NEWS Manager Practice
about the challenges facing Ker’s managers as they deal with poverty and chronic deprivation in a mixed patient population.
ONE DEFINITION OF multicultural- ism is “the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures”. This will mean different approaches and ways of working for general practice, depending on where in the country you are. In my small rural practices in the NE of Scotland you may think that we have less of a migrant population than practices in Glasgow. And you would be right on the whole, but there is a very substantial eastern European population within the NE of Scot-
land.So no matter where you are, being mindful of the wide mix of cultures in your local area can make the process of managing patient expectations less challenging.
On page 12 Joanne Curran talks to practice managers who face the challenges of multiculturalism on a daily basis.
One practice at the frontline of multicultural care is The Ker Prac- ticein Glasgow. In our profile on page 10, Jim Killgore finds out
The secret to successful practice management is discussed on page 8where MDDUS trainer Cherryl Adams looks at the importance of having a clearly defined vision of where your practice is going and how a SWOT analysis can help you get there. Leading the way for dental PMs is Jill Taylor who talks about her new role as president of ADAM in our page 7Q&A.
Few managers would relish a visit from the police, but it need not be a cause for undue panic. MDDUS risk adviser Alan Frame offers advice on how to handle such a situation on page 9 ,while the case study on page 14 provides a relevant example.
Regulating employees’ internet use is a growing challenge and on page 5MDDUS employment law adviser Janice Sibbald discusses the importance of having a clear policy, while on page 6Law At Work offer a sensible guide to risk management in health and safety. And the Call Log on page 4high- lights advice provided on topics such as disability discrimination and parental access to children’s records.
Aileen Wilson Editor
COVER IMAGE: DEREK MCDOUGALL /
WWW.FLICKR.COM/YOBROKKIN
GP SURGERIES still process vast amounts of hard copy documentation despite nearly 95 per cent expressing a preference for electronic communication. A survey of 673 practices conducted on behalf of Healthcare
EDITOR: Aileen Wilson FIHM
ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Jim Killgore Joanne Curran
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CORRESPONDENCE: PM Editor MDDUS Mackintosh House 120 Blythswood Street Glasgow G2 4EA
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Practice Manager is published by The Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland, Registered in Scotland No 5093 at Mackintosh House, 120 Blythswood Street, Glasgow G2 4EA. The MDDUS is not an insurance company. All the benefits of membership of MDDUS are discretionary as set out in the Memorandum and Articles of Association.
Gateway Ltd has found that 84 per cent of clinical communications is still sent on paper. An average of 373 clinical documents were delivered per week to each practice and 31 per cent of practices reported receiving more than 500 a week. An estimated 200 million clinical documents are sent in the post to
UK practices each year at a cost of £1 per letter. The research has revealed that practice administration staff spend
the equivalent of two working days each week scanning and inputting paper documents. Forty-four per cent of practices also reported having documents lost in the post, and 16 per cent said documents failed to arrive every week. Healthcare Gateway Ltd is a joint venture by GP software providers INPS and EMIS which has developed a technology known as the Medical Interoperability Gateway (MIG) to facilitate data sharing between healthcare professionals (with patient consent). Peter Anderson of Healthcare Gateway said: "This survey shows
that there is an overwhelming demand for electronic communication delivered directly into the GP system that is not being met. Yet the technology already exists to quickly and securely share vital clinical information between secondary care clinicians and GPs using different IT systems."
AUTUMN 2011ISSUE 5 Indemnity for practice staff
A RECENT letter from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) regarding indemnity for some of its members has been causing concern among practice managers and staff. The letter informed RCN members that from 1 January 2012 indemnity cover for work undertaken in general practice was being removed from the range of RCN member benefits.
Some practice managers have
expressed concern that this means practice nurses may no longer be indemnified for clinical tasks undertaken on behalf of the practice. MDDUS would like to reassure
members that we provide all GP and GDP partners in membership access to indemnity for any act or omission arising from the proper and authorised duties of all members of staff, including prac- tice managers, practice nurses and any other ancillary staff not eligible for full or associate MDDUS membership. This vicari- ous liability will continue to apply as it has in the past. The RCN changes should also
have no effect on subscription rates.
Please phone our Membership Department on 0845 270 1208 if you have any concerns regarding staff indemnity.
Practices still swamped with paper
PHOTO: BILL BAIN
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