Wessex LMCs in the Media
Please find below the latest news articles from Pulse Today and GP Online featuring Nigel Watson, CEO of Wessex Local Medical Committees...
LMC leader to chair Hunt review into 'reinvigorating' GP partnership model
The chief executive of Wessex LMC has been appointed chair of a major independent review of the partnership model to look into how it needs to evolve in the modern NHS.
LMC chief to lead government review of GP partnership model
An independent review of the GP partnership model announced earlier this year by the health secretary will be led by Wessex LMCs chief executive Dr Nigel Watson, the government has revealed
GPs to see 'minimal changes' to their contract from April
Practices can expect ‘minimal changes’ to the GP contract in 2018/19, according to a presentation given to local GPs by the BMA.
Managing a distracted GP partner
A part-time partner sometimes seems over-stretched by outside commitments and occasionally neglects practice work, which causes friction. How can we resolve this?
New wave of GP practice closures across UK is 'deeply concerning
GP leaders are 'deeply concerned' following the closure of another four GP practices and proposals to close two branch surgeries.
A Day In The Life... of a GP
Dr Nigel Watson has been a GP for 30 years and is a managing partner at the Arnewood Practice. He is also chief executive of Wessex Local Medical Committees, which represents general practitioners...
GP training courses being cut due to funding squeeze
GPs are reporting that budget cuts are affecting training available for qualified GPs and trainees, leading to fears that education will be increasingly provided by drug companies who are trying to promote their products
Practice management support scheme seeks to keep expertise within the profession
Retired or part-time practice managers in Wessex have been asked to lend their abilities to other practices that may be in need amid high level of turnover and mergers.
It's a shame that vanguards are struggling as young GPs want to work here
As reported in Pulse, in Gosport we have colleagues who are struggling through no fault of their own and considering going fully salaried in a takeover by Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust. This is a particular shame as vanguards like us are an attractive option for young GPs - we have had two young GPs knock on one of the practices to say they had heard that we are a vanguard practice and want to work here
NHS pledges £55m to make all GP referrals electronic by 2018
NHS England has pledged to spend £55m on making all GP referrals electronic by 2018.
Clearing common hurdles of revalidation
As a locum working in many different practices it is hard to find GPs who know me well enough to give colleague feedback. What can I do to satisfy the GMC’s requirements?
New voluntary contract will help general practice to thrive
Dr Nigel Watson describes the potential benefits of the Prime Minister’s new voluntary contract
Hospital prescribing costs rising four times faster than primary care
Hospital prescribing costs rose over four times as fast as primary care costs over the last financial year, official data show, as GP leaders hailed 'great work' by the profession in medicines management.
Trick or treat? PM announces a new GP contract
David Cameron promises increased funding for practices, but the GPC brands his new contract a ‘distraction’,
GP workload: Time For A Rethink Of The Generalist Model Of Care To Promote Retention
Article based on our survey of Wessex GPs and then interviews carried out by Winchester University.
Being a portfolio GP is the only way to survive
With the rewards of a GP career being eroded by a lack of time and resources, a ‘mix-and-match’ approach is the only way forward, says Dr Laura Edwards
Vanguard NHS trusts face Monitor probe over financial or governance problems
More than a dozen NHS trusts involved in vanguard schemes trialling new models of care across England face questions from a government watchdog over their financial viability or governance, GPonline can reveal.
Transatlantic Exchange between the NHS and The Veterans Health Administration
The exchange programme between the NHS and the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has been in place for about 10 years. Each year a group of NHS staff go to Minneapolis, USA to support and adopt the use of digital health technologies and a group of staff from the VHA visit the UK to learn from the NHS.
Pulse Career Pathways: What is it like to be a portfolio GP?
Pulse Career Pathways: What is it like to be a portfolio GP? Ever considered becoming a portfolio GP? Pulse interviews Dr Laura Edwards, Salaried GP & Medical Director at Wessex LMCs, Click here...
Vanguard GPs open shared branch surgery to deliver seven-day access for 70,000 patients
GPs in south-west England will open a shared branch surgery to deliver 8am to 8pm access seven days a week to 70,000 patients as part of an NHS vanguard scheme.
Pulse Power 50 2015
This year’s Power 50 list contains some exciting new GP voices
Worksheets for auditing patient demand
The author of Pulse's popular five-part series on preparing for CQC inspections has shared a template for measuring and auditing patient demand Carole Cusack writes: 'The first step in improving...
