Letter to The Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP, from AISMA on behalf of its members, highlighting the significant issues surrounding the recruitment and retention of senior health professionals within the NHS, which are being driven in part by the changes to the taxation of pension savings introduced in the 2015 Summer Budget.

Read the letter in full

Following the notification to GP members of the NHS Pension Scheme from NHS England and NHS Business Services Authority, alerting them to discrepancies between some of the pensionable earnings and contributions data which has been provided to NHS BSA, Lizzy Lloyd, board member of the Association of Independent Specialist Medical Accountants, said:

“This has come as no surprise to accountants dealing with the fall-out from Capita’s mishandling of GP pension contributions since September 2015. All GPs will be concerned but locums are particularly worried about the data discrepancies since they have no way of checking whether the pension payments they submit to PCSE each month are received.

“Even when Total Reward Statements are available from NHS Pensions they are often inaccurate and GPs should get them checked by a specialist financial adviser or accountant who understands the scheme.”

Read the full story on GPonline.com

An analysis by Pulse of the latest earnings and expenses statistics, released by NHS Digital last week, includes comments from AISMA chair Bob Senior. He says a smaller workforce is creating a ‘vicious circle’, whereby the remaining GPs ‘don’t really have the option of reducing sessions to avoid paying nasty tax rates’. Read the full article here.

Who do GPs pay different pension contributions? In the July/August 18 issue of Practice Management magazine AISMA accountant Faye Armstrong answers a common query from practice managers about GP pensions contributions. Click here to download the full article

AISMA Chairman Bob Senior adds his comments to an article written by Pulse news editor Sofia Lind, on the Government’s 4.2% contractual funding uplift. Click here to read the full article.

The Association of Independent Specialist Medical Accountants (AISMA), the national network of accountancy firms specialising in the healthcare sector, has appointed Jim Duggan and Lizzy Lloyd to its executive board.

Duggan is a partner at MW Medical where he looks after GP practices, locum GPs, consultants and hospital doctors in Bristol, Gloucestershire, Wales along the M4 corridor and throughout the south and south-west.

Lloyd is a partner at Larking Gowen and acts for GP practices, private hospital consultants, locum GPs and GP federations throughout Essex, London and East Anglia.

Extending a warm welcome to the two new board members, Bob Senior, AISMA Chairman and head of healthcare at RSM UK, said: “Jim and Lizzy are already regular contributors to the work of the Association and bring valuable experience to the board in the areas of new contractual structures and statistical analysis.

“As a body the Association is growing in expertise and its members are well-equipped to help doctors deal with the financial complexities of the ever-changing UK healthcare environment.”

The NHS pay deal agreed by union leaders and ministers earlier this year is likely to lead to increases in staff salaries, particularly at the lower end of the pay scales. In the June issue of Practice Management magazine, AISMA accountant Andrew Burwood looks at the impact on general practice and how practice managers can prepare for the new NHS wage deal. Click here to download the full article

Commenting on today’s report from the National Audit Office on NHS England’s management of the primary care support services contract with Capita, Andrew Pow, board member of the Association of Independent Specialist Medical Accountants, said: “More than two and a half years into the contract, NHS England and Capita have still not agreed the basic principles about the service Capita is contracted to provide.

“Practices are still not being paid correctly, leavers and joiners are not being processed correctly and pension records are not being updated. GP practices and their managers are burdened with significant extra workload as a result of these problems.

“Urgent improvements are needed and confidence needs to be restored in the system so that practices know that they are being paid correctly and pension records are being updated.

“The question is, will the NAO’s recommendations change this disastrous situation?”

ENDS

In this month’s issue of Practice Management magazine, AISMA accountant Barbara Domanska, of MHA Moore and Smalley Nottingham, examines income streams and how practice managers should ensure they are paid for all the work carried out. Click here to download the full article

According to a new report released by Lloyds Bank, almost half of GPs expect their practice to merge within five years. Speaking to GPonline.com, Bob Senior, AISMA chairman, said: ‘The biggest challenge I see for most practices is sourcing enough personnel, which has meant increased workloads for many. That’s linked with the ongoing issue around GP succession, with practices struggling to replace GPs who are retiring and often ending up with a different mix of clinicians when they are unable to replace like with like.’ Read the full article on GPonline.com