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This episode is brought to you in partnership with Practice Index, this week we focus on the topic of annual leave. Ben is joined by Claire Hoston and Robyn Clark to tackle the topic of managing annual leave in general practice. Navigating the peaks of holiday seasons can be a tumultuous affair in any workplace, but it’s especially challenging in healthcare settings where patients need surge following breaks like Christmas and school holidays. They share their strategies for equitable leave distribution, such as annual planning meetings for clinical staff and specific rules for management teams. The conversation reveals how crucial a clear leave policy is for maintaining harmony and ensuring everyone gets a chance to recharge. Whether you’re a practice manager or a team member trying to navigate your leave schedule, this episode offers insights and solutions for managing this critical aspect of workplace well-being.

Introduction & annual leave (00:08)

Managing annual leave (03:06)

Annual planning meeting.. (04:25)

Proactive approach about staff taking leave (05:41)

Managing leave expectations.. (07:00)

Carrying over leave.. (07:59)

The importance of people taking leave in the year? (08:50)

Practice Managers difficulty taking annual leave (10:28)

Work backlog.. (11:33)

Time off in lieu (12:10)

The development of the HR package (13:43)

Managing cultural balance.. (14:55)

Annual leave allowance.. (16:28)

Best practice when setting annual leave levels? (17:36)

Challenges of recruitment? (19:24)

Annual leave policies or practices recommended to people listening? (20:44)

To visit the Practice Index website, click here or contact James Dillon here.

For all enquiries about the Ockham podcast, please contact Ben Gowland here.

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Joining Ben to discuss how they managed to establish a PCN hub in their area is Dr Aravinth Balachandran, clinical director at Folkestone, Hythe and Rural PCN, Andy Gove, digital transformation manager at the same PCN & Adriana Jimenez, Primary Care Transformation Senior Innovation Access Lead, all with first hand experience in establishing a PCN hub. With the discussion rooted in their experiences, they reflect on the conception of the hub idea and its co-design with practices, demonstrating the importance of collaboration, trust, and relationship-building between practices. The conversation explores the positive effects of online consultations, improved response times, and better access to patient records. In essence, the PCN hub has brought about happier practices and positive feedback from patients.. Don’t miss out on these exclusive insights and resources..

Introduction (0:09)

Establishing a PCN Hub..  (01:14)

Did you have a history of collaborative working across the practices? (03:23)

How did you get to a hub as a solution? (03:55)

What is a hub? (05:50)

Initial intentions for the hub.. (06:46)

Enhanced access funding.. (08:52)

Andy’s involvement.. (09:30)

What were the key gaps that you identified? (11:24)

Is all the work fully integrated with the GP records in their own practices? (13:28)

Transforming the digital infrastructure..  (14:53)

Adriana’s involvement.. (15:43)

Resolving the estates issue.. (17:11)

Funding.. (18:30)

Resolving governance issues.. 19:27

Impact the hub has had so far (20:21)

How do you see the hub developer in the future? (24:24)

Accessing further information.. (26:24)

Access the blueprint materials and resources here.

If you’re a PCN embarking on a similar project and would like to get in touch, email the Folkestone, Hythe and Rural PCN leadership team here.

For more information about how the NHS England South East regional office supported this project, please email Adriana Jimenez, Primary Care Transformation Senior Innovation Access Lead, NHS England here.

For all enquiries about the Ockham podcast, please contact Ben Gowland here.

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Join us this week, as we navigate the complexities of the new provider selection regime and what it means for general practice with our guest, Ross Clark, a partner at Hemsons. The new provider selection regime, he explains, will allow integrated care boards to award contracts to providers including PCNs, GP provider companies, and federations without a competitive procurement process. Ross discusses the concept of direct award and the selection of suitable providers, which may streamline the merger and acquisition of practices. However, he also explores how these changes may complicate matters for commissioners wanting to switch providers. Alongside this, we discuss exceptions to these processes and their applicability in particular situations. This episode offers invaluable insights on how the new regime will impact practices, PCNs and federations..

Introduction (0:09)

What is the Provider Selection Regime? (1:19)

Thoughts behind the change.. (5:06)

What does this mean in practice? (7:08)

Being awarded the ‘Most Suitable Provider’.. (10:11)

When an APMS contract comes to an end.. (10:41)

Are we starting to see contracts being directly awarded to PCNs? (11:44)

Exceptions to these rules.. (14:01)

Encouraging mergers and PCN level services.. (15:10)

Can the regime work the other way? (16:27)

Impact on GP federations.. (19:27)

A federation of federations.. (21:04)

NHS Guidance updates.. (23:36)

Subcontracting contracts.. (24:21)

Timescales for the Provider Selection Regime.. (26:48)

Access The New Provider Selection Regime here and the Provider Selection Regime Guidance here. 

For all enquiries about the Ockham podcast, please contact Ben Gowland here.