Federations, foundation trusts and corporates appointed to emergency GP practice support framework
NHS England has appointed 21 providers that will step in and take over the running of struggling GP practices at short notice in the south of England.
South West New Forest MCP Update, Issue 2
Prime Minister's Challenge Fund (PMCF) This flash report was written by Dr Nigel Watson, Clinical Lead for the SW New Forest Multi-Speciality Community Provider This is a critical part of the...
South West New Forest MCP Update, Issue 1
The outcome of the recent visit of the national New Models of Care Team.
Private firms could take temporary control of practices at risk of closure...
Private firms and community providers could be handed temporary control of practices at risk of closure under plans being drawn up by NHS England.
GPC opposes pooling practice funding with hospital or social care budgets...
Bids to pool core practice funding with hospital or social care budgets under integrated care pilots are a 'red line' that must not be crossed, the GPC has warned.
Struggling practices to be offered emergency support after Pulse campaign...
Neighbouring GP practices will be drafted in to provide emergency support to colleagues in the south of England who are struggling to keep afloat, under new NHS England plans seen by Pulse.
GP practice told to pay back £41,000 in misclaimed rent reimbursments...
A GP practice in the south of England has had to pay back tens of thousands of pounds in rent reimbursement funding after an area team began audit turned up significant discrepancies.
Hospital consultants warned after bouncing suspected cancer cases back to GPs...
An NHS England local area team has had to contact hospital clinicians about their referral practice after GPs raised the alarm that patients with suspected cancer were being ‘bounced’ back for re-referral
Vanguard GPs to offer longer appointments and extended hours
GP practices across south Hampshire could offer longer appointments, direct access to hospital specialists and other clinicians and extended hours after being named among areas pioneering new models of care.
Tackling common problems for new GPs
Experts advise on three dilemmas that could arise for newly qualified GPs
GP practices offer to run care homes and discharge services as NHS England's general practice overhaul begins...
GP practices across the country have seized the opportunity to apply for £200m of new funding from NHS England, with radical plans to expand into running care homes, day centres and hospitals.
GPs fight for patient care as treatment requests are denied...
GPs are increasingly having to fight to provide the care their patients need, as CCGs clamp down on approvals for treatment funding requests.
General Practice debated in Parliament
On the 5th February 2015 there was a debate in the House of Commons entitled 'Building sustainable GP services'. The debate was generally positive, one or two statements were incorrect. If you...
GPs to offer ‘step-down’ beds, homecare and counselling as NHS England reveals details of radical new model for practices...
GP practices have been invited to prepare bids for a £200m fund to implement the new models of care contained in NHS England’s Five Year Forward View – with applications due by 9 February.
Can GPs Control Their Workload?...
GPC guidance offers practices advice on how to manage workload and stand up to unreasonable demands.
Partners told to provide training for all new health care assistants from March...
GPs are being warned they should ensure they have provisions in place to train health care assistants when new regulatory measures come into place in March.
GPs told to submit reports on all staff for NHS workforce survey by May...
Exclusive GP practices will have to submit a ‘significant piece of work’ to managers on all their staff, including a report of their absences, ethnicity and the reasons for staff members leaving, Pulse has learnt.
GPs under pressure as A&E waits worst for a decade
GP leaders warned that rising pressure on general practice was 'inevitable' after official NHS data revealed A&E waiting times are at their worst level in a decade.
Bye Bye QOF? Framework to be first casualty of co-commissioning drive
NHS England has given CCGs the green light to ditch the QOF and commissioners are already preparing replacement schemes, finds Sofia Lind
CCG backs down on plans to withhold surgery for smokers and obese patients
A CCG in Devon has backtracked on plans to withhold surgery for smokers and the morbidly obese, following widespread criticism from GPs.
Exclusive: GPs demand CQC compensation...
Two out of five GPs say the CQC should compensate practices it has publicly labelled 'high risk' if they are later rated 'good' or 'outstanding'.
Will the Better Care Fund benefit general practice?...
The Better Care Fund will pool £5bn in health and social care funding to boost integration of care. But are GPs outside CCG boardrooms aware of how it will work?
CCG restricts treatment for smokers and obese patients...
GPs in one area of England will not be able to refer some patients for routine surgery unless they quit smoking or lose weight, it has been revealed.
Nearly one in 10 doctors say patients have covertly recorded consultations
Nearly one in 10 doctors say patients have covertly recorded consultations, according to a poll by medico-legal experts.
Data Does Not Add Up...
I AM sure your readers would have felt concerned about the quality of general practice in Dorset having read your online article entitled ‘18 GP surgeries at “high risk” of offering inadequate care’.
