Practice Manager (HR and Operations)– Job Description and Person Specification

This job description is intended to provide a broad outline of the main responsibilities of the post and is not exhaustive.

It should also be noted that whilst overall accountability for the delivery of objectives associated with the core tasks and functions noted below rests with the Practice Manager, operational responsibility for delivery of results is shared with other management, supervisory and operational staff. The effective deployment of supervision, leadership and project management skills will therefore be vital to ensuring the delivery of the core tasks and functions noted below.

Job summary

The Practice Manager will provide leadership and use management skills to guide and develop the Practices teams at Derby Road Health Centre and Grange Farm Medical Centre, developing a skilled workforce across the two Practices enabling the teams to deliver high quality patient care services to the local population.

The PMwill have overall responsibility for the day to day operation of the Practices, and management of the Practices teams, and is accountable to the Partnership through regular reporting and weekly meetings.

The PM’s role is to ensure that day-to-day operational issues are dealt with quickly and effectively. To achieve this, the post-holder will need to delegate responsibility appropriately to members of the administration team whilst retaining overall accountability.

The PM will be supported by, and will line-manage, a team of experienced staff with expertise in data quality, Rota clerk, marketing, bookkeeping, and premises management, and a newly created role of Assistant Practice Manager.

The PM will work in conjunction with the Practice Business Manager who will provide strategic and financial leadership to the partnership. The post-holder will work with the Business Manager to project manage and implement business change, as identified within the Practices development plan.

The Business Manager’s role includes responsibility for the accountancy function, (Payments, Income, claims management, Superannuation, HMRC, Estimation of profits, Drawings, Bank Reconciliations and accounts preparation to trial balance ), and business planning including maintaining the practice development plan, creating budgets, cash flow forecasting, managing tenders for AQP and APMS, and working with the partners to investigate and instigate new business opportunities.

The Business Manager will ensure tendering and compliance with the specifications of additional services and the Practice Manager will have overall responsibility for ensuring that the Practicesachieve the standards and targets set through QOF, Enhanced Services, AQP services, and KPIs as defined within the APMS contract for Grange Farm.

The PM is responsible for autonomous management of the non-clinical work of clinical and non-clinical staff to ensure the high quality of reception, administration, secretarial and clinical services across the Practices. The post-holder will be the senior non-clinical figure within the Practices leading on Practice management both operationally and with regards Human resources, and ensuring compliance with relevant legislation and high quality management practises in conjunction with the Partnership.

The Practice Manager represents the Practices in dealing with any patient complaints, comments and praise, and in working with the Practices Patient Participation Groups. They will work with the Practice Assistant to market the Practice’s and their services to the local population, and to organise and participate in events for the Practice population.

Core tasks and functions

Leadership

  • Work with the Business Manager to develop the Practice Development Plan, to understand the strategic direction of the Practices and to translate Practiceobjectives into action plans for the Practice teams.
  • Work with the Business Manager to manage, monitor and update the action plans to ensure the Practices objectives are met.
  • Provide direction to, and line manage, Premises manager, Data Quality Manager, Secretarial Team, Practice Assistant, Assistant Practice Manager and the Reception teams.
  • Provide direction to the clinical teams through the partnership and nurse team manager, to ensure that Practice objectives are met.
  • Lead Practices team meetings, and attend and where required lead partnership meetings ( which will also need minuting).

