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Ben is joined this week by Katherine Saunders, Chief Executive, and Pramit Patel, Medical Director, from Alliance for Better Care; a GP federation covering 49 practices, within 10 primary care networks, across East Surrey and West Sussex. Together, they explain how the federation is meeting the challenges presented by the Covid-19 crisis in their local area by setting up multi-disciplinary clinical decision units within the community, redesigning the home visiting process, identifying clear roles and responsibilities within their existing staffing models – and working to put general practice at the heart of their response.

Introductions (0:22)

The role of Alliance for Better Care (ABC) and the Covid-19 response (1:18)

The relationship with primary care (2:06)

Setting up a Clinical Decision Unit (CDU) within a community setting (2:45)

Managing patient exposure within the CDU (4:23)

Multi-disciplinary team working during a pandemic (5:18)

Integrating primary care into the wider system (6:29)

Sharing learning, materials and experiences (8:12)

How are local practices coping? (9:03)

Home Visiting (10:26)

Access to data and its importance (12:04)

How to manage demand and agree priorities with local partners (12:59)

Procurement of new systems and software (14:39)

The capacity to cope: roles, responsibilities and managing staffing levels (15:44)

Communication and engagement (17:45)

Getting in touch (19:02)

Katherine is contactable via email: katherine.saunders2@nhs.net

The Alliance for Better Care website

Garvani Ltd interview with ABC

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Tara Humphrey, Project Management expert supporting the development of Primary Care Networks and GP Federations, returns for the second in a series of podcasts focused on practical demands and planning in primary care, during the pandemic. This week, Tara and Ben discuss the differences and challenges in the approaches from practices, networks and federations, getting the staffing balance right and maintaining business continuity and personal resilience within a crisis.

Introductions (0:12)

What’s happening in Tara’s world right now? (0:35)

Financial management and planning (01:23)

Redistribution of an underspend and the development fund (02:00)

Supporting vulnerable patients (03:07)

Introduction of new roles / recruitment options within a network (03:42)

A federation’s approach to incorporating new roles (05:15)

How does a practice buddy system work? (05:48)

Introducing and implementing new SOPs across networks and practices (06:39)

Joint working from a top down perspective… (808:49)

… versus expectation at practice level (09:53)

The pace of change and anticipating new demands (10:30)

How are practices coping overall? (11:44)

Putting emotional support in place for GPs (13:14)

The importance of practice managers and protecting the well-being of wider practice staff (14:00)

Working from home and sustainability (14:54)

What’s next for Tara? (15:17)

…and for Ben? (16:10)

Find out more about Tara Humphrey:

• THC Primary Care https://www.thcprimarycare.co.uk/
• Listen to The Business of Healthcare Podcast with Tara Humphrey for a behind-the-scenes look at the business side of healthcare.
• Connect on Twitter and Linkedin

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Specialist Medical Accountant James Gransby returns to the Ockham podcast to give his invaluable advice and assessment of the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on primary care finances. What is currently being offered by the government by way of support for individuals, practices and networks, where are the landmines and what should we be mindful of now and going forwards?

Introductions (0:09)

What is in place to support practices right now? (0:19)

The Coronavirus Act 2020: Implications for general practice explained (1:15)

‘Furloughing’ of staff (3:14)

The overall picture for primary care in summary (5:16)

How are PCNs affected? (5:56)

How to reflect a pandemic within a balance sheet (8:00)

The national return to work scheme (8:51)

Death in service (11:50)

How worried should we be about the financial impact? (12:36)

Relaxation of pension rules (13:35)

Getting in touch (15:35)

James is contactable via email: James.Gransby@rsmuk.com

https://www.rsmuk.com/our-people/james-gransby

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In the wake of the global coronavirus crisis, GP surgeries across the UK are facing the challenge of transforming working practice within a short space of time and reducing in-person consultations with their patients, whilst protecting their staff and maximising their capacity to deal with everyday demands alongside those presented by the pandemic. Dr Ravi Tomar was part of the transition at Portland Medical ahead of time and gives his advice for managing the changes and reflects on the key outcomes that they have experienced as a result.

Introductions (0:38)

The move towards telephone and ‘virtual’ triage (0:48)

Portland Medical: the stats (2:32)

Decreasing locum use (3:03)

Impact on face to face consultations (4:23)

Reducing face to face appointments as a result of Covid-19 (5:05)

Video consultation (6:09)

What tech is required? (6:58)

Telephone versus video consultations (7:36)

Video consults: lessons learned and practical advice (8:18)

Telephone to video consultation: managing an in-consult switch (10:37)

Covid-19 effect on day-to-day practice (11:20)

The system for managing Covid-19 at Portland Medical (12:06)

The ‘hot and cold’ model (13:16)

The role of other healthcare professionals and upskilling the workforce (14:50)

What are the significant outcomes as a result of the changes? (16:47)

Transition from old to new processes (18:18)

Patient feedback (19:51)

Final thoughts (20:17)

Getting in touch (20:17)

Preparedness update letter for general practice: 27 March 2020 here

Portland Medical website: https://www.portlandmedicalcentre.co.uk/

Dr Ravi Tomar is contactable via email: ravi.tomar@nhs.net