Developing practice staff skills is crucial to helping them feel appropriately supported, boosting morale and offering greater flexibility and career progression.
The NHS England’s People Plan 2020/2021 outlined plans to grow the workforce and train and support staff to help deliver patient care.
A well-trained administrative team can be invaluable to the efficient running of a practice. If your practice plans to delegate more tasks to non-clinical staff, keep in mind the following medico-legal considerations.
Provide adequate training
Make sure staff are comfortable taking on additional responsibilities and are working within their level of competence.
For example, correspondence management requires staff members to be confident in making decisions about how to code a letter and its contents in the patient record, how to use an approved protocol for deciding which letters are sent to a GP and with how much urgency, and when to ask for help.
- The GMC expects doctors to be "satisfied that the staff you supervise have the necessary knowledge, skills and training to carry out their roles."
- The CQC expects practices to regularly review the training needs of their staff and maintain a record of all staff training and development.
Supervision
When delegating tasks to a colleague, GPs are still responsible for the overall care and management of patients.
- The GMC's guidance to delegation and referral states that "you must be satisfied that the person providing care has the appropriate qualifications, skills and experience to provide safe care for the patient."
- A senior doctor within the practice should oversee non-clinical staff taking on enhanced roles.
- Make sure there are clear procedures in place to guide clerical staff and provide consistency in how tasks are carried out.
- Provide staff with a way of raising concerns if they are uncomfortable with performing a task.
- Conduct regular audits to monitor and improve systems and training.
Indemnity
- GP partners are jointly vicariously liable for the actions of practice staff under their employment.
- It's important that any staff undertaking enhanced roles within the practice are fully trained, working with up-to-date protocols and closely supervised.
- Staff should also have access to clinical guidance and support when they need it.
If you're implementing an upskilling system in your practice, contact us to ensure you have the appropriate indemnity. We can also advise on the relevant medico-legal implications.
This page was correct at publication on 13/09/2022. Any guidance is intended as general guidance for members only. If you are a member and need specific advice relating to your own circumstances, please contact one of our advisers.