Productive General Practice (PGP) Quick Start is an on-site, hands-on, short term support package for practices that forms part of a local Time for Care programme. Alongside the 10 High Impact Actions the support package provided by NHS England’s Sustainable Improvement team aims to help practices release time for care and build improvement capability.
The programme offers hands on support in your practice from an experienced improvement facilitator. Support is given over an eight week period and includes sessions with other local practice teams to share improvements and ideas. The focus is on fast, practical improvement to help reduce pressures and release efficiencies within general practices.
For more information download the PGP Quick Start – information sheet or visit the NHS England website at https://www.england.nhs.uk/gp/gpfv/redesign/gpdp/releasing-time/.
Practices who have already rolled out the programme have reported:
- significant time savings for clinical and administrative staff
- improved skills in managing change and quality improvement meaning change can happen at a greater pace
- positive changes in team dynamics, how teams see their problem areas and how they work together to overcome them.
Practices are working to find similar small scale improvements which contribute to significant time saving. The video below illustrates how practice teams in Bury have benefitted from the PGP Quick Start progamme.
Practices usually work on two modules from the following options.
- Frequent Attenders – set up a focused, speedy, regular review of high attenders. Leads to different approaches for the individual patient and also for the practice in general.
- Appropriate Appointments – explores what opportunities there are to ensure the patient sees the right person, first time. Links to the national ‘Avoidable Appointments audit tool’.
- Common Approach – expose unhelpful variation in approach that causes extra effort. Helps develop a common approach to service delivery.
- Team Planning – high level assessment of peaks and troughs in practice capacity and in activity. The practice looks at the profile of holidays, training and external meetings to reduce stress on the practice at peak times.
- Well Organised Practice – save time by creating a more efficient working environment. A place for everything and everything in its place.
- Efficient Processes – redesign everyday processes such as repeat prescriptions that regularly cause staff frustration.
- Clear Job Standards – use visual management techniques to ensure regular activities are completed on time, every time. Identify team training needs.
- Emails, Meetings and Interruptions – save time by reviewing how effectively you communicate in the practice. How effective are those meetings? Do we all need to see those emails? Why am I interrupted so often by people and tasks?
