The General Practice Podcast

GP list cleansing is having a significant impact on general practice, with practices across England reporting falling patient numbers, reduced funding and growing concerns about staffing and financial sustainability.

In this week’s episode, brought to you in partnership with Practice Index, we welcome back Robyn Clark and Alison Daff to discuss why list cleansing has intensified, the challenges practices face and the potential consequences for PCNs and patients.

They explore the administrative burden of validating patient registrations, the risks to vulnerable patients and the knock-on effects for practice funding, workforce capacity and neighbourhood working.

This week, Ben is joined by Dr Jane Harvey, GP and Clinical Director of Healthy Hyde PCN in Greater Manchester, to explore how eight practices have come together to deliver proactive, community-centred care.

Jane explains how the PCN has developed services around the needs of its local population, from proactive care for care home residents and people living with dementia to urgent action clinics, learning disability support, social prescribing and wellbeing services for refugees, children and other disadvantaged groups.

The conversation explores the challenges of measuring the value of preventative care when savings benefit the...

This week, Ben is joined by Dr Hannan Chaudery, CTO & Co-founder of GP Triage, for an update on how autonomous AI triage and booking is being used across primary care.

Returning to the podcast nine months after his previous appearance, Hannan explains how GP Triage has evolved and how practices are using AI to reduce the burden of manual triage, increase appointment capacity and improve patient access. They explore how practices can customise their triage pathways around their workforce, patient population and local services, as well as the role of data in continually refining these systems.

Flu clinics are a familiar part of the general practice calendar, but are they becoming increasingly difficult for practices to deliver?

In this week’s episode, brought to you in partnership with Practice Index, we welcome back Claire Houston from Practice Index and new guest Nicki Walker, Practice Manager in Rhyl, to discuss the challenges facing practices during this year’s flu vaccination campaign.

They explore vaccine supply, consent requirements, the changing role of community pharmacies and, importantly, whether the current funding makes delivering flu vaccinations financially sustainable for general practice.

They...

Where are neighbourhoods taking general practice, and what does this mean for Primary Care Networks?

In this episode, Ben is joined by Ceri Chaplin, Managing Partner at Hereford Medical Group, and Robert McCartney, Partner at Hempsons, to discuss the latest NHS England neighbourhood proposals and what they could mean for practices.

They explore the changing role of PCNs, funding and locally enhanced services, governance, relationships between practices, and why now is the time for practices to prepare for what comes next.

What exactly is a neighbourhood? (00:27)

How different areas are approaching...

This week, Ben is joined by Katie Collin, Partner at Ramsay Brown, to discuss NHS England’s consultation on Single Neighbourhood Provider contracts and Multi-Neighbourhood Provider contracts.

They explore what the proposed contracts could mean for GP practices, PCNs and federations, including the potential impact on funding, governance and locally commissioned services.

Katie explains the different contract options, whether PCNs should consider incorporation, and the potential role of federations and collaboratives as MNPs.

The discussion also looks at the opportunities and risks of shifting more services into primary care, and why strong governance, tr...

Integrated neighbourhood working has been talked about for years, but what does it actually look like when it’s put into practice?

In this episode, Ben is joined by Bobby Pozzoni-Child, Director of Partnerships and Transformation for the Buckinghamshire Primary Care Provider Collaborative. Bobby explains how Buckinghamshire has evolved from a GP Provider Alliance into a truly integrated primary care collaborative, bringing together general practice, community pharmacy, dentistry and optometry to create a stronger collective voice and deliver better care.

If you’re interested in neighbourhood health, integration, system leadership or the future role of prim...

In this week’s episode, brought to you in partnership with Practice Index, we welcome back Robyn Clark and Ed Kennedy to discuss the new “return to good” inspections, how they differ from previous CQC visits, and why many practice managers feel these are now effectively practice manager inspections.

Ed shares his first-hand experience of being among the first practices inspected under the new approach, while Robyn discusses the wider concerns being raised by practice managers across the country. Together they explore the benefits, challenges and practical steps practices can take to prepare, as well as the growin...

What does it take for general practice to lead system transformation rather than simply respond to it?

In this episode, Ben Gowland is joined by Dr Sunaina Khanna and Dr Imran Zaman to discuss how they have built a unified leadership model that is helping shape neighbourhood health across one of England’s largest Integrated Care Systems.

Starting with a collaborative response to winter pressures, they explain how GP leaders came together to create the GP Partnership Board, giving general practice a stronger voice in system decision-making while developing services at scale. They share the pr...

The Carr-Hill formula sits at the heart of GP funding, yet few people fully understand how it works, or the impact it can have on individual practices. In this episode, Ben is joined by Dr Matt Jones, GP Partner in Cardiff, who has spent years investigating the formula after discovering significant funding differences between seemingly similar practices. Drawing on Freedom of Information requests, published papers, and detailed analysis, Matt explains why Carr-Hill remains such a controversial issue and why a long-awaited review could have major implications for general practice.

Together they explore how the formula’s different in...

The proposed Single Neighbourhood Provider Contract could significantly reshape how services are commissioned and delivered at neighbourhood level, but with many details still to be confirmed, PCNs are being faced with important decisions now.

In this episode, Ben Gowland is joined by Robert McCartney, Senior Associate at Hempsons, to discuss what we know so far about the SNP Contract, the growing focus on neighbourhood footprints, and how local PCN DES variations could provide opportunities for PCNs to begin implementing change without waiting for national guidance.

They explore the practical steps PCNs can take to strengthen...