⭐️Ben Allen⭐️

Picture of our 'Implementing the 10 Year Health Plan' guide. Text promoting date of workshop on implementing the 10 Year Health Plan, on Thursday 11 September, 12.30 to 4.30pm, central London.

If you’re wondering how to tackle the NHS 10 Year Health Plan, join our in-person workshop for practical insights and peer-to-peer learning.
11 Sep, 12.30-4.30.

Speakers include @sallywarren.bsky.social and @benallengp.bsky.social.

Find out more and sign up: www.tickettailor.com/events/kalei...

⭐️There's a huge mix of both appreciation for transparency & horror stories my twitter thread⭐️
My aim was to draw attention to both
➡️ If health staff tweak their processes
➡️ And tech teams engage & adapt our products
🙏 Hopefully we can reduce harm & get the best out this change

It happens with all manner of blood tests results too.
Is too much information potentially harmful or creating confusion and worry?
Or should we welcome such transparency?
On the whole, it's a great innovation. But it has some risks and challenges we need to thoughtfully manage

⭐ Patients are increasingly finding out they may have cancer by seeing their results or codes on the NHS app... ⭐
1) Results filled, but not 'hidden', then seen before bad news is broken.
2) Letters from hospitals to GP, coded & added to NHS app, before broken bad news.

V tough previous day in General Practice.
Come to work to find this on my desk from someone in my team 🙏

Do we notice and act when our colleagues are struggling?

⭐️NHS app & SystmOne integration alert⭐️
SystmOne results filing is designed to create actions for RECEPTION
Yet..
The NHS app takes the instructions aimed for reception, and labels it for patients as 'What you need to do'

Tech teams need to get their heads together!
GPs need to adapt in the meantime

⭐️How do job descriptions affect car insurance?⭐️
My car would cost a...
Geriatrician £447
State registered Nurse £487
Gynaecologist £586
GP £600
'Hospital consultant' £618
Nurse £638
Surgeon £660
Surgeon NHS £760
Hospital Dr £796
Doctor £808
Cardiologist £909
Obstetrian £1118!

⭐️"If I've learned anything from my life in football, it's that success is much more than the final score," he said. "True success is how you respond in the hardest moments."⭐️

The 'final score' is not always in our control.

But our preparation before, & our response after, is in our control.

⭐️I have this pinned to my wall behind my patients now...⭐️
When people are stuck...
And issues in their life impacting on their health...
This series of coaching questions can unlock important changes...

⭐️What are your top tips for using social media in health care?⭐️
I'm delivering a talk 15.40pm today and I'll share the best answers!

⭐️Prediabetic Fell Runners?⭐️
I don't know many fell runners...
But two of them have been diagnosed with prediabetes in the last year.
Both in their 40s and the fittest people I know.
What's going on?
Do Hba1c's give false positives in extreme levels of fitness?!

⭐️We want leaders who deliver?⭐️
✨️HOW✨️ they deliver matters more.

When we give power to a bully, we need to submit or be crushed.

It's painful to watch it play out.

Please, let's consider the character of who we give power to.

Because their values will persist beyond any outcomes.

@benallengp.bsky.social read out his poem 'From Harrowing to Hope? - A GPs day' at our annual conference yesterday. The case for investment and support for continuity of care in general practice is made better here than in many corporate dossiers.

Dr Ben Allen - Hope, challenge and change in General Practice YouTube video by The King's Fund

Thanks!
Here's a performed version!
youtu.be/AssmQA4or3c?...

🌟How does the configuration of your clinical room determine your body language?🌟
Becase body language matters...
Changing the layout will change your body language with patients...
(Eg I have a standing desk, with my computer up and out of the eye line)

8) ⭐️Influence, when used wisely, can be more impactful than authority (including if you HAVE authority.)⭐️
And most of the actions that lead to influence may lead you to authority in the end too!
What would your top tips be?
How have you made change when you weren't in charge?

7) ⭐️Patience and Influence Build Authority⭐️
Consistently growing your influence increases your capacity to create change and the likelihood of gaining formal authority in the future.

6) ⭐️Assess Your Organisation⭐️
If your workplace is deeply resistant to change or misaligned with your values, consider whether a better organisation might suit your ambitions.

5) ⭐️Learn from Role Models⭐️
Seek mentors or colleagues who successfully drive change with compassion and integrity.
Allow them to challenge you and guide your growth as a change-maker.

4) ⭐️Understand and Support Leaders⭐️
Leaders may seem uninterested in your ideas but often need reminders or encouragement.
Show gratitude for their efforts and communicate your admiration for what they’ve done well.

3) ⭐️Model Excellence⭐️
People mirror the attitudes and behaviours around them. Be empathetic, curious, and positive to influence others in the same way.
Build trust, respect and therefore influence by embodying organisational (perhaps unwritten?) values.

Identify how leaders are persuaded (stories, data, emotions) and tailor your approach accordingly.

2) ⭐️Influence Over Authority⭐️
Influence is often more effective than top-down authority. So work to develop yours.
Understand what matters most to leaders — be it finances, targets, patient experience, or outcomes — and find your common priorities.

Ask how much freedom you have to adapt your environment, systems or workflows and demonstrate how these changes align with organisational goals.

1)⭐️Seek forgiveness, rather than permission⭐️
Many people fear taking action due to concerns about overstepping. How do you know your assumptions are accurate? Leaders often allow more flexibility than you think.

Back seat driving: How to Lead When You’re Not in Charge Seek forgiveness, rather than permission

⭐️Back seat driving: How to Lead When You’re Not in Charge⭐️
A common question I hear is 'How can I drive change when I'm not in positions of authority.
How would you answer it?
Below are 8 of my ideas. What are yours?
medium.com/@BenAllenGP/...

Sounds like a plan, Craig.

Once upon a time (25 years ago) the NHS had a good understanding of the causes of long waits in A&E. The biggest problem was flow through beds. It wasn't attendance volume, staffing levels or overwhelmed GPs...

⭐️Does anyone want to join me in reducing how much we look at the news for a bit?⭐️
I think it reduces my ability to make a positive contribution to the world.
I question how usefully informed it makes me.
Anyone else in?

#3goodthings
1. After 2 x 50 min consultations with a chap with dementia, he's gone from a blank stare to cracking jokes. Deprescribing & vitamin replacement. Love working in a surgery that this is possible.
2. Great city wide teaching session with my team.
3. Lovely message from a colleague
You?