To help make staff recruitment easier and quicker for practices, the GP Collaborative Board (GPCB) workforce programme has launched a new recruitment pool.

In the recruitment pool on TeamNet, practice management staff will be able to view details of applicants who have previously applied to work in BNSSG, and were considered highly appointable by the interviewing practice.

Kerry Millar, workforce programme manager, said: “We know how challenging recruiting staff can be, and practices told us a shared pool of candidates would really help reduce the amount of time they have to spend on advertising jobs and interviewing. The pool will streamline the process.”

In the recruitment pool, practices will be able to:

• see the applications/CVs and job descriptions for clinical and non-clinical candidates who have been interviewed by a BNSSG practice. The applicants were not successful, but considered by the practices who interviewed them as highly appointable
• contact applicants directly to discuss any employment opportunities
• see details of potential applicants who have expressed an interest in working in BNSSG, but have not been through an interview process

Kerry added: “The success of the pool relies on practices sharing the information of applicants they have interviewed but not appointed, so other practices can consider them. Luckily, sharing that information is quick and easy to do and helps everyone.”

To share candidates’ information:

• practices will need to add a data sharing agreement (DSA) paragraph and tick box (available on TeamNet or from One Care) to their application form
• candidates must have ticked the DSA box on their application form agreeing or declining consent to share their information
• send the relevant candidate details to recruitment.pool@onecare.org.uk

Kerry said: “The pool is here to help ease recruitment pressure for general practice and we want to ensure it’s working well. We welcome any feedback and suggestions for improving it.”

Only practice management staff can access the recruitment pool and can find it by using the TeamNet search bar. Full guidance including the essential DSA wording and FAQs are available on the recruitment pool page.

For more information, to ask any questions, and to provide feedback please contact kerry.millar@onecare.org.uk

Free to all BNSSG practices, One Care’s technology reviews take the guess work out of buying decisions and help you choose the right digital products and suppliers.

Our digital team – working with the ICB and SCW – carries out thorough assessments of potential suppliers to ensure what they’re offering is safe, compatible, and useable. This includes new technology products, office equipment and software.

Morgan Daly, One Care’s digital transformation lead, said: “When investing in any technology, we’re here to help practices choose the right, effective product for their needs. So before taking the plunge, get in touch with us and we’ll do a full evaluation of any product you’re considering. Our reviews not only offer peace of mind but also save valuable time and resources.”

The team’s recent technology reviews have led to BNSSG practices introducing new programmes, including:

• Emr+ which reduces admin time by automating letter writing and responses to SARs and similar
• Optimise BP, an app to support self-management of hypertension, which reduces the number of clinical contacts needed
• Automate’s robotic process automation tool, which files negative blood test results, saving significant admin time

Morgan added: “We’ve also reviewed a tool which is now providing a practice with access to NHS-trained remote receptionists who can take calls and deliver related admin work. This significantly reduced staffing pressures for the practice.

“Another successful review looked at a document management tool; and we supported the practice to negotiate a 25% reduction in costs.”

The technology reviews follow several steps:

• we discuss with practices their digital plans and timescales and any potential suppliers they have in mind
• One Care conducts an information governance, digital safety, and quality review with the supplier
• The team produces a report for the practice, highlighting any remaining issues. All reports are also made available for other practices to read on TeamNet

Morgan said: “I’d urge practices considering any new IT equipment or programmes to get in touch as early in the buying process as possible. We can help them make smart buying decisions.”

Please contact us to talk about your technology plans: digital@onecare.org.uk

We all know accurate data is at the heart of service and business decisions, and One Care’s business intelligence team is here to help with exactly that.

Working behind the scenes, our team helps practices, PCNs and local authorities use data to test the effectiveness of their services, and to target and improve patient care. Members of the team are all data experts and the information they provide is an essential future planning tool.

Each practice already has access to its own activity dashboard created by the team, which is updated regularly with key information about performance. But there are other ways practices can make use of the team’s expertise.

Harry Paul, One Care’s head of data, said: “Our experts are here to help practices make sense of their statistics. We’re always looking for new ways to help them extract the right data, and to use that data to shape the services they provide.

“We work with practices to see what’s needed. Often a problem encountered by an individual practice is also an issue for others, so we can work together to create a solution for all.”

A practice might, for example, want to examine data on specific patient cohorts. The team can pull the data for that cohort and demonstrate what interventions they’ve had and if they’re proving successful. Or a practice may want to examine its vaccination statistics so it can more effectively target future clinics.

Harry added: “More recently, we’ve been helping practices ensure they are correctly identifying appointment slots to make sure they’re paid correctly. And we will also be supporting the extended access initiative with a slot mapping exercise.”

On a wider scale, the team produces a monthly report for the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (ICB) covering all aspects of general practice activity. The report includes about 1,200 different searches and the data shows everything from the number of patient contacts and prescriptions given across BNSSG, to how many blood and cholesterol tests were carried out. The report helps the ICB identify trends, and acts as a valuable prediction model.

The team is also working with the ICB and Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust (AWP) on the NHS mental health services data set, quantifying the volume and type of the workload undertaken by ARRS workers. And with South Gloucestershire Council, Bristol City Council and the ICB on ARTIs (acute respiratory tract infections) – providing weekly reports on how many patients per age group have been diagnosed with a range of respiratory conditions.

In addition to regular reporting and ad hoc projects, the team is also involved in research projects with two UK universities looking at risk predictors, and effective diagnostics for a long-term condition.

Harry said: “The data work we offer saves practices time and money. If a practice has even just a vague idea of what it needs, I’d encourage them to get in touch so we can talk it through and come up with a solution.”

You can contact the team on: business.intelligence@onecare.org.uk