General practice is experiencing one of its most challenging periods since the NHS was founded three years after the end of the Second World War. Most practices – no matter how well-run and efficient they are – would be in danger of experiencing sustainability issues even if just one partner was to unexpectedly retire, die or simply decide to move on.
One example of our experience was with a practice with a list size of 12,000 and is typical of the support we provide. In this example the senior partner had to retire suddenly due to ill health. This understandably had a deep and long-lasting impact on the practice. The other healthcare professionals and management struggled to recruit a replacement partner. They also struggled to recruit and retain admin staff for key posts in their new management structure. Meanwhile, the long-serving practice manager plans to retire in about two years.
Our support began with one of our team visiting the practice for a day to complete a diagnostic exercise. The information they gathered shaped discussions when the same assessor returned to the practice to work with the practice management team and GP partners to develop a plan.
The plan mapped out internal actions such as capacity and demand audits. One of our team – an experienced former practice manager – then worked with the practice to develop a tailored package of support from PCC to improve the practice’s resilience.
This support included:
- A session with an experienced practice manager to develop a strategic business plan for the next five years, building on a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis, with a focus on succession planning.
- Another session to develop the financial review mechanisms that ensured effective monitoring of financial performance.
- A question-and-answer session with our premises expert to assess the options for the premises.
- A session on how to use the PDSA (plan-do-study-act) quality improvement tool, to make small, incremental changes that make a big difference.
PCC has worked with hundreds of practices to help them navigate the current challenges and sustainability issues. We’ve also conducted half day or day long sessions in which we bring together all the local practices to discuss issues as diverse as premises, practice mergers establishing GP federations, new models of care, contracting and funding streams.
For information about general practice support contact enquiries@pcc-cic.org.uk.