Human Resources

  • Manage staffing budget, authorising non-clinical staff recruitment and making recommendations as to clinical staff or partner recruitment.
  • Monitor and evaluate performance of the Practice team against objectives and identify and manage change.
  • Undertake detailed workload analysis for all staff, arbitrate on issues of workload; undertake skill-mix review, succession planning and implement necessary changes.
  • Identify Practice staff training needs through training needs analysis and appraisals; ensure induction of all new staff; organise in-house training in line with identified need; identify and facilitate appropriate external training.
  • Ensure that employment records and mandatory training is adequate and compliant.
  • Keep up to date with employment legislation and ensure that all Practices policies and paperwork (including contracts of employment) comply with statutory requirements; make amendments as necessary; promote good employment Practices.
  • Manage Practice discipline and grievance procedures for all staff including salaried GPs, trainee GPs and locums etc.
  • Ensure a robust staff appraisal process is in place and that appraisals are carried out on at least an annual basis (6 monthly where requested); promote appropriate opportunities for mentoring and ensure that PDPs are in place and monitored; ensure that the GPs are appraised on an annual basis in line with national requirements.
  • Lead the recruitment and selection process when appointing senior members of the Practices team including GPs, senior nurse’setc. ensuring adherence to appropriate standards as set out by the CQC.
  • Ensure local induction programme is in place, and delivered to all staff including locum clinical staff and Trainee GPs, which includes use of the computer system and Practices systems to support the maximisation of income and delivery of quality services to patients
  • Lead and actively promote team-working within the Practices to maximise efficient use of staffing resources.
  • Ensure, on an annual basis (or when they commence work), that all clinical staff working in the Practices are registered with the appropriate body i.e. GMC, NMC, HPC and that they have the necessary indemnity cover in place.
  • Prepare payroll documentation for the payroll bureau, and organise monthly BACS salary payments.

Operations

  • Manage staff and GP rotas, including managing holiday requests, rotating on-call responsibilities and booking locums with the assistance of the rota clerk.
  • Manage sickness absence, including return to work interviews and documentation and occupational health referrals.
  • Monitor and report progress against QOF targets and ensure QOF attainment is maximised.
  • Monitor and report progress against KPI targets for the Grange Farm contract to ensure attainment is maximised
  • Ensure all relevant policies, procedures, standards and guidance are developed, disseminated and available to all GPs and staff and reviewed/updated regularly.
  • Develop and implement an effective risk management system, including all aspects of clinical governance, health & safety, ensuring compliance with legal requirements and that systems are in place to minimise risk and identify potential problems; an incident policy which includes the recording, investigation and reporting of incidents and ensure any lessons are identified, learned and disseminated.
  • Manage the Significant Event system within the Practices, and report to the partnership and where appropriate the Practice teams.
  • Responsible for cascading CAS alerts to The Data manager for circulation.

GP Trainee management

  • Plan effective induction for all trainees joining the Practicetemporarily.
  • Ensure the GP rotas are run in line with trainee guidelines, ensuring that time for de-briefing and joint surgeries is allocated appropriately.
  • Monitor and report to the deanery any holiday or sickness absence.
  • Meet with each trainee and registrar to explain the running of a General Practice and the business and financial aspects of general practice and the wider community health structure.
  • Provide contracts for all Trainees and ensure that they are compliant with training and the relevant documentation.

PR and Patient involvement

The PracticeManager has overall responsibility for this function over both sites, and with the support of the Assistant Practice Manager and Practice Assistant will:

  • Organise publicity, events etc. and develop innovative ways of raising local awareness of the Practices and the services it provides.
  • Pro-actively manage the Practices reputation both internally and externally to ensure they are perceived as a first class medical Practices and are held in high regard by patients, the local community, local Practices and service commissioners.
  • Encourage and promote patient involvement in the Practices (both in person and virtually) .
  • Liaise with outside bodies/organisations i.e. service commissioners, GP Commissioning Consortium, providers of Practice based and community services, voluntary agencies, local Council etc.
  • Ensure the efficient provision of high quality reception/administration services to patients.
  • Ensure the production, updating and monitoring of Practices information, monitor the effectiveness and quality of this both electronic and paper
  • Ensure that the Practice-based complaints procedure is compliant with national requirements, and is managed effectively.
  • Manage the Practice complaints system, and take responsibility for responding to all patient complaints in a timely and professional manner.
  • Manage the running of the Patient Participation Groups and feedback to the partners.

Premises and equipment

The Practice Manager has overall responsible for this function, and with the support of the premises manager:-

  • Organise insurance cover for building, contents and computers ensuring periodic review of cover.
  • Ensure maintenance schedules are in place for equipment including PAT testing for electrical equipment, recommend purchase/lease of new pieces of equipment, and undertake feasibility studies.
  • Ensure adequate premises security; test and review regularly; liaise with crime and fire prevention officers.
  • Ensure Practice complies with Health and Safety legislation.
  • Ensure that all premises contracts are reviewed to minimise costs (utilities, waste management, building maintenance etc.).
  • Lead on overseeing and project management of equipment or premises upgrades or moves.
  • Ensure a Business continuity Plan is in place, has been disseminated to all staff and partners and is reviewed and tested on a regular basis.
  • Ensure that adequate stocks of stationery, clinical and other supplies are available at all times; and that suppliers are reviewed on a regular basis to ensure value for money is being obtained.
  • To have overall responsibility with the support of the business manager and building manager for practice building, renovation and upgrade projects.

