Deputy Practice Manager

We are looking for a Deputy Practice Manager to support and assist the Practice Manager, the Systems and Research Manager, and the GP Partners across our two practice sites, for 20-25 hours a week over a minimum of three days.

We require a pro-active individual with good people and IT skills to support the day-to-day management of all aspects of Human Resources, Health and Safety, facilities, and Information Governance. The successful applicant will be someone with general practice experience and preferably familiar with SystmOne. They will be a good communicator, negotiator, and organiser and must be an excellent team player.

Main duties of the job

The Deputy Practice Manager will need to have an enthusiastic approach, be able to prioritise efficiently to deal with time pressures, and develop a strong rapport with clinicians, practice teams, and patients. You will be working alongside the Practice Manager and co-working with two office managers to manage the teams across two sites.

Day-to-day duties will include supporting office managers with the management of reception and administration staff and monitoring clinical and administration rotas. Dealing with complaints management, health and safety in practice, as well as building and facilities management. The Deputy Practice Manager will work with the Practice Manager to keep policies and protocols updated, submitting reports and returns, and implementing new services and systems in practice.

Experience of working in a GP Practice for a minimum of 2 years with good knowledge of SystmOne and IT systems is essential.

Organisation and teamwork will be key skills needed to ensure that both sites are run efficiently and coherently.

About us

We are a CQC rated outstanding practice spread across two sites and covering 16,000 patients. We are a very research-active practice.

We are a friendly team of 8 GP Partners and 4 Salaried GPs with a large primary care team of 1 practice manager and one systems and research manager, 2 office site managers, reception, administrative and secretarial teams, large nursing team including practice nurses, psychiatric nurse, pharmacy team, physiotherapist, social prescriber, care coordinator, and phlebotomist.

We are a training practice having registrars and medical students in all stages of their training. We actively encourage all our staff to develop professionally.

We are part of the well-run Nottingham West PCN.

Job responsibilities

Job Summary:

To support the Practice Manager, Partners, and Systems and Research Manager in all aspects of practice functionality, motivating and managing staff, optimising efficiency, and overall performance, ensuring the practice achieves its long-term strategic objectives in a safe and effective working environment.

This role will evolve over time and applicants should be able to adapt willingly to these changes.

Main Duties:

• To support and assist in the following according to training and experience:

Operational Management

• This post is pivotal in providing key operational and management support to ensure the delivery of a quality patient-focused service, working in tandem with the Practice Manager.
• Will be required to work with management and clinical teams to support all aspects of operational delivery at the practice from back office staff leadership to performance ensuring the practice is a welcoming space for all who enter.
• Will be required to undertake the management of the day-to-day operational aspects of the service, with a focus on achieving and monitoring access delivery performance.
• To help the Practice Manager with rota development ensuring the service is always covered in a planned and future-focused way across both the clinical and non-clinical workforce.

Staff Management and Human Resources

• Acts as the line manager for the receptionist team and supervises other service staffing where appropriate, working closely with the Practice Manager and Clinical Lead.
• Undertakes regular reviews with Reception Team Members and holds staff meetings.
• Supports the management of the staff in the practice including recruitment, career development, performance, and appraisals.
• Manages day-to-day issues related to HR within the practice.
• Undertakes appraisals for all staff for whom the post holder has supervision responsibility.
• Ensures that staff undertake all required mandatory training.
• Ensures new members of the team are trained to an extremely high standard in accordance with their job description.
• Ensures any learning in relation to complaints and incidents in the back of practice processes and procedures are embedded and processes/procedures are changed as a result.
• Formulates service plans which reflect the needs of the service area in conjunction with the lead GP and Practice Manager.
• Assesses, resolves, and monitors service complaints, incorporating common themes within service redesign. Ensures learning across the skill mix and implements a proactive approach to resolve issues informally.
• The administration of new staff, including locums, registrars, and students, encompassing pre-employment and DBS checks, arranging induction programmes, setting up of SMART cards, ICE, Notis, Open Exeter, NHS emails, System One training, and inputting the required data onto the payroll.
• Removal from all the above for staff leavers.

