Welcome to Londonwide LMCs'
GP Professional Support Network
We provide confidential, expert and impartial one-to-one advice and support to any individual constituent GP.
There are a number of services available to you and your practice delivered directly by the present team or through our network of expert associates.
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Peer to peer professional advice and support
If you don't
know where to start, start here!
The challenges we face as GPs affect us many different ways. Work life, our personal circumstances and a host of life events affect how we manage both in our professional and personal lives. You may be struggling with something new, have been weighed down for some time, or perhaps just not sure how to move forward and could do with some extra support.
Peer to peer support is:
- Free and confidential
- Links you with an experienced colleague with time to listen
- Provides support and can signpost you to other sources of help
We are a group of experienced colleagues who are able to listen, provide support and where appropriate help you decide where to find further help.
Not sure what help might be useful? Start with peer support, we can work it out together!
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GP Support services to GPs and their practice teams
The Londonwide LMCs team is able to offer a range of advice and guidance on a variety of issues:
- Contractual, financial and practice performance issues.
- CQC inspections and enforcement action.
- Partnership issues.
- Disputes between practices and commissioners.
- Premises issues.
- GP and practice complaints.
- Assistance with investigations undertaken under the Performers Lists Regulations, including those that are referred to the Performance Advisory Group (PAG) and the Performers List Decision Panel (PLDP).
- Assistance with GP appraisal and revalidation.
- Advice re assorted matters that are encountered in day-to-day practice.
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Educational Supervision
Doctors who are the subject of undertakings or conditions imposed by NHS England (under the Performers Lists Regulations) and/or the General Medical Council (GMC)/the Medical Practitioners Tribunal (MPT) may require educational supervision. The GMC and MPT have provided further information about educational supervision here at page 11 [please note that NHS England usually also adopt these definitions]).
In such circumstances, a formal educational supervision arrangement will be required to allow the doctor to fulfil the terms of the conditions or undertakings.
The professionals listed are experienced in the provision of educational supervision, undergo regular training, supervision and updates and have been accepted by NHSE as suitable for offering this service. They will be able to offer support tailored to the individual circumstances of the doctor.
There is a fee for this professional service.
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Clinical Supervision
Doctors who are the subject of undertakings or conditions imposed by NHS England (under the Performers Lists Regulations) and/or the General Medical Council (GMC)/the Medical Practitioners Tribunal (MPT) may require clinical supervision. The level of clinical supervision required will be prescribed by NHS England and/or the GMC and/or the MPT (in the case of the GMC and MPT, further information about supervision can be found here at pages 3-6 [please note that NHS England usually also adopt these definitions]).
In such circumstances, a formal clinical supervision arrangement will be required to allow the doctor to fulfil the terms of the conditions or undertakings.
The professionals listed are experienced in the provision of clinical supervision, undergo regular training, supervision and updates and have been accepted by NHSE as suitable for offering this service. They will be able to offer support tailored to the individual circumstances of the doctor.
There is a fee for this professional service.
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Educational Support
Educational support – extended time away from work
Doctors who have had extended time away from work due to a variety of reasons including illness, sabbatical or pregnancy often feel anxious and experience low confidence when they wish to return to practice - informal support may be helpful in managing this return.
Educational support – assistance with complaints and appraisal
Complaints are part of the professional life as a GP. Receiving a complaint is distressing and often causes concern and anxiety as well as demanding time to deal with the response. This may be straight forward but sometimes involves discussions with the Londonwide LMCs GP Support Team and/or your defence organisation, drafting letters of response, completion of significant event or significant untoward incident templates and personal reflection and review in preparation for discussion at appraisal. Guidance and support through this process is often helpful.
The professionals listed are experienced in the provision of educational support and will be able to offer support tailored to the individual circumstances of the doctor.
There is a fee for this professional service.
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Professional coaching
There is an emerging evidence base showing benefit of coaching for health care professionals.
Coaching is a client -centred process that is based upon behaviour change theory and is delivered by professionals with diverse backgrounds.
If you are facing challenges, are stuck with problems or obstacles at work or in your personal life, coaching can help you to find the answers. Coaching offers a means to grow professionally and personally.
Working with your coach will help you to realise your inner potential, enabling you to work out the most effective way of achieving your goals. Coaching works from the present to the future.
Your coach will not be trying to fix or cure you; the coaching philosophy is that all of us are fully-fledged, healthy and capable. We all have the skills and capabilities within us to answer our problems. If you are motivated to overcome your stumbling blocks or just want to do things better, your coach's skill is to bring the solutions out of you.
There is a fee for this service.
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Talking therapy support
In times of stress a private and confidential space where we are able to talk through what we are experiencing with a trained professional can help us make sense of our experiences and help us to move forward.
Conversations to explore problematic behaviours, beliefs, feelings, relationship issues, and/or somatic responses to psychological distress may help us to understand and resolve longstanding issues.
The work can support you to change self-limiting behaviours and habits, resolve painful feelings, improve your relationships. It may be a big step toward being a healthier version of yourself and living the best life possible—no matter what challenges you may be facing.
The first three sessions for this service are free.
If you are unsure which service you need, or wish to talk to someone then please contact our peer to peer professional advice and support service who will be able to support and direct you to the most appropriate intervention, this service is explained above.
To access a service, you will need to register with the platform. It is a simple process that should only take a few minutes.
Crisis
Please note that this is not a crisis service - if you are in crisis and require immediate
support, please call The Samaritans on 116 123 or e-mail them on
jo@samaritans.org
or call 111 and ask for the police or an ambulance. Depending on the nature of the crisis
you may wish contact one or more of the
agencies listed here.
To access a service, you will need to register with the platform. It is a simple process that should only take a few minutes.