Best Practice issue 9 | Page 2

WELCOME FROM THE NAPC COME AND SEE US AT THIS YEARS BEST PRACTICE SHOW - NAPC’S ANNUAL CONFERENCE Consult with patients from the comfort of the cloud – experience a day in the life of a Healthcare Professional with Surface. Recent research* among UK adults shows a growing desire for greater digital access and involvement in many areas of healthcare and medical consultancy. Join us on the Microsoft stand to experience our ‘Day in the Life of a Healthcare Professional’ and discover how practices using the Microsoft Surface in the cloud are currently facilitating time saving efficiencies, improving patient experiences, and allowing healthcare professionals to spend more time with patients. Digital NHS Healthcheck: The Citizens’ View (July 2015) [commissioned by Trustmarque] * How to avoid the governance pitfalls that can trip up new federations continued from page 1 • company at Companies House. For example failing to notify changes to your articles or the share structure could subject you to fines and at the worst end of the spectrum failing to keep adequate accounting records is a criminal offence. So keeping good records might be boring but it is essential, especially those that the accountants will need. • Fraud and misconduct are the biggies that can land you in prison • In setting up a company you need to understand who the owners are, what their interests are (i.e. the GP practices) and whether and to what extent you have got to refer back to them to make decisions. Quite commonly in federations restrictions are imposed, for example that directors can’t enter into a contract worth over a certain amount of money – otherwise they will be acting outside their powers. Those things are decided when companies set up but can be quickly forgotten so it is important to play by the rules 2 Join the conversation @BestPracticeUK Right at the beginning set up the sort of company you need and make sure you can do what you want with it. Sometimes directors may fi nd the articles Justin Cumberlege, of the company will be speaking are restrictive – at Best Practice for example you might have a social enterprise which is asset locked and this will mean that profits can’t be shared out. • Pay attention to the ownership of the company and to what extent the owners can control the company and what restrictions are placed on the board. • Make sure your board has got the right people on it with the right skills and the time to run the company properly. Mr Cumberlege says: ‘The main point of my talk is not to scare potential company directors but to take them through how to run a company properly, what sort of records to keep Best Practice 2015 provides an unparalleled array of content to support the breadth of primary care professionals with the updates, tools and knowledge they need to succeed in delivering high quality patient care in a challenging NHS environment. Dr Nav Chana, Chair, NAPC, will be speaking at Best Practice Education Best Practice is designed to give the very best value for primary care professionals by delivering two days packed with content touching on every area of running a modern practice. Over the last two years of the event, it has also become evident that a big benefit of attending, is the opportunity it gives visitors to debate with it’s ministerial speakers and departmental leaders. Time away from the consulting room is precious. By combining practical advice on the business side of general practice, with free CPD accredited clinical updates, inspirational case studies of innovations that are already delivering better patient outcomes and strategic advice on getting the most out of primary care commissioning, Best Practice will make the very best use of two days for the whole team. Best Practice will provide a safe and supportive learning environment that the primary care community can really call home. Innovation The NAPC is passionate about innovation. Visit us on our stand to hear all about the work we’ve been doing as we showcase a number of our Primary Care Innovation Network projects. Networking Best Practice has been designed to create an environment where primary care professionals of all expertise and experience can come toegther and share learning. See more about our lighting talks and exciting surprises on page 8. We look forward to seeing you there! and how to have clear guidelines so that you have a point of reference as to who is doing what and when without gaps as people have their own areas of responsibility. Setting up a federation is not scary if it is done properly. ‘The thing with federations is that they are receiving public money so they are likely to come under much more scrutiny than the average small company. Before CCGs hand out multi million pound contracts, as well as assuring themselves a federation is capable of delivering the contract, they will want to check that it has got some proper governance structures in place.’ www.bestpracticeshow.co.uk