Job Description

Job title:

Deputy Practice Manager

Line manager:

Business Manager/Practice Manager

Accountable to:

The Partners

Hours per week:

37.5

Job summary:

To support the Business Manager and Practice Manager in all aspects of practice functionality, motivating and managing staff, optimising efficiency and overall performance, ensuring the practice achieves its long-term strategic objectives in a safe and effective working environment.

To manage and coordinate all aspects of practice functionality, motivating and managing staff, patient services, premises and health and safety management.

Through innovative ways of working, support the Business Manager and Practice Manager leading the team in promoting ED&I (Equality Diversity & Inclusion), SHEF (Safety, Health, Environment & Fire), quality and continuous improvement, confidentiality, collaborative working, service delivery, learning and development and ensuring the practice complies with CQC regulations.

Culture statement:

At Oswald Medical Centre we are united by a culture of compassion, professionalism, and collaboration. Our team is deeply committed to delivering patient-centre, high quality care in a safe, welcoming, and non-judgmental environment.

We are a team that values being approachable, supportive, and flexible - not just for patients, but for one another. We take pride in being a skilled and empathetic team, able to work under pressure whilst maintaining a calm, caring, and respectful approach.

We believe in honesty, openness, and equality, fostering a workplace where everyone feels heard, valued, and appreciated. Through strong leadership and continuous improvement, we strive to create a service that is accessible, effective, and truly responsive to the needs of our diverse community.

Our culture is built on teamwork and trust, with regular communication, mutual respect and shared responsibility at its heart. We honour the work-life balance of our staff through supportive policies, flexibility, and meaningful recognition of their hard work and dedication.

Together, we are more than a medical centre - we are a family-oriented team working towards a common goal, delivering excellent, equitable care while supporting each other to grow, thrive and make a difference.

Generic responsibilities

:

All staff at this organisation have a duty to conform to the following:

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (ED&I)

A good attitude and positive action towards Equality, Diversity and Inclusion creates an environment where all individuals are able to achieve their full potential. Creating such an environment is important for three reasons: it improves operational effectiveness, it is morally the right thing to do and it is required by law.

Patients and their families have the right to be treated fairly and be routinely involved in decisions about their treatment and care. They can expect to be treated with dignity and respect and will not be discriminated against on any grounds including age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

Patients have a responsibility to treat other patients and our staff with dignity and respect.

Staff have the right to be treated fairly in recruitment and career progression. Staff can expect to work in an environment where diversity is valued, and equality of opportunity is promoted. Staff will not be discriminated against on any grounds including age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. Staff have a responsibility to ensure that you treat our patients and their colleagues with dignity and respect.

Safety, Health, Environment and Fire (SHEF)

This organisation is committed to supporting and promoting opportunities for staff to maintain their health, wellbeing and safety.

The post holder is to manage and assess risk within the areas of responsibility, ensuring adequate measures are in place to protect staff and patients and monitor work areas and practices to ensure they are safe and free from hazards and conform to health, safety and security legislation, policies, procedures and guidelines.

All personnel have a duty to take reasonable care of health and safety at work for themselves, their team and others and to cooperate with employers to ensure compliance with health and safety requirements.

All personnel are to comply with the:

Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

Environmental Protection Act 1990

Environment Act 1995

Fire Precautions (workplace) Regulations 1999

Other statutory legislation which may be brought to the post holder's attention

Confidentiality:

This organisation is committed to maintaining an outstanding confidential service. Patients entrust and permit us to collect and retain sensitive information relating to their health and other matters, pertaining to their care. They do so in confidence and have a right to expect that all staff will always respect their privacy and maintain confidentiality.

It is essential that if the legal requirements are to be met, and the trust of our patients is to be retained that all staff protect patient information and provide a confidential service.

Quality and Continuous Improvement (CI)

To preserve and improve the quality of our output, all personnel are required to think not only of what they do, but how they achieve it. By continually re-examining our processes, we will be able to develop and improve the overall effectiveness of the way we work. The responsibility for this rests with everyone working within the practice to look for opportunities to improve quality and to discuss, highlight and work with the team to create opportunities to improve patient care.

