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 (34 secs)

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

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

Kay’s role in the process (3 mins 1 secs)

Patient inspiration (3 mins 29 secs)

How has it gone so far in Andrew’s network? (4 mins 5 secs)

Meeting the challenge of vaccinating care home residents and house bound patients (5 mins 3 secs)

Processing payment (7 mins 51 secs)

The problem with Pinnacle (9 mins 20 secs)

Ensuring accurate and timely distribution of funds (10 mins 5 secs)

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

Wider network impacts (12 mins 22 secs)

Could this be the making of PCNs? (13 mins 13 secs)

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

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

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

Preparations for second doses (18 mins 56 secs)

Why delivery notifications need to be right (19 mins 30 secs)

Managing core general practice demand alongside the vaccine drive (20 mins 2 secs)

Pressure on Practice Managers (20 mins 49 secs)

Ben’s closing remarks (22 mins 25 secs)

 

The Practice Index website can be found here

For all enquiries, please contact James Dillon here