Management in Practice, Manchester: Event highlights

On Tuesday 2nd June, hundreds of practice managers, directors and administrators attended the first Management in Practice event for 2015, held at The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester.

This year there was an increased focus on celebrating the work of practice managers who have made improvements to their practice and made a positive difference to patients, looking beyond the negative headlines which have plagued the health media.

Delegates left feeling inspired to address the challenges and look for new opportunities to improve working processes, develop relationships and keep up with changes to legislation and policy.

Attendee Denise Fay, a practice manager in Manchester, thoroughly enjoyed the event, stating “it’s always good to get out of the practice and speak to other managers and share experiences and knowledge.  The conference content was very well balanced and informative this year.”

The day started with a panel discussion featuring key experts looking to the future of primary care, exploring how healthcare professionals can help build a sustainable NHS as we look towards the year 2020.

The discussion covered the role of practice managers in building a responsive team, integration, and balancing demands with resources. Julia Manning, from think-tank 2020 Health was able to tie together the role of general practice in the wider health systems and practice managers Virginia Patania and Andrew McHugh offered practical insights into how their practices have been affected by change and what steps are needed to stay ahead of upcoming challenges.

“Virginia Patania’s account of how her team managed to save their practice was truly inspirational, ” said practice manager Anne Tinsdeall.

Duncan Stephenson, from the Royal Society for Public health, offered his insights as to how better use of multi-disciplinary teams, for example engaging with community pharmacists, can address the prevention and public health without putting additional burden on primary care.

Delegates then split into two streams of concurrent sessions throughout the day that addressed everything from legal pitfalls to securing new funding streams, out of hours services, federations and patient access.

Presentations from Andy Briggs, practice manager in Wiltshire and Kathie Applebee, practice management consultant in Cornwall, were immensely popular as they informed delegates of the future role of practice managers in an even more complex system and how they can sustain the morale of their staff.

Special guest Dr Phil Hammond’s ‘health quiz’ was a chance for delegates to blow off some steam as he had the whole room laughing. The GP/comedian was described as the highlight of the day by many delegates, praised for his balance of humour and intelligence.

“I found Dr Phil Hammond’s seminar to be very enjoyable, filled with humour but really addressing the topics that are currently at the forefront of everyone's experience at the practice. He had my total attention throughout his presentation, ” said delegate Gail Holland.

The final session of the day was presented by the Care Quality Commission and addressed how practices can prepare for inspection and what has been learnt so far through the new regime.

During the lunch and refreshment breaks, delegates were able to network with each other and also make connections with exhibitors. Many of the exhibitors provided a chance for delegates to learn about new solutions and systems for increasing practice efficiency, tying in nicely with the presentations of the day.

After such a successful day in Manchester, the Management in Practice Events Team are looking forward to the next upcoming events in Birmingham on the 15th of September and London on the 10th of November.

 

For more information, please contact Sophie Kassay, Marketing Executive on [email protected]  020 7214 0571.