At this organisation, we continually strive to improve work processes which deliver healthcare with improved results across all areas of our service provision. We promote a culture of continuous improvement where everyone comes together, and staff are permitted to make suggestions and contributions to improve our service delivery and enhance patient care.

Staff should interpret national strategies and policies into local implementation strategies that are aligned to the values and culture of general practice.

All staff are to contribute to investigations and root cause analyses whilst participating in serious incident investigations and multidisciplinary case reviews.

Induction:

We will provide a full induction program, and management will support you throughout the process.

Learning and development:

The effective use of training and development is fundamental in ensuring that all staff are equipped with the appropriate skills, knowledge, attitude and competences to perform their role. All staff will be required to partake in, and complete mandatory training as directed. It is an expectation for this post holder to assess their own learning needs and undertake learning as appropriate.

The post holder will undertake mentorship for team members and disseminate learning and information gained to other team members to share good practice and inform others about current and future developments (e.g., courses and conferences).

The post holder will provide an educational role to patients, carers, families and colleagues in an environment that facilitates learning.

Collaborative working:

All staff are to recognise the significance of collaborative working and understand their own role and scope and identify how this may develop over time. Staff are to prioritise their own workload and ensure effective time-management strategies are embedded within the culture of the team.

Teamwork is essential in multidisciplinary environments, and the post holder is to work as an effective and responsible team member, supporting others and exploring the mechanisms to develop new ways of working and working effectively with others to clearly define values, direction and policies impacting upon care delivery.

Effective communication is essential, and all staff must ensure they communicate in a manner which enables the sharing of information in an appropriate manner.

All staff should delegate clearly and appropriately, adopting the principles of safe practice and assessment of competence.

Plans and outcomes by which to measure success should be agreed.

Managing information:

All staff should use technology and appropriate software as an aid to management in the planning, implementation and monitoring of care, and presenting and communicating information.

Data should be reviewed and processed using accurate SNOMED CT codes to ensure easy and accurate information retrieval for monitoring and audit processes.

Service delivery:

Staff will be given detailed information during the induction process regarding policy and procedure. The post holder must adhere to the information contained within the organisation's policies and regional directives, ensuring protocols are always adhered to.

Security:

The security of the organisation is the responsibility of all personnel. The post holder must ensure they always remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity immediately to their line manager.

Under no circumstances are staff to share the codes for the door locks with anyone and are to ensure that restricted areas remain effectively secured. Likewise, password controls are to be maintained and are not to be shared.

Professional conduct:

All staff are required to dress appropriately for their role.

Leave:

All personnel are entitled to take leave. Line managers are to ensure all of their staff are afforded the opportunity to take their annual leave each year and should be encouraged to take their leave entitlement before year end.

Primary key responsibilities:

The following are the core responsibilities of the Operations Manager/Deputy Practice Manager. There may be, on occasion, a requirement to carry out other tasks; this will be dependent upon factors such as workload and staffing levels.

The Deputy Practice Manager is responsible for:

a. Supporting the Business Manager and Practice Manager and Office Manager in the day-to-day operations of the practice, ensuring staff achieve their primary responsibilities

b. Providing leadership and guidance to all staff, ensuring that they adhere to policy and procedure at all times

c. Overseeing the administrative elements of QOF, liaising with GPs, nursing staff and administrators

d. Implementing systems to ensure compliance with CQC regulations and standard

e. Reviewing and regularly updating job descriptions and person specifications ensuring all staff are legally and gainfully employed

f. Assisting the Business Manager/Practice Manager for recruitment including pre-employment checks and DBS

g. Evaluating, organising and overseeing the staff induction programme

h. Implementing and embedding an effective staff appraisal process

i. Implementing and embedding an effective practice and staff development plan for all staff (clinical and administrative) whilst maintaining a robust training record

j. Implementing effective systems for the resolution of disciplinary and grievance issues, maintaining an overview of staff welfare

k. Leading the management of the clinical system, always ensuring IT security AND IG compliance and responding to and resolving all local IT issues

l. Actively encouraging and promoting the use of patient online services

m. Updating and acting as the focal point for the practice website and social media sites

n. Guiding staff and developing searches and audits on the clinical system

o. Reviewing and updating clinical templates ensuring they relate to current practice

p. Marketing the practice appropriately to ensure patient population is stable or increasing

q. Managing contracts for and highlighting issues with services i.e., cleaning, gardening, window cleaning etc.

