We are all aware that the practice workload balance is already, or about to, tip over and with this in mind, it is more important than ever to regularly take stock, check in on our colleagues, proactively plan ahead, take our leave (even if it’s not necessarily when we want to!), and if need be, reach out to others for support. With this in mind, our ever-popular Practice Index Practice Manager panel return to the podcast this week and are joined by GP, executive coach, and resilience expert Dr Rachel Morris to dissect and discuss a situation of which unfortunately many of us are more and more likely to identify with, where a GP partner has been forced to cancel leave due to a mixture of demand and a lack of locum availability. How can we avoid the same fate and how do we start to build resilience whilst most of us are feeling very much like we are close to the same level of vulnerability?

 

Introduction (33 secs)

Sourcing locums from a practice manager’s perspective (1 min 14 secs)

The situation in Kay’s area in Manchester (1 min 55 secs)

How have we got to a situation where locums are in such high demand? (2 mins 25 secs)

Facing the reality of having to cancel annual leave (3 mins 26 secs)

Working out what you’re in control of and what you’re not (4 mins 29 secs)

Planning leave, proactive rota management and the role of the practice manager (6 mins 21 secs)

Sustainability in a smaller practice (7 mins 31 secs)

Building resilience in larger practices (8 mins 21 secs)

Acknowledging our vulnerabilities and planning for them (9 mins 7 secs)

Added pressure as a GP partner (10 mins 8 secs)

Protecting the workload (10 mins 37 secs)

Support for the wider workforce (11 mins 9 secs)

Collaboration and co-dependence (12 mins 7 secs)

Working out where you can influence and what you can change (13 mins 58 secs)

Why asking for help is not a sign of weakness (15 mins 8 secs)

Buddy practices and increased reliance on others (16 mins 15 secs)

Managing the dearth of GPs and developing practice skill mix (17 mins 26 secs)

Effective communications (18 mins 50 secs)

An analogy of managing patient demand (19 mins 40 secs)

Making the most of the ARRS funding (20 mins 50 secs)

Time management and maximising impact (21 mins 50 secs)

Staff wellbeing is paramount (23 mins 8 secs)

Final thoughts from Robyn and Kay (23 mins 33 secs)

 

Rachel’s incredibly popular ‘You are not a frog’ podcast can be found here

For all enquiries about the Practice Index / Ockham podcast, please contact James Dillon here or Ben Gowland here