Why GPs Need Better Access To Diagnostic Cancer Scans...
GPs across England are being denied access to cancer scans for their patients. David Millett reports on the potential risks to patients and the growing pressure this places on the NHS.
PRESS RELEASE: The Care Quality Commissions publications – Intelligent Monitoring of GP Practices
The Care Quality Commissions publications - Intelligent Monitoring of GP practices. . . The quality of care provided to our patients is of paramount importance and where poor quality is...
Practices register patients despite rising pressure...
GP practices are continuing to take on new patients despite lacking the capacity to do so, a GP survey has revealed
Trainees shun partnerships in favour of locum work or emigration...
Exclusive Just 6% of GPs in training practices say their registrar colleagues want to take partnership roles, due to concerns over pay and workload, a Pulse survey has revealed.
GPs must protect traditional general practice as politicians seek reform...
GPs must retain the traditional strengths of general practice while moulding the inevitable change that will happen in primary care, according to the chief executive of Wessex LMCs.
Practices to earn £55 per extra patient diagnosed with dementia
Practices signed up to an enhanced service are to be offered £55 per extra patient diagnosed with dementia as part of NHS England's plans to significantly boost numbers diagnosed with the condition.
Sharp Rise in GP Mergers as Smaller Practices Struggle to Stay Above Water
The decline of the smaller GP practice is accelerating, with double the rate of practice mergers in the first half of this year, compared with last year. Dr Nigel Watson, chief executive of...
Contract will not solve GP workload crisis...
Senior GPs have warned the 2015/16 GP contract will do little to address soaring GP workload, despite a QOF freeze and enhanced service funding moving into core pay.
Minister to consider forcing GP trainees to stay in UK...
Military-style restrictions could be placed on medical training to tie newly-qualified GPs to the NHS and stop them moving abroad, the government's primary care minister has said.
How the new GMS pay uplift was wiped out for GPs...
Since the new GMS contract took effect in 2004, official data have charted the steady erosion of GP income after years of pay freezes and rising expenses. Nick Bostock reports.
Exclusive: Contract talks may halve value of QOF...
The proportion of GP income linked to quality targets could be slashed to 10% under plans mooted by health secretary Jeremy Hunt at a private meeting with senior GPs, GP magazine can reveal.
Practices who fail to offer choice to face crackdown from CCGs following Monitor ruling...
Practices and GP commissioners have been warned by the competition watchdog that they must offer patients a choice of secondary care providers after it found against two CCGs for failing to publicise that care was being offered by a private provider.
Dilemma: Singlehander struggling to retire...
Dilemma: Singlehander struggling to retire 5 September 2014 Print Email Comments (3)Rate Save I am a singlehanded GP nearing retirement, but have struggled to find a candidate to take over my surgery. What should I do?
Pulse Power 50 GPs 2014 - More local GP heroes
More local GP heroes
Pulse Power 50 2014 - 49. Dr Laura Edwards...
Pulse’s roll-call of the 50 most influential figures in general practice returns for the fifth year and includes a new category that honours GPs making a difference at a local level. Find out who made the list below and read an interview with the GP who scored the top spot. Meet the rising stars this year and the non-GPs who have – for bad or good – had the most influence over GPs. Please do share your opinions on our choices (and who we have missed).
Pulse Power 50 2014 - 12. Dr Nigel Watson...
Pulse’s roll-call of the 50 most influential figures in general practice returns for the fifth year and includes a new category that honours GPs making a difference at a local level. Find out who made the list below and read an interview with the GP who scored the top spot. Meet the rising stars this year and the non-GPs who have – for bad or good – had the most influence over GPs. Please do share your opinions on our choices (and who we have missed).
Newly qualified GPs share their thoughts...
General Practice is in crisis. This latest national survey of GP trainees confirms that the crisis has not spared younger doctors.
Somerset health and social care merger offers template for Labour reform...
A CCG and a local council in south-west England plan to merge health and social care to save £20m over the next decade, in a move that could provide a template for Labour NHS reform plans.
GPs must offer more choice for outpatient referrals, Monitor says...
Dr Nigel Watson, chair of Wessex LMCs and a GP in the New Forest, explained that many patients didn't have a real choice because of where they lived, and said the issue was compounded by the lack...
Scores of practices teetering on the brink of closure...
'I've spoken to about six practices who are considering resigning their contract. It's a mix of practices and areas - it's a universal problem' Dr Nigel Watson, Wessex To read the full article...
Pulse Live 2014 Highlights...
