Education

The Background to the Sector. The public sector is trying to deliver rising public expectations against a background of reducing funds from central government and local taxation which is effectively pegged. This 'rock and a hard place' position puts high demands on management at all levels to manage more effectively within restricted or shrinking resources. [...]

In a few short years GP practices have moved to become one of the most advanced areas of smaller business in their use of IT, outstripping both the private sector and much of the public sector.   Many practices are, or are well on their way to becoming paperless.   Many have web sites to handle frequently [...]

Customers want more than a result, they want to be treated properly We don’t judge organisations just on the quality of the service they deliver, or even just the content of what they deliver.  We also judge them on HOW they deliver, and the ‘how’ is down to people We have all had the experience [...]

Moving to a Multiskilled Practice. You’ve all heard the announcement in the supermarket, ‘Will all multiskilled staff go to the checkouts’. What does that mean and what relevance does that have to running a practice?  What the supermarkets are good at is training people to a consistent standard and giving them a sufficiently wide range [...]

In earlier times, it was not hard to build a team. The Navy simply sent a squad ashore, rounded up some likely looking lads and hey presto – you have a crew! After time and under severe discipline they would become an effective team. In the civilian world career choices were only for the privileged. [...]

It’s hard to think of an area in the public sector where the improvements in management skills had been as dramatic as those in Primary Care.  However, the pace of change shows no sign of slowing and the demands will require a quantum leap in Practice Management Skills.  In previous articles I have talked [...]