The prestigious Practice Manager of the Year title has been won by Pete Woodward of Cheadle Medical Practice in Stockport.
Mr Woodward (pictured above far right) was presented with his prize at this year’s General Practice Awards, which took place last Friday in London and was attended by more than 550 guests from across primary care and the community.
Hosting the glitzy ceremony and presenting the award, sponsored by GP-Profit Recovery, was stand-up comedian John Robins.
A panel of judges, which included last year’s winner business manager Caitlin Clarke, chose Mr Woodward as the worthy winner out of a shortlist of six.
Mr Woodward said winning felt ‘surreal.’
‘We came here just expecting a nice night but genuinely never thought we would actually win so it is wonderful, it’s absolutely fantastic,’ he said.
Described by his practice as a ‘driving force of improvement,’ Mr Woodward is credited with having transformed the surgery’s operations. He created and implemented a new total triage appointment system, which has had a positive impact on stress levels of reception staff and led to a 23% reduction in phone calls from patients, put in place robust financial planning measures, and developed career progression opportunities to aid retention of staff.
Asked what has contributed to his success, Mr Woodward said: ‘As a practice, we really try and think about what the final impact is for patients – why are we doing what we are doing. We always try to question that and use that to drive everything that we do .’
Meanwhile, the Receptionist/Team of the Year award, sponsored by AMSPAR, went to Rachael Bird and the Kingswood Health Centre Reception Team in Somerset.
Management in Practice congratulates all the winners and those short-listed in all 19 categories of the awards, which aim to celebrate innovation and dedication within primary care. Find out who the winners are here.