Performance Management

• Ensures the practice is delivering to target (or exception reporting, escalating) where there are challenges to delivery of all national and local contractual KPIs, including enhanced services, QOF, and the PCN DES requirements.
• Ensures via performance reporting that practices are taking full advantage of their PCN attached workforce and delivering their contractual requirements in respect of the PCN DES.
• Escalating any issues to the Practice Manager.

Patient Services and People Participation

• Develops and maintains a working Patient Participation Group with service users and the Practice Manager.
• Embeds a culture that prioritises patient and public involvement in all aspects of work at the surgery.
• Manages any complaints within set time frames.

Management of Premises

• To ensure compliance with Health and Safety requirements including inputting of data onto a shared central database. This will include maintenance of medical equipment and organising calibration checks and arranging PAT testing.
• Organises and oversees fire safety inspections and drills and inputs data centrally.
• Liaises with the cleaning company, problem-solving and regular audit work.
• Ensures regular review and updating of policies and procedures, risk assessments, and COSHH data and inputs data centrally to Teamnet.
• Ensures staff training on Teamnet and face-to-face including organisation of events.
• Assists with the infection control audits and reviews ensuring they are kept updated.

IT and IG

• Maintains and further develops high-level skills in primary care IT.
• Ensures all members of the practice team are proficient in the appropriate use of IT.
• Ensures that all members of the team receive appropriate training in information governance and that local and national standards are applied.
• Sets up access with the Practice Manager to all relevant systems for new starters.
• Reports problems with hardware maintenance and computer access issues to IT and follows up as required.
• Contributes to data security following Practice protocols, reporting problems and undertaking computer back-up as necessary.
• Reports SystmOne problems directly to the required IT team and handles any instructions given.
• Uses NHS net and Trust intranet in line with Trust Policies and Procedures.
• Manages with the Practice Manager electronic templates and Workflow on SystmOne.
• Using SystmOne, undertakes searches and extracts statistical data for the preparation of reports.
• Responsible for, and proactive in ensuring the management of the Clinical system (System 1) ensuring IT security and IG compliance.
• Be able to install and update software e.g. ECG/spirometry software as required.

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 and their carers, Practice staff, and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the Practice 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 Practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the Practice 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, the practice Health & Safety Manual, and the practice Infection Control policy and published procedures. This will include:
• Using personal security systems within the workplace according to Practice guidelines.
• Identifying the risks involved in work activities and 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.
• Actively reporting health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised.
• Keeping own work areas and general/patient areas generally clean, assisting in the maintenance of general standards of cleanliness consistent with the scope of the job holder's role.
• Undertaking periodic infection control training.
• 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 Practice 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-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings, priorities, and rights.

Personal/Professional Development:

• The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the Practice 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.

Person Specification

Skills

• Work under pressure and work to tight deadlines.
• Prioritise workload and manage multiple tasks.
• Be motivated to learn new skill sets.
• Enjoy working as a team encouraging delegation and empowerment of staff.
• Ability to listen and empathise.
• Good time management.
• IT Skills to include Microsoft Outlook and Excel.
• Analytical skills.
• Previous experience of working alongside PCN staff and other healthcare professionals.

Qualifications

• GCSE Mathematics C or above.
• GCSE English C or above.
• Excellent communication (oral and written) and interpersonal skills.
• Extensive SystmOne knowledge.
• Qualifications/Certificates in Leadership and/or Management.

Qualities

• Polite and confident manner.
• Planning and organising.
• Performing under pressure.
• Using initiative and willing to work flexibly.
• Self-motivated showing enthusiasm, with energy and drive.
• An understanding, acceptance and adherence to the need for strict confidentiality.
• Able to work with minimal direction.
• Desire for personal development and learn some roles included in Practice Management.

Experience

• Practical experience of managing a team.
• Previous experience of working in Primary Care.
• Experience of staff appraisals.
• Knowledgeable about recruitment staff, training, and staff motivation.
• Ability to understand and learn new software and administrative procedures.
• Experience of implementing HR policies and procedures.
• Practical experience of managing health and safety at work.
• Experience of managing change.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.