r. Guiding the team to reach QOF targets (supported by the nursing and administrative leads)

s. Ensuring the staff implement the practice wide approach to the management of all patient services matters

t. Managing DNAs, providing data and planning tools coupled with liaison with referred repeat offenders

u. Organise Meetings and Minute Taking

Secondary responsibilities:

In addition to the primary responsibilities, the Deputy Practice Manager may be requested to:

a. Deputise for the Practice Manager and Office Manager

b. Lead the management of the Patient Participation Group

c. Implement the complaints process, ensuring complaints are dealt with in a timely manner and, where necessary, escalate to the next level

d. Ensure all staff are aware of the management of the premises, including health and safety aspects and undertake risk assessments and mandatory training as required

e. Monitor and disseminate information on safety alerts and other pertinent information

f. Support the overall practice clinical governance framework, submitting reports for OQF, enhanced services and other reporting requirements

g. Guide the team to reach QOF targets (supported by the nursing and administrative leaders)

h. Brief clinicians on performance levels, advising actions to ensure high achievement across all QOF areas

i. Maintain the significant event database, provide advice to staff and brief the team at meetings as required

j. Identify trends and devise solutions to reduce risk and repeated occurrences of significant events

k. Develop, implement and embed the practice audit programme (in conjunction with the lead nurse)

l. Support the Business Manager & Practice Manager in the reviewing and updating of practice policies and procedures

m. Support the practice and management team with continuous improvement and change initiatives

Person Specification - Deputy Practice Manager

Qualifications:

Good standard of education with excellent literacy and numeracy skills - Essential

Educated to A-level/equivalent or higher with relevant experience - Desirable

Leadership and/or management qualification - Desirable

AMSPAR qualification - Desirable

Experience:

Experience of working with the general public - Essential

Experience of working in a healthcare setting - Essential

Experience of managing multidisciplinary teams - Desirable

Experience of performance management, including appraisal writing, staff development and disciplinary procedures - Desirable

Experience of successfully developing and implementing projects - Desirable

NHS/Primary Care general practice experience - Desirable

Relevant health and safety experience - Desirable

Skills:

Ability to recognise opportunities to enhance service delivery - Desirable

Excellent communication skills (written, oral and presenting) - Essential

Strong IT skills (generic) - Essential

Excellent leadership skills - Desirable

Strategic thinker and negotiator - Desirable

Ability to prioritise, delegate and work to tight deadlines in a fast-paced environment - Essential

EMIS/SystmOne/Vision user skills - Desirable

Effective time management (planning and organising) - Essential

Ability to network and build relationships - Essential

Proven problem solving and analytical skills - Desirable

Ability to implement and embed policy and procedure - Essential

Ability to motivate and train staff - Essential

Personal qualities:

Polite and confident - Essential

Flexible and cooperative - Essential

Excellent interpersonal skills - Essential

Motivated and proactive - Essential

Ability to use initiative and judgement - Essential

Forward thinker with a 'solution' focused approach - Essential

High levels of integrity and loyalty - Essential

Sensitive and empathetic in distressing situations - Essential

Ability to work under pressure - Essential

Confident, assertive and resilient - Essential

Ability to drive and deliver change effectively - Essential

Ability to motivate teams, enhance morale and maintain a positive working environment, including team building sessions - Essential

Other requirements:

Flexibility to work outside core office hours - Essential

Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check - Essential

Always maintain confidentiality - Essential

Full UK driving licence - Essential

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Pay: 24,930.87-26,392.93 per year

Work Location: In person