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The General Practice Podcast

Ben Gowland explores new ways of working in general practice. He talks to those making changes happen, gets underneath what they did, how they managed to do it, and the challenges they faced along the way.
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The General Practice Podcast
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Now displaying: March, 2021
Mar 22, 2021

As the new financial year and all its uncertainties looms, our joint Practice Index / Ockham Healthcare panel return to discuss their predictions and the preparations they have in place. Podcast regulars Robyn Clark and Nicola Davies are this week joined by RSM Partner and our resident finance expert James Gransby to talk all things QOF, enhanced services and the contractual requirements for 2021/22. Where are the pressure points? Can we continue to manage business as usual alongside the Covid vaccination drive? Will our core service once again expand to include the vaccinations year on year? How do we juggle this and what can we expect to receive by way of funding? Are we simply going to break even or can primary care profit from the increased workload? Life after Covid potentially starts here…

 

Introductions (33 secs)

How does life in general practice right now compare to that of a ‘normal’ March? (49 secs)

Planning for QOF next year (1 min 47 secs)

Is it possible for networks to manage business as usual alongside the enhanced service? (2 mins 59 secs)

What networks should be considering when it comes to finance in the new year (4 mins 44 secs)

Covid vaccinations to become core practice? (6 mins 8 secs)

The implications of a year-round vaccine drive (7 mins 42 secs)

Budget 2021 in summary and what it means for primary care (8 mins 38 secs)

Contract considerations, outside of QOF (10 mins 48 secs)

Implementing the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme in practice (11 mins 55 secs)

Mitigating the risk of high staff turnover (14 mins 43 secs)

Are PCN structures fit for future? (16 mins 35 secs)

Utilising the £1.50 (17 mins 33 secs)

An alternative way of thinking (18 mins 40 secs)

Embedding mental health workers (19 mins 39 secs)

James’s final thoughts (20 mins 53 secs)

 

The Practice Index website can be found here

For all enquiries, please contact James Dillon here

Mar 15, 2021

We are all aware of the pressure on general practice which has ramped up considerably since the vaccine drive began back in December but with no let up in sight and in fact, with pressure increasing across primary care going forwards, how do we maintain our current resilience and productivity levels whilst succumbing to the stress and even worse, the very real threat of burn out? Luckily GP and Executive Coach turned trainer Dr Rachel Morris is our featured guest this week and offers her thoughts, and some really practical advice, to ensure the burden of responsibility can be shared and managed more constructively, to preserve and promote the wellbeing of a team (and its individuals) during what many are finding to be the most stressful period of their working lives to date.

 

Introduction (29 secs)

Where are we at right now? (1 min 5 secs)

How do we maintain current momentum? (2 mins 19 secs)

Why you should be taking time off despite increasing pressure (4 mins 18 secs)

Taking a leap of faith (5 mins 54 secs)

Assuming the role of the rescuer (6 mins 46 secs)

Managing tensions and moving forwards (7 mins 45 secs)

Communication is key (9 mins 33 secs)

Building trust (10 mins 8 secs)

Where some PCNs have become disjointed (10 mins 54 secs)

Network challenges (11 mins 39 secs)

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team – Patrick Lencioni (12 mins 17 secs)

The importance of constructive conflict (12 mins 50 secs)

The transition of good working relationships to business as usual (15 mins 21 secs)

Mining for conflict to enable teams to function well (16 mins 22 secs)

The impact of the virtual environment (17 mins 39 secs)

Finding out more (19 mins 9 secs)

The Resilient Team Academy (20 mins 24 secs)

 

A list of the resources Rachel has mentioned:

Mar 8, 2021

The evolution of technology in general practice has been accelerated over the last 12 months but how ready were we, and are we, for further digital transformation? What are the factors that influence our willingness to embrace new ways of working and what are the barriers to progression? This was the focus of GP and Digital Fellow Dr Matt Hammerton’s recent report on digital readiness within his local integrated health partnership, a report conducted in conjunction with Wessex Academic Health Science Network (AHSN), with the support of WAHSN’s Associate Director Rachel Dominey. This week’s podcast offers a fascinating overview of the report’s findings and outcomes and includes practical advice and recommendations on readying practices and networks for the next stage of the digital journey.

 

Introductions (45 secs)

The reasons for undertaking the study (57 secs)

The reality of the tech available versus what is being used (1 min 42 secs)

Defining digital readiness (2 mins 8 secs)

Which areas of general practice does the report cover? (3 mins 6 secs)

Rachel describes her role at the AHSN (3 mins 34 secs)

How did the study work in practice? (5 mins 3 secs)

Recording the acceleration of tech use during the pandemic (5 mins 45 secs)

The difference in results, pre and post Covid-19 (6 mins 48 secs)

Does digital readiness depend on the tech we are using? (7 mins 17 secs)

Is the ability to embrace new technology more important than how the tech itself works? (8 mins 33 secs)

The AccuRx effect (9 mins 17 secs)

Does a more bespoke technology increase our willingness to use it? (9 mins 57 secs)

Other key factors impacting digital readiness (12 mins 53 secs)

Some recommendations (14 mins 6 secs)

The non-clinical profile (16 mins)

Patient age impact and influence (16 mins 38 secs)

The risk of practices and networks falling behind (17 mins 28 secs)

Further outcomes, recommendations, and advice (18 mins 33 secs)

Taking forward the recommendations from the AHSN’s perspective (19 mins 58 secs)

 

The link to the digital readiness report is here

Mar 1, 2021

Telehealth is a tool which can be used in a variety of ways; to support and enhance existing systems or to introduce a completely new way of working. Whilst telehealth is a relatively new concept in many areas, in others it is a more long-term feature of the health ecosystem.  In West Yorkshire, Immedicare offer a 24/7 digital care service to support primary care providers with the management of care home patients. Having been established for over 10 years, they know only too well what works, what does not and crucially how to realise the benefits of telehealth; enabling rapid triage and response around the clock, reducing secondary care admissions and relieving pressure on care home staff, local practices and PCNs. Rachel Binks, Nurse Practitioner for Digital and Acute Care at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, joins Ben this week to fill us in on the Immedicare journey and why they have been instrumental in improving health outcomes for their care home patients.

 

Introduction (34 secs)

How did the concept first come about? (46 secs)

The Immedicare journey (1 min 26 secs)

Enabling a 24/7 service (2 mins 11 secs)

800 care homes and counting (3 mins 43 secs)

How does the service work in practice? (4 mins 32 secs)

What is the contractual basis of the service and where does it fit with local providers? (5 mins 12 secs)

Managing a broad spectrum of conditions and health concerns (7 mins 13 secs)

The importance of building and maintaining relationships (7 mins 56 secs)

The Immedicare clinical workforce (9 mins 27 secs)

Making the service viable (10 mins 15 secs)

Balancing relationships with local PCNs and practices (11 mins 16 secs)

Multi-disciplinary team meetings (12 mins 59 secs)

What has been the impact of the service? (13 mins 36 secs)

Technical limitations? (14 mins 16 secs)

Reducing community care visits and admissions (14 mins 50 secs)

Aligning with new PCN services and staff teams (15 mins 51 secs)

Feedback from the care homes (16 mins 42 secs)

Financial and contractual setup (17 mins 14 secs)

What’s next as far as developing the service is concerned? (18 mins 23 secs)

Finding out more (19 mins 17 secs)

 

Immedicare website is here

Rachel is happy to discuss any aspect of the service on offer from Immedicare or telehealth more broadly. Her email address is here

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