Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Email | RSS

It is undeniable that the success of the Covid vaccination programme so far is due to the efficiency and the herculean efforts of general practice staff across the board; from volunteers, to drivers, Practice Managers, doctors, nursing, and administration teams who all continue to go the extra mile to try to get the country back on its feet. On our dedicated monthly Practice Index / Ockham podcast, we have closely followed the progress of our Practice Managers (and their teams) from the beginning in December and January – and this week we revisit their journeys at a pivotal point as they smash their initial target of vaccinating the most vulnerable patient groups with their first doses. On this month’s panel, podcast regular Nicola Davies is joined by her colleagues Kay Keane of Alvanley Family Practice (and network manager for Werneth PCN) and Andrew Athale, Practice Manager for Eastmoor and Alverthorpe GP practices, to discuss their largely positive experiences so far but also the additional pressure they and their wider colleagues are feeling, their views on ensuring full and accurate financial reimbursement across their networks and what comes next as far as core general practice demand and delivery of second doses are concerned.

Introductions (0:34)

Progress on the vaccination programme in each area; starting with Nicola’s (1:30)

Kay tells us about her experiences in Stockport so far (2:26)

Kay’s role in the process (3:01)

Patient inspiration (3:29)

How has it gone so far in Andrew’s network? (4:05)

Meeting the challenge of vaccinating care home residents and house bound patients (5:03)

Processing payment (7:51)

The problem with Pinnacle (9:20)

Ensuring accurate and timely distribution of funds (10:05)

The pressure of working at scale when it comes to financial reimbursement (10:58)

Wider network impacts (12:22)

Could this be the making of PCNs? (13:13)

How has the set up of the mass vaccination sites affected local practices? (14:14)

Are PCNs really in competition with the mass vaccinations sites? (15:55)

Delivery of vaccines at a more local level (17:30)

Preparations for second doses (18:56)

Why delivery notifications need to be right (19:30)

Managing core general practice demand alongside the vaccine drive (20:02)

Pressure on Practice Managers (20:49)

Ben’s closing remarks (22:25)

The Practice Index website can be found here

For all enquiries, please contact James Dillon here

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Email | RSS

With demand on general practice already at an all-time high, many practices and networks require a smarter solution to manage staffing and rotas, to ensure the pressure of core primary care work, alongside the mass vaccination drive, can be effectively delivered. Dr Ishani Patel, GP and co-founder of the digital staff bank solution Lantum is back on the podcast and joined by colleague, Lantum account manager, Tom Herbert-Maynard, to update us on the progress that Lantum has made, how their solution is supporting ICSs up and down the country to create a fully flexible workforce across the NHS eco-system, their influence on staffing the vaccination sites and most importantly, to provide information on the NHSEI funding available now for ICSs to enable procurement of and access to a digital staff bank.

Introductions (0:38)

Who are Lantum and what role are they playing in supporting the vaccination rollout? (0:51)

How does a digital staff bank work where the vaccination programme is concerned? (1:39)

Lessons learned from the programme so far (3:28)

What advantages does a digital system offer versus traditional methods of rota management? (5:38)

How would a rota manager organise staffing using an online portal, in practice? (6:08)

Governance considerations (8:14)

Maintaining a good rate of vaccinations and how the system could support this (8:26)

The key differences between smaller vaccination hubs and larger scale vaccination sites (9:28)

NHSEI funding availability (11:05)

Putting a flexible staffing pool in place across an ICS (12:46)

Which roles can be managed within a digital staff bank? (14:34)

Enabling delivery of truly integrated care (15:22)

Breaking down organisational boundaries (16:29)

How do I access the NHSEI funding offer? (17:29)

I am a Clinical Director, and I would like to find out more (18:29)

Getting in touch (19:20)

The Lantum website is here

Ishani is contactable here

This page explains a little more about how Lantum can provide ‘connected scheduling’ between staff banks.

What should be the key considerations when sourcing a digital staff bank provider? Lantum’s blog post is here