Job description: Practice manager

This job description is a template. It should be used as a guide and edited according to the specific needs of the practice and the duties required of the post.

Job title:	Practice manager
Contract type:	[full-time, part-time, job share]
Hours:	[number of hours, sessions per week]
Salary:	[salary, or reference to range within pay grade]
Reporting to:	Partners
Line management of:	[if applicable]

 

Job summary and scope

The practice manager is responsible for overseeing the delivery of patient care, operational and strategic management of the practice, and representing the practice at events to external agencies and stakeholders, and to patients. This will include, but is not limited to, leadership, project management, human resources management, development and management of service delivery, business development, financial planning, contract delivery and performance.  

Key responsibilities

Human resources management

• Manage the practice’s staff to ensure teams work effectively, including (but not limited to):
  • Making sure staff understand their work objectives
  • Ensuring all teams have an appropriate mix of skills and experience, and are equipped with the resources required
  • Keeping staff motivated
  • Maintaining staff to ensure the workforce is effectively covered during absence
  • Delegating activities and workload as appropriate
• Recruit staff and ensure they comply with the requirements of the practice and with legislation, including (but not limited to):
  • Implementing a recruitment policy that ensures applicants are aware of the opportunities, and that people are employed on the basis of their skills, experience and capabilities
  • Workforce planning, including monitoring and highlighting any potential issues
  • Making sure the practice workforce comprises a suitable mix of skills and competence to deliver high-quality services and value for money
• Performance management of staff, including (but not limited to):
  • Monitoring staff performance, keeping accurate records and providing support and encouragement
  • Giving clear feedback on performance on an ad-hoc basis, and through appraisals and formal processes
  • Taking appropriate action to tackle poor performance or conduct, in line with the practice’s policies and legislation
• Make sure all the practice’s HR policies and processes are up to date and comply with legal requirements, including (but not limited to):
  • Implementing staff rights and responsibilities, in line with legislation and the practice’s policies
  • Complying with equality, diversity and employment rights legislation, and reviewing how processes and procedures are implemented to ensure compliance, making changes as required

Resource optimisation – financial and physical

• Manage income and expenditure systems (invoicing, banking, petty cash, etc)
• Manage and maintain the practice’s physical and financial resources to maximum effect, including (but not limited to):
  • Planning and monitoring income and cash flow to maximise budgets and to ensure funds are available as needed
  • Monitoring expenditure and identifying where outgoings deviate from financial planning, taking action to mitigate shortfalls where appropriate
  • Making sure financial risks are identified and mitigated, taking action where needed
• Maximise income from the practices’ GMS/PMS contract, including (but not limited to):
  • Monitoring performance against planned outcomes, taking action to remedy underperformance as required
  • Ensuring claims are submitted in a timely manner, and that payments are received on time
  • Planning and managing QOF activities and workload, delegating duties and monitoring progress, and taking corrective action as required
• Ensure that allocation of NHS funding is fair on a local level
• Maintain up-to-date financial plans and records, including (but not limited to):
  • Ensuring that financial plans, records and reports are available to the partnership as required
  • Keeping financial records up to date and accurate; these include accounts, banking data, payroll, superannuation, PAYE, insurance, etc
  • Submitting up-to-date records and returns to the relevant agencies on time, including HMRC, CCG board, accountants, etc
• Ensure the partnership and all practice staff use resources efficiently
• Identify and take appropriate action when problems with resources might arise
• Ensure resources are maintained and stored, in line with specifications and requirements, including keeping records
• Implement safeguards to prevent inappropriate and fraudulent use of resources

Resource optimisation – technology and information

• Ensure the practice’s IT resources, including hardware, software and data, are managed and maintained in a way that safeguards patient information and benefits patient care, including (but not limited to):
  • Making sure staff make the most effective use of the technology needed to perform their job
  • Ensuring data and information are handled correctly, processed in an agreed format, actioned in a timely manner, stored and transmitted in a way that maintains confidentiality
  • Ensuring the practice complies with legislation and information management standards, such as data protection, Freedom of Information, GMC guidance, etc
  • Implementing procedures and systems that protect patient confidentiality at all times, including ensuring staff are aware of systems and how they work
  • Implementing systems to ensure data processing and management efficiency
  • Monitoring technology and making changes as necessary to maximise benefits to patients and the practice
  • IT planning
  • Maintaining the practice’s website, intranet and social media presence

Developing and maintaining access to patient services

• Monitor the availability of appointments, both in advance and on a day-to-day basis, to make sure patient access is adequate, taking action to implement cover when required
• Plan for staff absence, such as annual leave, maternity/paternity leave, etc
• Review access on a regular basis, through surveys and audits, taking action where improvements are required
• Make sure staffing is adequate to meet demand, including clinical and non-clinical staff
• Ensure services and developed are delivered in line with national and local guidance, commissioning priorities, equality legislation and patient rights

Risk management

• Ensure risks are identified, tackled, minimised and mitigated, in line with legislation and good practice, including (but not limited to):
  • Keeping track of legal requirements and changes to them, including how they impact the practice and implications of non-compliance
  • Reviewing policies and procedures to ensure they comply with requirements
  • Identifying, managing and supporting other people to manage risks associated with work practices
• Lead on health and safety compliance, including (but not limited to):
  • Ensuring the practice’s health and safety policy is up to date, and that all staff comply
  • Leading on and delivering health and safety training and education
  • Implementing, monitoring, updating and training staff in a comprehensive disaster recovery policy
  • Making sure all types of insurance are up to date
  • Monitoring work areas and practices to make sure they are safe and hazard-free, in line with health and safety procedures and legislation

