Behind the scenes at THC Primary Care

While no two weeks are the same at THC Primary Care, I thought I would share an overview of what I've been doing in recent weeks, to give you a greater understanding of what I get up to as a business owner and as a project manager for my clients.

So here's what I've been up to...

1. I recorded some podcasts

I recorded two episodes for my new podcast, coming soon, called the Business of Healthcare; and two episodes for the Source 4 Networks podcast which has been commissioned by the NHSE Sustainable Improvement Team.

I love doing these podcasts because, not only does this give me the opportunity to get to know people a little better, but I am learning loads. I can’t wait to share these with you.

To date I have interviewed Dr Farzana Hussain, Gary Hughes, Robert McCartney, Dr Surina Beddoe, Helen Rignall and Sophie Edwards.

The Business of Healthcare podcast will share interviews, insights, project management & leadership training and lessons learnt from leaders in the field of healthcare.

The Source 4 Networks podcast will be concentrating on what goes on behind the scenes and what it takes to build a network.

The Business of Healthcare podcast will launch on 2 September and will be available through the usual platforms, including Spotify, iTunes, Google Play.

Please ensure you download your preferred app, so you don’t miss an episode.

2. I got together with my team

We held a productive team meeting to get everyone up to speed on what is happening and the new and exciting projects we have in the pipe line.

We started off with some good news and discussed:

• A client who had renewed their contract with us for another 12 months (which is AMAZING!!!!)

• A new client who is looking to work with us

• The new podcasts

• Social media the positive feedback we are receiving

We also discussed our clients and time management. We are going to trial batching certain activities to certain days and have committed (unless its an emergency ) to no external meetings on a Friday as it's important we have a day in the office where we are all together to catch up.

Finally, we talked about developments in Primary Care and training. I highlighted to the team the BMA and RCGP document – Making General Practice a Great place to work. This document will help the team put into the context how we are supporting national strategies.

We also spoke about a new competency framework we will be adopting to improve our communication, organisation, service delivery, technical knowledge, adaptability and interpersonal skills.

I also shared that Charlotte will be coming back from maternity leave, Hannah had successfully passed are probational period and that we are arranging a THC night out which turned in to Claire Rickard’s (my Operations Manager) birthday night out in September.

It was a really good meeting 😊 😊

3. I made a video

My PA Ashlea and I shot a video talking about some new systems we are incorporating into the business (coming soon).

4. I supported my clients

My client meetings have all gone really well. Especially the meetings where I am progressing a new Integrated Nursing Home Scheme.

The overall objective of this scheme is to transform health and care services for the benefit of older people, keeping them healthier and in their normal places of care for longer, proactively helping identify and support frail older people, and increasing the number of people at end of life who die in their preferred place of death.

For this project we are moving care homes who have patients registered to multiple general practices to be aligned to just one practice. This has involved a lot of communication, negotiation and the process of registering and de-registering patients.

We are:

• Implementing a more structured and consistent approach to integrated care through the use of the online care plan platform: Coordinate my Care.

• Identifying training needs.

• Identifying and sharing the range of community services available to practices and nursing homes to ensure they are being utilised.

As the Project Manager:

• I have confirmed the subcontract arrangements with general practices.

• I am in the process of meeting with each practice and nursing home to ensure they understand the key performance indicators and to increase my understanding of each of organisation and any issues they may have.

• I have met with the Clinical Effectiveness Group ( CEG) to review frailty templates. We use quality improvement principles to discuss the best way to identify the cohort of patients we are working with and which codes we can use to track consultation types and interactions to see what impact this service is having.

I have been in communication with my clinical lead and have been providing updates to the exec team who are accountable to the clinical commissioning group for the delivery of this contract.

5. I put together a proposal

I was asked to write a proposal to progress a frailty scheme which is now been circulated for review and feedback. The current service is focused on moderately frail patients and my task was to look at how we could build an enhanced service to support complex frail patients.

6. I've been building my knowledge by listening to podcasts

Lastly, this week, while in the car, I've taken the opportunity to listen to podcasts which support my professional development.

I of course listen to the General Practice Podcast hosted by Ben Gowland, who I am extremely fortunate to be currently working with.

And, because my husband Mark is a mortgage broker, I have found myself listening to the Mortgage Pro Podcast. I’m not listening to learn about mortgages, I’m listening to educate myself to learn how a different industry tackles productivity, growth, marketing, leadership and business challenges... and I’m learning loads!

I love the variety of my role and the balance I have with being in the office with my team and out about with clients. The highlights of my week always include working directly with general practices, as this is where I can see the direct impact of our efforts.

Tara Humphrey is the founder of THC Primary Care, a leading healthcare consultancy specialising in workforce transformation and the only consultancy to have worked with 11 Training Hubs across South London, Kent, Surrey and Sussex.

Tara and her team also work with GP federations supporting the implementation of clinical services.

Tara has over 20 years of project management and business development experience across the private and public sector and has an MBA in Leadership and Management in Healthcare, is published in the London Journal of Primary Care and is the author of over 100 blogs.