Talking General Practice

This week Emma speaks to Dr Ben Allen, a GP partner at Birley Health Centre in Sheffield.Over the past few years Ben has invested huge amounts of time and effort to make his practice a better place to work. He’s found that by focusing on staff and improving the organisational culture, the practice has seen huge improvements across the board.Along with having a happier workforce with improved morale and staff retention, the practice has also improved continuity and access and seen patient satisfaction scores rising at a time when nationally they are falling.Ben explains how his practice managed to achieve all of this and has advice for any GPs or practice managers thinking of embarking on a similar journey.This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower and produced by Czarina Deen. Useful linksFollow Ben on X (formerly Twitter)Ben’s blogUseful readingBen mentions several leadership and organisational change books that he found particularly helpful during this process. These are some his favourites.●     The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni●     The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni●     Reinventing Organisations by Frédéric Laloux●     Time to Think by Nancy Kline●     Start With Why by Simon Sinek●     Daring Greatly by Brené Brown●     The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R Covey●     Good to Great by Jim Collins●     The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stainer●     Built to Last by James C Collins and Jerry I Porras●     Who by Geoff Smart and Randy Street●     Radical Candor by Kim Scott Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In our news review Nick and Emma discuss GP pay and what’s behind recent headlines in the national press about so-called huge rises in GP income.They also look at how the growing NHS waiting list and long waits for treatment are affecting patients and driving up workload in general practice, and discuss results from our recent survey which suggest that practices are becoming increasingly reliant on locum GPs.This week’s good news story is about a significant reduction in people prescribed potentially addictive medicines.This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower and deputy editor Nick Bostock. It was produced by Czarina Deen.Useful links●     How has GP income changed over the past two decades?●     CQC poll shows NHS waiting list driving unsustainable pressure on GPs●     One in three GP appointments for patients on the NHS waiting list●     GP practices growing more reliant on locums but many struggle to hire them●     Where is GP prescribing of dependency-forming drugs falling fastest? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The GP Trailblazer Deprivation Fellowship Scheme is an NHS England run programme aimed at newly-qualified GPs working in practices in deprived areas. The scheme aims to give GPs the skills to thrive and make a difference in the practices and communities where they work.The East of England region currently runs one of the largest trailblazer schemes in England. Emma speaks to Dr Rahhiel Riasat, director of leadership development for the East of England and clinical lead for the GP Trailblazer deprivation fellowship scheme in the region, about how the scheme works and how it is supporting local GPs and making a difference to patient care. She also talks to Dr Ahkeb Hussain who is a GP in Luton one of the fellows on this year’s scheme about how it is helping him in practice and what he sees as its benefits.This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower. It was produced by Czarina Deen.Useful links●     East of England GP Trailblazer Deprivation Fellowship Scheme●     Fairhealth Trailblazer information●     GP training health equity focused training rotations Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Discusses a last-minute U-turn on Covid and flu jabs, controversial plans from the Labour party, reliance on international medical graduate doctors in GP workforce, GPs' thoughts on NHS England workforce plan, and updates to good medical practice.

What is a Wise GP? This week Emma speaks to Professor Joanne Reeve and Dr Annabelle Machin about an initiative called Wise GP, which aims to help GPs and other primary care staff deal with the everyday uncertainty and complexity they face in general practice.They explain the importance of recognising the distinct skills and expertise of general practice and how the programme can help GPs at different stages of their career. They also talk about the resources they have developed to support GPs in their day-to-day practice and how Wise GP could potentially help improve GP retention.There are links to many of the resources mentioned by Joanne and Annabelle in the podcast below.This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower. It was produced by Czarina Deen.RCGP conferenceJoanne and Annabelle are running a session on Wise GP explaining how it could help general practice and GPs tackle some of the challenging issues they face. The conference takes place in Glasgow on 19 and 20 October. You can find more information on this here.Useful linksWise GP websiteThe WISDOM courseWise GP’s Gems libraryWise GP on X (Twitter)Wise GP on Facebook  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Professor Sir David Haslam, author of Side Effects: How Our Healthcare Lost Its Way and How We Fix It, discusses rising healthcare costs, improving primary care, addressing health inequalities, and end-of-life care priorities. They delve into the value of general practice, the challenges faced by the NHS, and the need for transparency in drug pricing. They also explore extending healthy life expectancy, prioritizing those with the most need, and rethinking end-of-life care and over-treatment.

Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer was elected chair of BMA England’s GP committee just over a week ago and she speaks to Talking General Practice in her first interview in her new role.Dr Bramall-Stainer takes on the top GP job at the BMA in England at a crucial time for the profession. The five-year GP contract comes to an end in April 2024 and this year’s contract negotiations between the BMA, the government and NHS England will hammer out what happens next.General practice is in the midst of an extreme workload and workforce crisis and the profession will be looking for changes that will go some way to addressing both of these challenges and making a difference to their day to day working lives.In this conversation Dr Bramall-Stainer discusses what her key priorities will be, weighs up the chances of GPs taking industrial action in the coming months, as well as how GP funding needs to change.She also talks about her thoughts about the future of the independent contractor model, her experience of publicly calling out sexism at the BMA a couple of years ago and how having MS has shaped how she approaches her role as a GP and a GP leader.This episode is presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower. It was produced by Czarina Deen.Useful links●     What are the top priorities for the new BMA GP committee chair?●     GPs 'despair' as NHS England slashes COVID-19 jab fee Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week the Health Foundation think tank published new research projecting patterns of illness in England over the next two decades. It predicted that by 2040 the number of people with major illness will rise by more than a third, which clearly has huge implications for general practice over the next two decades.In this episode of Talking General Practice, Emma speaks to Toby Watt, the lead economist at the Health Foundation’s REAL Centre and the lead author of the report setting out the research’s findings.This conversation highlights what the report had to say about patterns of illness and why more people will be living for longer with a major condition, how this will affect workload in general practice and what it means for the GP workforce, and what the government will have to consider to meet this challenge.This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower. It was produced by Czarina Deen.Useful linksFrom GPonline:●     Practices face massive rise in demand as ageing fuels wave of chronic illness●     How an ageing population is piling pressure on general practiceHealth Foundation reports:●     Health in 2040: projected patterns of illness in England●     Projections: General practice workforce in England Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emma speaks to GP partner Dr Tommy Perkins and specialist medical accountant Andy Pow from Medics Money about GP partnerships and why they are still a good option despite all the doom and gloom out there.In this conversation Tommy and Andy discuss how partnerships are changing with more non-GPs taking on the role, what to consider if you’re thinking about becoming a partner, how to make partnerships more sustainable in what is a very challenging time, take a quick detour into pensions - with some useful advice for all GPs - and also discuss challenges around premises.This episode is presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower. It was produced by Czarina Deen.Useful links●     Medics Money new to partnership course●     The pensions guide mentioned in the episode●     7 tips to make partnership sustainable in 2023●     Medics Money podcast●     Medics Money YouTube video showing how to use PCSE portal mentioned in episode Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emma and Nick discuss last week’s pay announcement for junior doctors, salaried GPs and consultants and ask what it means for GP practices, the current strikes and the wider NHS.They also talk about a new national system for reporting pressure in general practice that has been set up to help overwhelmed practices negotiate extra support and look at the results from the latest GP patient survey.This week’s good news story looks at an initiative in Cumbria that is helping an underdoctored area plug workforce gaps by using a bank of GPs working remotely.This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower and deputy editor Nick Bostock. It was produced by Czarina Deen.Useful links●     Government to uplift GP contract to cover 6% pay rise for all practice staff●     BMA rejects 6% pay deal with strikes set to continue●     First national 'GP alert state' report reveals unsustainable pressure on practices●     Which areas have the highest patient satisfaction with general practice?●     GP patient survey suggests satisfaction stabilising after sharp drop last year Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.