Welcome to the Support & Development Service home page

Here you will find details of our free, confidential, and independent peer/ pastoral support services that we provide for all GPs and Practice Staff across Lancashire and Cumbria. This service is provided by GPs and Practice Managers.

Please click on the relevant links below for further information and on how to contact us.

GP Support & Development
Practice Support & Development

What is the Support & Development Service?

As a GP or PM, you spend all your energy supporting others. This can mean that in challenging times or transitions you may be reluctant or too pressured to seek support or a fresh input. Likewise, roles in the admin team are like no other outside the NHS and the daily challenges are not always easy to meet.

Therefore, a confidential chat with an empathetic colleague, with no bestowed interest, could make a huge positive difference to keep you in control of potential issues and/ or to keep you enthusiastic about your work. Whether you need support or a challenge to develop further, our service offers the opportunity for you to receive this from our list of mentors.  

Who can access the service?

  • All GPs including Locum, Salaried, Partner and first 5 GPs across Lancashire and Cumbria.
  • All Practice Staff including Practice managers, aspiring Practice Managers, assistant Practice Managers and admin team across Lancashire and Cumbria.

What can the service help you with?

  • Specifically, for GPs - Mental health such as stress, addiction, general unhappiness, burn-out etc
  • Work through any problem or potential opportunity you feel you have
  • Move forward with personal and career goals
  • Manage transitions positively
  • Build your confidence
  • Improve your work life balance
  • Achieve your aspirations

How it works

  1. Once you have considered peer support, please get in touch with Mariah or Toni.
  2. Once you contact us through the relevant form you will receive an email from Mariah or Toni who will allocate an appropriate mentor based on preference and availability.
  3. Your allocated mentor will be in touch via email to arrange an appropriate date and time to arrange your first session. Sessions can take place via the phone, Zoom, Microsoft Teams etc depending on your preference.
  4. Following your first session with your mentor you will mutually agree on the number of 1-1 sessions you feel would be appropriate going forward, if necessary.