Live blog from the Pulse editorial team describing all the developments at the Pulse Live as they happen.
Five Steps to Successfully Chasing a Late Payment / Costing a Service
Director of primary care for Wessex LMCs Carole Cusack explains how to pursue practice income when you are not paid according to schedule
Is MPIG money moving in the right direction?...
GPs face chaos as £116m in MPIG funding is redistributed. Nick Bostock looks at why the changes have hit practices so hard.
GP contract carve-up: How CCGs are taking control of practice funding...
CCGs are planning to take over large swathes of practice funding in a move that is vehemently opposed by GP leaders
The training crisis that is engulfing the profession...
Leaked figures reveal almost 40% of GP training places are unfilled in some areas of the UK, finds Jaimie Kaffash
GP warns surgeries are at 'breaking point' after damning report ...
A top New Forest GP has said local services are “stretched to breaking point” after a damning report revealed surgeries are struggling to recruit doctors and nurses.
GP contract to be carved up under radical plans to pool QOF and DES funding...
Exclusive CCG leaders are preparing radical plans to split the national GP contract and take control of all QOF and directed enhanced service funding, Pulse has learnt
Investigation: GPs given notice before LESs are put out to tender...
Practices have mere months to form federations and safeguard their LES funding
GP practices are failing to fill key vacancies as recruitment crisis takes hold...
On the 19th May 2014 Wessex LMCs issued a Press Release, commenting on a survey of GP recruitment and retention. These results were obtained by surveying individual GPs.
LMCs Conference 2014
All the latest from the second day of the LMCs Conference in York.
Senior Doctors Condemn Proposal to Charge Patients to See GP
Doctors will debate introducing charges for patients to see their GP at a conference as medical leaders warn against the idea in a letter to The Telegraph
GP Recruitment Crisis. . .
GP services in Wessex are facing a workforce crisis that could undermine patient care across the region.
Pulse Live 2014...
Developments from Pulse Live in London 2014.
GP efficiency triggered 'perverse' 0.28% DDRB award . . .
Practices' efforts to cut costs after years of falling income contributed to this year's 'perverse' 0.28% uplift to GP contract funding, experts have said.
Dilemma: Care home too demanding...
Staff at a local care home often ask you to visit patients who live there, but demand for appointments for their patients has risen recently. You don’t have a LES set up to visit this particular home, and sometimes patients who ask for home visits who could easily travel in. You have advised staff on the ground for requesting a home visit but it hasn’t stabilised demand for appointments at all. How can you manage the situation?
GPs will have until September to complete bulk of unplanned admissions DES following GPC lobbying . . .
Exclusive GPs will have longer than expected to complete care plans for the unplanned admissions DES, after the GPC and NHS England agreed to amend ‘poorly worded’, and ‘inconsistent’ guidance.
Practice Managers Under Stress
More than two thirds of practice managers have recently contemplated quitting their jobs as the complexity and intensity of their work increases alongside hours and stress, according to an exclusive survey for GP's sister site Medeconomics.
CCGs missing out on quality premium payments due to secondary care troubles . . .
Exclusive CCGs are to miss out on millions of pounds in payments linked to quality premium measures for 2013/14 – commonly because of problems hitting targets for A&E waits and infection control.
Analysis: GPs take the strain of ‘Austerity Britain’. . .
Many practices are increasingly finding their waiting rooms full of patients struggling as a result of the economic downturn. Alisdair Stirling reports
Training practices set for funding boost as official report endorses premises grants worth £20,000 . . .
Exclusive GP trainers will be able to apply for grants of up to £20,000 from their local education boards for premises improvements under recommendations made by an official training taskforce group, Pulse has learnt.Investigation: Are we at risk of running out of GPs?
Extra 'named GP' funding in doubt as CCGs struggle to stump up cash. . .
Exclusive Some GPs may not receive the additional £5 per patient funding promised to support the new contractual responsibility to be a ‘named GP’ - and those that do may have to undertake additional work - a Pulse investigation reveals.Interactive map: How are CCGs allocating practice funding for vulnerable patients?
Support scheme extended for overworked Practice Manager. . .
GP representatives are extending a pilot scheme to support practice managers struggling with increased workload and stress.
Local QOF opt-outs will erode GPs’ negotiating power. . .
The introduction of the QOF provided a successful incentive for practices to review their provision of care and, where appropriate, make changes, which created better outcomes for patients.
GP practice could face contract termination for closing early twice over Christmas break. . .
