An operations officer and a practice team leader talk about the value of having a robust management structure in place in general practice. Debbie Beels oversees three medical practices in Manchester, and her colleague Stacey Simpson supports her at practice level.

Altogether their organisation serves around 25 thousand patients, but they’ve developed a management structure – and a way of working together - to help keep everything running smoothly, through good times and bad. For the many practice managers who work in isolation in Primary Care, Debbie and Stacey give some tips on staying connected and sharing ideas.

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In this episode we focus on the relatively new provision of Chaplaincy within General Practice, and hear how the Chaplains’ ability to listen to an individual’s physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs can complement - and even enhance - the provision of medical care alone.

Chaplains Jean Hurlston and Jonathan Gallagher are joined by the PCN Lead Nurse for Stalybridge – Reanne White – to talk about the difference a Chaplain can make, not just for patients, but also for the NHS workforce.

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Even before the Covid 19 pandemic started, the pressure on primary care services was already high; contributing to increased levels of sickness absence and sadly, even causing some people to leave the service. That pressure increased during the pandemic, when primary care staff kept working to support the general population, and even now, post-pandemic, the demand on our NHS workers continues to increase.

But – as this episode explores – Manchester’s primary care staff who are experiencing high levels of stress and fatigue can now find support through the organisation’s Health and Wellbeing programme. Dominic Anderson - manager for the Health and Wellbeing Programme in Greater Manchester Primary Care – explains what is available, and highlights the positive impact of encouraging ourselves and our teams to focus on keeping mentally and physically well.

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