I am the Head of People & Quality. In the three years since I joined the organisation, the pace and scale of growth and change has been significant, placing greater emphasis on the need for skills growth and workforce planning to deliver on both our commitments and services for patients.

This commitment to our people was recognised in February 2024 when Bolton GP Federation became the first federation to be granted full member status of the GM Good Employment Charter. The charter sets out seven standards of good employment, each with specific expectations of its members. It is the framework that allows us to assess the quality of our employee proposition, and a proud moment to have the organisation recognised for its progressive thinking and approach to planning and developing a workforce for now, and for the future.

Our quality agenda has continued at pace and scale in the last year, with all dimensions of quality routinely examined within each service.

Two highlights for me in this last year from a quality perspective were the CQC remote visit for our Bolton Health Hive, which is developing into a key delivery arm for the Bolton system; and the significant work within Greater Manchester Training Hub to embed quality in all its learning programmes, ensuring positive learning experiences for the workforce of the future.

2024-25 will be another big year for the federation. Aligned to our overall business plan we have a specific People Plan with lots to look forward to. ‘Skills first’ will be a big driver of how we plan and develop our workforce to meet the needs of primary care going forward – lots to challenge our thinking and lots to be excited about.