Information governance, management and technology

The Practice Manager will have exceptional IT skills, and be confident in using Business IT packages to their full potential, and be confident in learning and using to full effectiveness the Practice’s clinical IT system (System 1).

The Practice manager is responsible for this function, with the support of the Data manager and the support of NHIS the IT support provider and telephone contractor.

  • Project-manage new system or extension of existing system; undertake feasibility studies with the Business manager and make recommendations; plan and execute implementation.
  • Assist the GP Partner Caldicott lead ensuring all Caldicott requirements are met
  • Responsible for information governance with the support of the Assistant Practice Manager and Data Manager, including ensuring that good information governance principles are in place and understood throughout the Practices, and for updating Freedom of Information, Data Protection and legal compliance aspects of information governance.
  • Ensure development and implementation of Practices policy for clinical data entry; oversee systems for the flow of patient records around the surgery and the integration of information into patients’ information – both paper and electronic; oversee changes to record-keeping systems in line with local and/or national guidelines (e.g. Information for Health).
  • Lead on IT crisis prevention; assess effectiveness of system and safety and security of data. Ensure sufficient back up is in place.
  • Ensure that the Practices websites are current and so are entries on other significant websites eg NHS Choices, Primary care webtool and Disablesd Go.

Personal responsibilites

Leadership

Managing successful service delivery in general Practice requires a wide range of knowledge, skills and competencies. DRHC and GFMC have, a very effective workforce with a great deal of expertise. The ability of the PracticeManager to manage the delivery of priorities through empowering of all employees and Partners to contribute to the delivery of our vision will be vital.

The ability to work effectively within the local health community and with the Practice’s professional advisers is key to ensuring that the wide range of Practice priorities is managed effectively and met.

Confidentiality

In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately.

In the performance of the duties outlined in this job description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients, their carers’, Practices staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the Practices as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential.

Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the Practices may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the Practices policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data.

Health & Safety

The post-holder will assist in promoting and maintaining their own and others’ health, safety and security as defined in the Practice Health & Safety Policy, to include:-

  • using personal security systems within the workplace according to Practices guidelines;
  • identifying the risks involved in work activities
  • Undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks.
  • Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills.
  • Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy and safe way and free from hazards. Reporting potential risks identified.

Equality and Diversity

The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues, to include:

  • Acting in a way that recognizes the importance of people’s rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with Practices procedures and policies, and current legislation.
  • Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues.
  • Behaving in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgemental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights.

Personal & Professional Development

The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the Practices as part of this employment, such training to include:

  • Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development.
  • Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work.

Quality

The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the Practices, and will:

  • Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk.
  • Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision.
  • Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the team’s performance.
  • Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patient’s needs.
  • Effectively manage own time, workload and resources.

Communication

The post-holder should recognise the importance of effective communication within the team and will strive to:

  • Communicate effectively with other team members.
  • Communicate effectively with patients and carers.
  • Recognise people’s needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly.
  • Ensure all staff and doctors are kept informed on all policy change

Contribution to the Implementation of Services

The post-holder will:

  • Write and apply Practices policies, standards and guidance as appropriate.
  • Discuss with other members of the team how the policies, standards and guidelines will affect own work.
  • Participate in audit where appropriate and learn from their results to continuously improve.

Person Specification

Essential / Desirable
Education and Qualifications / Good standard of education with excellent literacy and numeracy skills. / Degree or equivalent with relevant qualification(s) (e.g. management, HR, accountancy).
HRprofessional qualification (e.g.CIPD).
Knowledge and Experience / Experience of UK Primary Care
Experience of managing a team of more than 10 people
HR management experience including recruitment, retention, workforce planning, employment law and equal opportunities legislation, staff development and motivation.