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Ginger Root January 7, 2020

Blog 4: Time to Reflect and Plan Ahead

Dr Sonali Kinra is our ICS lead for GP Retention.

This is the fourth of her monthly blog series where she focuses on reflecting on the year and planning ahead for 2020.

Happy New Year to all of you!

This is going to be a short update as I’m away on annual leave and hope you have enjoyed the festive break with family and friends.

December saw the launch of NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Collaborate.

NHS Collaborate was originally set up by three GPs to ensure that no primary care leader was alone in their leadership journey. It was about building a supportive community by employing the art of generative listening.

There were six of us from varied backgrounds – GP/practice manager/nurse lead and though we had professionally known each other before, this was an opportunity to learn more about our personal attributes and challenges and strengths.

Read more about Collaborate here and if interested in joining us for the next meet on 15 January please get in touch with me.

NHS England released service specifications for PCNs from April 2020 and wants GP views for feedback while in the process of negotiations. Closing date: 15 January 2020 at 13:00. Full details of the survey and interactive webinars on 8, 9 and 14 January 2020 can be found here.

Nikki Kanani, NHSE Medical Director for Primary Care, will also be hosting a Twitter chat on 7 January 2020. Follow #primarycarenetworks from 20:00 and share your views.

In the last month questions were raised by local colleagues on twitter regarding what difference PCNs are going to make and whether the process is truly bottom up with engagement and involvement of all members of General practice and the wider primary care network

These are fair challenges and its incumbent on both the leadership as well as front line staff to engage with each other.

Find out about who your local Clinical Director is and more about your PCN demographics and challenges by clicking here.

To encourage further engagement, I have organised a panel discussion with local CDs and Dr Nikita Kanani – save the date 6 May 2020.

As a workforce group, we are also working on opportunities around portfolio working with PCNs – if interested please get in touch with the Phoenix Programme here.

Interested in flexible working? I will be setting off conversations around flexible work opportunities at Nottinghamshire LMC annual conference on 30th January. If you have a story to share and wish to be a part of finding solutions and opportunities then please get in touch with me. You can book your place here

The event is free for levy paying practices and password is NottsLMCConf2020

Our next Primary care workforce group meeting is on 23 January and the next LMC sessional subcommittee meeting is on 20 January where we will hear from Dr Richard Fieldhouse, Chair of the National Association of Sessional GPs – @rafieldhouse

Book your place by clicking here.

Here’s to 2020 and to thriving general practice

Until next time,

Sonali

@SonaliKinra

sonali.kinra@nhs.net