs)
Alleviating the burden on PCNs and practices (15 mins 11 secs)
Riaz’s view on ARRS funding models (15 mins 51 secs)
Applying the funding more flexibly (17 mins 43 secs)
Being more creative when it comes to recruitment (18 mins 44 secs)
Key lessons learned (19 mins 45 secs)
Measuring the benefits of process mapping (20 mins 38 secs)
Getting in touch (21 mins 37 secs)
The link to the Health Integration Partners website can be found here
Contact email for Riaz here
A sample presentation showing the analysis of staffing a new service can be found here
With the recent inclusion of pharmacists within the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme offer, many practices and networks are seriously considering utilising the skills and services a pharmacist can bring to their table. However, many are equally uncertain as to what the pharmacists can cover, how to integrate them best within their teams and more practically, what the best model of employment might be to benefit both the new post holder and the PCN, amongst other things. Luckily, Mahmud Yusupov and Runa Salim, both Senior Clinical Pharmacists and joint founders of the innovative Clinical Pharmacist Solutions join Ben this week to talk us through all of the key practical aspects that PCNs must consider during the recruitment process and beyond – and from a third-party perspective, how they can support primary care in getting the best out of the new roles.
Introductions (36 secs)
Mahmud’s background and an introduction to Clinical Pharmacist Solutions’ mission (55 secs)
All about Runa (1 min 26 secs)
Attracting pharmacists to primary care and ensuring they can practice effectively (1 min 57 secs)
What are pharmacists looking for specifically when it comes to a career in general practice? (3 mins 23 secs)
The importance of the interview (5 mins 19 secs)
What support can Clinical Pharmacist Solutions for PCNs during the recruitment process? (6 mins 12 secs)
Matching the requirements of a practice to the skillset of a pharmacist (7 mins 44 secs)
Assessments of skills / training needs analysis (8 mins 14 secs)
How long does it take to upskill a pharmacist? (10 mins 15 secs)
Blending externally provided learning with CPPE training (11 mins 49 secs)
Reducing staff turnover (13 mins 1 sec)
Mahmud and Runa’s thoughts on potential employment models (14 mins 23 secs)
Funding challenges (16 mins 9 secs)
Getting in touch (18 mins 5 secs)
The link to the Clinical Pharmacist Solutions website can be found here
Their LinkedIn page is here
At the end of last year Ben recorded a review of 2020 with Dr Hussain Gandhi and Dr Andrew Foster from the eGPlearning podblast. We cover the impact of Covid on general practice, how that changed over the course of the year, and reflect on what the lasting implications of this might be for the service. It is a slightly longer listen than our normal podcast episodes at 45 minutes – primarily because there is so much to cover!
There are generally more failures than success stories when it comes to launching and maintaining community based urgent care services across the country so what have the team in Rochdale done differently? To kick off the new year, Ben is joined by GP Dr Zalan Alam, Clinical Director for the hugely successful and pioneering Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Urgent Community Care Team who gives an inspiring insight into their five-year journey to date; from establishing a business case, to taking a more flexible approach to their service specification, where they have grown and continually adapted, the lessons learned and their future aspirations.
Introduction (34 secs)
Zalan’s role and an overview of the service model (51 secs)
Establishment of the service and some key factors in its success to date (1 min 56 secs)
The business case (3 mins 7 secs)
A typical patient journey (4 mins 58 secs)
Capacity challenges? (6 mins 29 secs)
Impact of Covid (7 mins 11 secs)
Integrating social prescribers (8 mins 50 secs)
The five-year evolution of the service (9 mins 50 secs)
Lessons learned (11 mins 30 secs)
Zalan’s thoughts on integrated care (13 mins 4 secs)
Cultivating a shared vision (14 mins 57 secs)
An alternative approach to the service specification (15 mins 33 secs)
What’s next? (16 mins 36 secs)
Finding out more (18 mins 14 secs)
Heywood, Middleton & Rochdale’s Intermediate Care Team website
Contact points for the service as follows:
Dr Zalan Alam Clinical Director for Intermediate Tier Services
Wendy Antil Service Manager
Ruth Chamberlain Directorate Manager
The link to Zalan’s first podcast episode is here