Alliance Bite Size No. 2 12th March 2024
Welcome to the second Alliance Bite Size for 2024 - an update from the Dorset General Practice Alliance which aims to provide a brief overview to all our member practices on how the Alliance is working to support you.
Representation on your behalf: The Alliance works for our practice members and represents your voice and views in Dorset and we do this alongside the LMC as a partner. We sit on a number of ICB committees and Boards, and we continue to lobby the ICB to ensure that we are represented in the same way as our system partners. However, sometimes decisions are still made about us without our involvement, and we are working to ensure that there is a change in the way primary care is engaged with. We are now involved in discussions around a new electronic patient record system which would impact primary care and we are also being consulted with more about how to improve pathways and communications with UHD and community care. This is with thanks to the work that Dr David Broadley and Dr Martin Longley are also doing in in their roles with UHD and Dorset County Hospital. The system integration workstream that Dr Simone Yule leads on is also having an impact on how and where primary care is included in system decisions but there is still a lot more places that we need to be represented and the Alliance is continuing to knock on these doors.
Communication
We are keen for any feedback on how the Alliance can improve its communication and we are aiming to relaunch the membership events that primary care used to hold. These will be delivered by the Alliance and will be a Teams meeting 1-2pm for anyone from general practice to attend. The Summits are an opportunity for face to face engagement for practices and our next one is on the 1st May - see below for more details.
If you or your practice has an issue that you think the Alliance should be apprised of please get in contact by email dorsetgpalliance@dorsetgp.nhs.uk
How to make General Practice sustainable in Dorset:
The Alliance continues to develop the recommendations outlined in our report from May 2023. We recently launched the Memorandum of Understanding with our system partners to ensure primary, secondary and community care work together to ensure our patients receive the best healthcare they need, to improve relationships and trust between colleagues and to support reducing the admin burden by bringing about a more efficient system.
The National Association of Primary Care is continuing to review the workforce models in primary care in Dorset and proposals for new potential GP operating models. We are holding our next Alliance Summit with the Primary Care Training Hub on 1st May where we will report on these findings as well as provide an opportunity to dig further into how the workplace culture can change to support our staff.
We are also planning to repeat the Alliance survey about staff wellbeing that we did last year as this survey was essential in informing the sustainability work and will provide an insight of improvements made and what is still needed.
The future of the Alliance: A webinar was held on the 14th February to hear plans for the Alliance to transform into its own legal entity and further discussions are ongoing with the Board and PCNs. If your PCN would like to have a further discussion about this with the Alliance please get in contact to arrange a meeting.
What’s next?
13th March - Pharmacy First – Steve Williams, the Alliance Pharmacy Lead has been working with the ICB and Community Pharmacy to support the implementation of the Pharmacy First service and this meeting is an opportunity for practices and PCNs to highlight some issues with the service and how some of the initial teething problems for implementation can be rectified. Steve is also organising a meeting with all pharmacy leads in May 24 - more details to follow.
10th April – Alliance Board Meeting, Teams. Papers for all Board meetings can be found on the Alliance website Resources — Dorset GP Alliance.
30th April - Dr Claire Fuller visit to Dorset. Claire Fuller will meet with the Alliance Board members, CDs and representatives from the ICB to hear about primary care in Dorset, the plans for developing the Integrated Neighbourhood Teams and what challenges we are continuing to face.
1st May – Alliance and Primary Care Training Hub Workforce Summit – Cobham’s Sport & Social Club, Merley – 1-5pm. Holding invites have been sent to practices. Please get in contact if you would like to attend.
We would also like to wish Dr Madeleine Ford from the Blandford Group Practice (BGP), and prior to that the Whitecliff Group Practice best wishes on her next adventure as she leaves the practice at the end of April to embark on a new adventure with her husband, Mark, to undertake volunteer GP work at home and abroad, first stop Nepal! 27 years of valuable work in Dorset is to be commended - best wishes Maddy!
Please do get in touch with the Alliance if you need any further information by email dorsetgpalliance@dorsetgp.nhs.uk or visit the website Dorset GP Alliance