Change management

• Plan and implement strategic and operational priorities and monitor progress
• Plan for changes that could affect the practice and partnership, including assessing and managing risks associated with changes
• Identify areas of development for the practice and partnership, including presenting recommendations and ideas, and writing business plans
• Overseeing how changes affect staff and the practice in general, including maintaining stability and morale to ensure optimum staff performance
• People management through change, including resource planning and monitoring, motivating staff, evaluating performance and response to change

Maintaining and improving quality

• Lead and ensure compliance with clinical governance and standards
• Maintain best practice, including keeping abreast of developments in quality standards
• Ensure staff understand and acknowledge their role in quality standards
• Monitor the practice’s and partnership’s activities and performance against quality standards, taking action where performance falls short, and investigate poor quality across the practice
• Review and evaluate the quality of own work and that of others, and review after changes have been implemented

Staff training and development

• Make available and promote appropriate staff training and development opportunities, including (but not limited to):
  • Developing a culture of learning and continuing education
  • Developing a learning and development plan for the practice and its staff, and ensuring it is delivered
  • Implementing systems to identify learning needs, gaps in training and appraisal processes
  • Identifying the learning and training needs of individual members of staff and addressing them by sourcing appropriate training opportunities
  • Supporting members of staff to develop in both a professional and personal capacity within their role, and to apply their knowledge, skills and training in their work
  • Ensuring that staff have opportunities and are encouraged to learn from experiences, such as significant events

Communication and working with others

• Ensure all methods of communication in the practice are effective and work to the benefit of patients, as well as the practice and partnership
• Communicate effectively and work proactively with people, including colleagues, staff members, patients, carers, families, clients, stakeholders and external agencies
• Plan, schedule, organise and lead meetings, including drafting agendas, ensuring they are adhered to, allocating minute-taking and making sure actions are taken
• Make sure decisions are made in accordance with appropriate processes, based on consultation and on evidence, and to an agreed structure
• Use communication that is appropriate to the situation, including:
  • Communicating and encouraging others to communicate in writing, by email, verbally, face-to-face, through convening meetings, noticeboards, information leaflets, via social media and through other methods as appropriate
• Communicate sensitively, and in an appropriate manner, with patients, carers, families and members of the public when required, including (but not limited to):
  • Establishing appropriate communication methods to suit patients’ and carers’ level of understanding, cultural/language needs and preferred communication method
  • Anticipating and overcoming barriers to communication, seeking support from other staff members where necessary

Management of patient complaints

• Ensure the patient complaints system is effective, and that all complaints are dealt with in accordance with the practice’s complaints procedure and statutory requirements, including (but not limited to):
  • Making sure the complaints process is promoted effectively so that patients know how to raise a complaint
  • Making sure all complaints are acknowledged and that the complainant receives a response within the required timescale
  • Investigating all complaints in a fair and thorough manner
  • Supporting staff members and ensuring that professional and legal advice and support are obtained from the medical defence provider
  • Making sure all complaints, howsoever resolved, provide opportunities for learning and improving activities
  • Making sure the practice’s complaints procedure is kept up to date, in line with updates to legislation and local and national guidance

 

Other important aspects of the role

Maintaining confidentiality

The practice manager will, as an integral part of and in the course of carrying out his/her role, have access to confidential and sometimes sensitive information relating to patients, carers and family members, as well as similar information about colleagues. The practice manager will also have access to confidential commercial information about the practice and its business. All such information, in whatever format and howsoever made available, must be treated with the strictest confidence. All such information held both within and outside of the practice will be shared only as necessary, and in accordance with the practice’s confidentiality/data-sharing policies, and in line with data protection legislation and the Freedom of Information Act. The practice manager is responsible for making sure the practice’s confidentiality and data protection policies are up to date and implemented effectively, that all staff are trained in and comply with such policies, and that training is updated as required.

Equality and diversity

The practice manager will implement, review, comply with and ensure others comply with the practice’s own equality and diversity policy, and legislation relating to equality and diversity, including (but not limited to):

• Recognising the rights of patients, carers, family members and colleagues, and respecting their needs, beliefs, privacy and dignity
• Not discriminating against patients, carers, family members or colleagues on the grounds of any of the protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010 (or its amendments or later legislation)
• Supporting people who need help understanding and exercising their rights
• Leading on and acting as a role model in relation to promoting equality, diversity and non-discriminatory practices
• Identifying discriminatory practices and patterns of discrimination, taking appropriate action to tackle it, and instead promoting equality
• Leading on, complying with, promoting and evaluating chaperoning policies
• Recognising and promoting the right of patients to choose their care provider, and to participate in or refuse care

 

Key relationships and contacts

Internal	External
Partners Other GPs Practice nursing team Healthcare assistants Clinical staff in training Non-clinical staff in training Reception and administration staff	Patients Patients’ carers and family members Community nursing and pharmacy teams Social workers Occupation therapy teams Pharmacists CCG managers and staff Suppliers Training providers Insurance companies Medical defence organisation NHS England CQC Others

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Give your practice vacancy the competitive advantage you need to attract the candidates you want. Contact the Pulse Practice Jobs team on 020 7214 0570, or email [email protected] for more information.