🎙 As Remembrance Day approaches, how can GP practices ensure that supporting veterans goes beyond just one day of the year?

In this episode of The Halfway Point, Ben is joined by Lisa Baldwin, Practice Manager and a veteran herself. Together, they explore what it really means to be a veteran-friendly practice and how recognising someone's military service can make a difference to their care.

They discuss the importance of identifying veterans, the role of the whole practice team, and how veteran-friendly accreditation can become part of everyday practice culture rather than simply a certificate on the wall.

Plus, Lisa shares her Veterans Support Booklet, a practical resource helping practices connect veterans and their families with the support they need.

Because supporting those who have served shouldn't stop when Remembrance Day is over.

Support and wellbeing: This episode touches on mental health and difficult military experiences. If anything discussed affects you, Samaritans are there to listen, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, on 116 123.

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Full resources and the show notes for this episode are available at https://locumpm.co.uk/the-halfway-point.

ℹ️ You can find more information on our upcoming Practice Manager Conference in Salisbury at https://locumpm.co.uk/event/pm-conference-salisbury.

💌 You can stay up-to-date with The Halfway Point podcast by subscribing to the Locum PM Newsletter: https://locumpm.co.uk/newsletter.

☕️ If you would like to support the work of The Halfway Point podcast, you can do so via our Buy Me A Coffee page: https://buymeacoffee.com/locumpm.

💬 Drop a comment, let us know your thoughts on this episode and don’t forget to like, subscribe and share with colleagues to help spread the word!

🫶 If you have a topic you would like covered on The Halfway Point, let us know in the comments or email us at TheHalfwayPoint@LocumPM.co.uk.

This episode may contain affiliate links that are part of partner or referral programs. If you choose to explore or purchase something through these links, LPM may receive a small thank-you in return, at no extra cost to you. These contributions enable us to continue producing high-quality content and resources for the primary care community. As a result, please mention LPM and The Halfway Point podcast when purchasing.

(At LPM, we only recommend what we genuinely believe will bring value to your practice.)

The advice and content discussed in this episode are shared in good faith and for general information purposes only. We recommend that practices carry out their own due diligence before taking any action based on this content. The views and opinions expressed are those of the individual contributors or organisations involved and do not necessarily reflect those of Locum PM or any affiliated organisations. All links and content / resources referenced were accurate at the time of the episode’s recording / release.

🎙 What can practices do to manage medico-legal risk before something goes wrong, and where can they turn when it does?

In this episode of The Halfway Point, Ben is joined by Sarah Jarvis, Medico-legal Adviser and Kate Mullar, Primary Care Liaison Manager, both from The MDU. Together they explore the practical steps practice managers can take to identify, prevent and manage risk in general practice.

They discuss what happens when a complaint lands, how The MDU can support practices through difficult situations, and why resolving a complaint shouldn't be the end of the process.

Plus, Sarah and Kate share some of the guidance, education and resources available to support practice managers and their teams.

Because managing risk isn't just about knowing what to do when things go wrong. It's about what we do before then.

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Full resources and the show notes for this episode are available at https://locumpm.co.uk/the-halfway-point.

ℹ️ You can find more information on our upcoming Practice Manager Conference in Salisbury at https://locumpm.co.uk/event/pm-conference-salisbury.

💌 You can stay up-to-date with The Halfway Point podcast by subscribing to the Locum PM Newsletter: https://locumpm.co.uk/newsletter.

☕️ If you would like to support the work of The Halfway Point podcast, you can do so via our Buy Me A Coffee page: https://buymeacoffee.com/locumpm.

💬 Drop a comment, let us know your thoughts on this episode and don’t forget to like, subscribe and share with colleagues to help spread the word!

🫶 If you have a topic you would like covered on The Halfway Point, let us know in the comments or email us at TheHalfwayPoint@LocumPM.co.uk.

This episode may contain affiliate links that are part of partner or referral programs. If you choose to explore or purchase something through these links, LPM may receive a small thank-you in return, at no extra cost to you. These contributions enable us to continue producing high-quality content and resources for the primary care community. As a result, please mention LPM and The Halfway Point podcast when purchasing.

(At LPM, we only recommend what we genuinely believe will bring value to your practice.)

The advice and content discussed in this episode are shared in good faith and for general information purposes only. We recommend that practices carry out their own due diligence before taking any action based on this content. The views and opinions expressed are those of the individual contributors or organisations involved and do not necessarily reflect those of Locum PM or any affiliated organisations. All links and content / resources referenced were accurate at the time of the episode’s recording / release.

🎙 What could the future of the GP practice front desk look like?

In this episode of The Halfway Point podcast, Ben is joined by Alina and Evan from QuantumLoopAI, to explore Emma, their Virtual Receptionist, and how technology like this could support practices with one of their biggest challenges: managing patient access.

We explore how Emma works alongside existing reception teams, the types of conversations she can handle, and what happens when a patient needs to speak to a person. We also discuss the patient experience, digital inclusion and how the technology copes with the huge variety of regional accents, dialects and communication needs found across the UK.

Importantly, we look beyond the technology itself. We discuss Information Governance, data protection, clinical safety and ongoing oversight, including the questions Practice Managers should be asking before introducing a virtual receptionist into their practice.

Alina and Evan also share what they are hearing directly from practices, the problems teams are trying to solve and how practices can measure whether technology is genuinely reducing workload rather than simply moving it somewhere else.

Finally, we look ahead to how the GP practice front door could evolve over the next few years and ask whether the lines between telephone, digital access and automation might eventually begin to disappear.

Sensitive Content Notice: This episode contains brief references to suicidal thoughts or intent, which some listeners may find sensitive. If anything discussed in this episode affects you, The Samaritans are there to listen, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by calling 116 123.

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Full resources and the show notes for this episode are available at https://locumpm.co.uk/the-halfway-point.

ℹ️ You can find more information on our upcoming Practice Manager Conference in Salisbury at https://locumpm.co.uk/event/pm-conference-salisbury.

💌 You can stay up-to-date with The Halfway Point podcast by subscribing to the Locum PM Newsletter: https://locumpm.co.uk/newsletter.

☕️ If you would like to support the work of The Halfway Point podcast, you can do so via our Buy Me A Coffee page: https://buymeacoffee.com/locumpm.

💬 Drop a comment, let us know your thoughts on this episode and don’t forget to like, subscribe and share with colleagues to help spread the word!

🫶 If you have a topic you would like covered on The Halfway Point, let us know in the comments or email us at TheHalfwayPoint@LocumPM.co.uk.

This episode may contain affiliate links that are part of partner or referral programs. If you choose to explore or purchase something through these links, LPM may receive a small thank-you in return, at no extra cost to you. These contributions enable us to continue producing high-quality content and resources for the primary care community. As a result, please mention LPM and The Halfway Point podcast when purchasing.

(At LPM, we only recommend what we genuinely believe will bring value to your practice.)

The advice and content discussed in this episode are shared in good faith and for general information purposes only. We recommend that practices carry out their own due diligence before taking any action based on this content. The views and opinions expressed are those of the individual contributors or organisations involved and do not necessarily reflect those of Locum PM or any affiliated organisations. All links and content / resources referenced were accurate at the time of the episode’s recording / release.