Share your ideas and win up to £5,000

The aim of the Enterprise Awards is to bring into the open all those ideas from hard-working practices that could be used by other GPs to improve their everyday lives.

We want to hear about simple schemes and procedures that can easily be replicated around the country. And this year we have introduced two new categories to broaden the scope of the awards.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL DETAILS ON HOW TO ENTER

Environmental impact
The Sustainable Healthcare Award is for the individual, practice or group of practices, that can demonstrate how they have reduced the impact of their service on the environment.

Judges are keen to hear ideas on any scale that have improved efficiency, reduced waste, cut carbons or boosted recycling, in a way that other practices can build upon.

We have also introduced an Innovative Clinical Care Award focusing on patient safety. In the increasingly complex world of primary care, judges want to hear from proactive practices that have identified an area of risk and addressed issues in a way that other practices can learn from.

Common areas of risk could include prescribing, referrals, test results or communication.

Once again, the RCGP will be helping us to celebrate the spirit of enterprise in general practice.

We have worked together to fine-tune the categories and judging processes to ensure the highest of standards but the simplest of entry procedures.

And we are delighted to again welcome the Medical Defence Union (MDU) as sponsor of the awards, an organisation associated with high-quality medical practice since 1885.

Prizes
So, what could you win? First, each category winner will receive up to £1,000 to spend on a celebratory dinner for the whole practice team, at a local venue of their choice.

You also receive a commemorative wall plaque for your surgery, which means that every patient will be reminded of your success for years to come.

An extra twist is that when we publish the six category winners, readers of GP will be asked to vote for the scheme they find most inspiring. The winner receives the MDU Enterprise Award and a cash prize of £4,000, to be presented at the RCGP's annual awards day in London.

Entry process
Of course, we know you are busy, so the entry process is as simple as possible. All you have to do is complete a short form and outline your entry in no more than 500 words.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A PDF OF THE ENTRY FORM

The categories have been devised to reflect all aspects and styles of general practice and judges will take into account your local circumstances and the available resources.

If you have read this far and still do not think that there is an award here for you, just think about the problems you have solved in the past year. How about efficiencies your team introduced, or extra services your practice has offered? They all require enterprise.

Then ask yourself whether your ideas are replicable. If the answer is 'yes', we want to hear from you. And so does the rest of the profession.

The closing date for the GP Enterprise Awards is 7 February 2011.