Cain Hunt It is easy to lead during good times. All you need to do is listen to your team and not do anything stupid. Leading in hard times is completely different. First you need to realise that times are hard This can be tricky because to begin with things can look to be fine, while underneath … Read more
Continuity and having your own GP is always mentioned in plans for General Practice and always noted as something patients value. But it is treated as an aspiration we hope for, not an essential. But what if continuity is actually a tool that improves our effectiveness way more than it costs? What if neglecting it … Read more
Some people are saying that GPs would be better off as a salaried service, being employed by hospital trusts or private contractors. It feels like swimming against the tide to stay with the current GMS contract even though that gives us stability and has to be nationally negotiated. Rather than just disagreeing I want to … Read more
We all get too much email. And we imagine that one day we will get organised, delete the rubbish and get control. But sadly this is a myth. There isn’t enough time to read all the useful things. We fear missing some critical gem of knowledge if we don’t read everything. But that is based on the … Read more
The problem with most Team Building activities is that they aren’t relevant, they feel fake and they make people uncomfortable. And your team don’t enjoy them and think they are a waste of time. So what can you do that will be genuinely useful and not make people want to run a mile. Ask the important … Read more
We’ve all lived through utterly awful “team building” experiences – like building towers out of straws or embarrassing role playing games. So much so that for most people “team building” makes their blood run cold. But we all work in teams so making our teams function better is important. The question is, what actually works to … Read more
The goal is not to maximise profits at any cost. The goal is to build a strong sustainable business. Long-term profits will automatically flow from this. Simply looking at income to chase and expenditure to cut misses the point. You need to work out how to increase your capacity to provide care within your resources. … Read more
GP accounts are fairly straighforward to read once you get to know your way around them and they will help you understand how we make the money we pay ourselves. Talking to recently qualified GPs it is not something which is well taught so here is a simple guide of what things are and what … Read more
Practices who are recruiting will always show you their best bits – they’d be mad not to. So, especially when looking to join a partnership, how do you sort the good from the not so good? And if you are a practice trying to recruit, how do you make your practice more attractive? Who are … Read more
Recruit for character not for skills This will be a person who will work with you long-term and who will become part of your inner circle, your team. Who they are is more important than what they know. As well as the obvious integrity, courage, humility and honour you should look for someone who increases … Read more