A GP practice faces having its contract terminated or being hit with alternative sanctions after being issued with two breach notices for closing early on both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
GPs form radical provider company network across the whole of Northern Ireland. . .
All practices in Northern Ireland are set to form not-for-profit provider companies ‘within six months’ to carry out the work involved in moving services from secondary to primary care, under radical plans formulated by the Northern Ireland GPC.
GP practices offered £20K grants to boost training places. . .
Exclusive Education chiefs have offered grants of up to £20,000 to address ‘capacity issues’ at training practices, as part of plans to boost the number of GP trainee places in general practice.Investigation: Are we at risk of running out of GPs?
GP doubts over access pilots. . .
Workforce pressures and doubts over long-term funding put many GPs off a flagship government scheme to extend primary care access, GP leaders have warned.
Fifth of GPs intend to work with other practices to win enhanced services contracts. . .
Exclusive More than one in five GPs are planning to form alliances with other practices when enhanced service contracts are put out to competition, amid warnings that single practice bids are being overlooked when services are put out to tender.Investigation: Competition leads practices to seek new alliances.
Investigation: Competition leads practices to seek new alliances. . .
As millions of pounds of enhanced services are put out to tender, practices need strength in numbers to lock horns with the private sector, finds Alisdair Stirling Some GPs are ahead of the...
Will QOF opt-out deals sabotage the national contract?
GPs in some areas are being allowed to ‘opt out’ of the QOF and still get paid. Caroline Price asks what this means for the future of the framework – and the national contract
Share data to ease vulnerable patient care plan workload, GPs told. . .
GP practices can ease workload fears over care plans for vulnerable patients by working with other health providers, an LMC has suggested.
Five steps to prepare for revalidation as a locum
Dr Laura Edwards advises on a step-by-step guide for locums preparing for revalidation.
Specialist GP practices could tackle complex patients' needs. . .
Practices could lose millions in funding as CCGs and local authorities put LESs out to tender, an investigation by Alisdair Stirling and Christina Kenny reveals. Will it be worth it? Dr Nigel...
GP expenses warnings as ministers prepare funding announcement. . .
Ministers must increase practice funding in line with rising costs for 2014/15, or risk exacerbating the workforce crisis and undermining services, GP leaders have warned.
Local area teams block QOF suspension bids as CCGs queue up to copy Somerset model. . .
Exclusive CCGs across the country who have asked to follow the lead of GPs in the South West and opt out of QOF reporting for the rest of the financial year are seeing their requests turned down by NHS England, Pulse can reveal.
Workload pressure threatens Practice Manager exodus. . .
Pressure on general practice has created a significant increase in practice managers thinking of leaving their jobs and GPs must do more to tackle the problem, an LMC has warned.
Preview of the year. . .
Pulse predicts the key developments this year with the help of a panel of leading GPs.
GPs share their career stories: The best working life articles from 2013. . .
Pulse looks back at the best working life features from the past twelve months Pulse’s classic Working Life feature was revived in 2013, looking at different GPs and what they gain from their...
Hopes and Fears for 2014. . .
The great and the good in general practice give their hopes and fears for 2014. Dr Nigel Watson, Wessex LMCs chief executive. . . Hope: We’ve reached the bottom of the downward spiral of...
Analysis: Payments in disarray. . .
NHS England is promising a resolution to the payments chaos that has dogged practices since April. Alisdair Stirling reports on the key issues. On the south coast, Dr Nigel Watson, chief...
The rewards and challenges of running an LMC
Dr Nigel Watson, nominated in Pulse’s Power 50 list as the leader of ‘the best LMC in the country’, explains what his job as chief executive involves.
Providers set to challenge CCG tendering decisions in blow to integration agenda. . .
Providers are increasingly looking to challenge CCGs’ tendering decisions on the basis they require integrated working, in a blow to the Government’s moves to promote greater integration, experts...
NHS England to ease payment confusion by end of the month. . .
GP practices will receive statements giving a detailed breakdown of what payments are matched to what services by the end of this month, NHS England has said.
CCGs put down marker on their local priorities. . .
The services chosen by CCGs to achieve their quality premiums provide a snapshot of commissioning priorities around the country and point to where longer-term commissioning is headed. Alisdair Stirling reports.
Commissioners prioritising emergency admissions and dementia diagnoses for quality premium payments. . .
GP commissioners are prioritising reductions in emergency admissions and increases in dementia diagnosis rates to achieve their quality premium payments, as figures obtained by Pulse reveal CCGs’...
2013 Pulse Power 50. . .
A bridge between the GPC and commissioners
