There is a big difference between being a GP and being a GP partner.  All of the training to become a GP is designed to ensure you have the clinical skills needed to deliver great patient care.  The training is not designed, however, to provide you with the skills you need to be an effective GP partner.

A partner in a GP practice has overall responsibility for the running of the business of the practice.  The staff who work in the practice rely on the partners to run the business effectively.  If things go wrong, the buck stops with the partners.  It is a big responsibility.

At the same time, it is a huge opportunity.  Uniquely within NHS, GPs as clinicians have the opportunity as partners to run their own businesses in the way they choose to.  They can employ the staff they want, design their own way of doing things, and have their own rules about how things should work.  This freedom is highly unusual (ask any hospital consultant!), and means that GP partners are independent.  They have no line manager, and no one telling them what they have to do and how they have to do it.

Of course, life is never that simple!  Practices have contracts, and partners are responsible for ensuring the practice fulfils the contract it undertakes.  There may not be any line manager, but there are contract managers, CQC inspectors and others who will step in if the practice is not fulfilling its duties.

But the opportunity to choose how things are done, and to shape the culture of the GP practice, are what have drawn many to GP partnership.  I spoke to Dr Liz Phillips about why, after many years as a salaried GP, she chose to become a partner.  You can hear her story here, but for her it was all about the ability to make a difference.  She is loving her new life as a GP partner!

I have worked with a number of colleagues to provide training sessions on partnership for GPs.  It is interesting to me that the reflections are often not that the model of GP partnership needs changing, but as one salaried GP put it, “I left (the session we ran) feeling GPs need to be conversant with politics, finance, and management, so that we make informed decisions about our roles and the services we run for patients.” (you can read her full reflection here).

She is right.  Practices won’t run themselves, and responsibility cannot simply be delegated to a practice manager.  Partners need to be actively engaged in the business of the practice.  And for this GPs need specific tools and skills.

I wrote recently on the content of a training programme for new or potential GP partners that myself and some colleagues are putting together.  I am delighted to say that this week we are formally launching that programme.  For more information about the programme and how to secure your place, simply click here.

There is no doubt that the role of a GP partner is challenging, but it also presents a huge opportunity to make a real difference to people’s lives (both patients and staff).  As with any role, it requires specific skills and understanding, and our aim in this programme is to give new GP partners the tools they need to be successful in the role.