Business Support

Since 2017, Aim Solutions has provided practical support that helps GP practices, GP federations and local businesses strengthen resilience, improve day-to-day delivery and build sustainable ways of working.

From 2017–2021, Aim Solutions (working closely with Integrated Care Support Services and local partners) supported delivery of the South West London General Practice Resilience Programme, commissioned by SWL CCGs (now SWL ICB). The programme helped practices under pressure to stabilise, improve sustainability and adapt to system change—combining rapid “in the moment” problem-solving with structured improvement support that could be embedded beyond the life of the funding.

Support covered the full spectrum of resilience needs in general practice, including: diagnostic reviews to quickly pinpoint issues; specialist advice and guidance (HR, finance, operations and business continuity); IT and clinical system optimisation (including training and facilitation); practice management and back-office capacity building (standardising processes, improving call/recall and reducing administrative burden); workforce recruitment and retention support (workforce planning, peer support and succession planning); and change management for practices undergoing transformation, merger activity or estates change. We also supported practical initiatives such as medical records storage/summarising and targeted staff development where these would release capacity and improve resilience.

In terms of scale and impact, the programme focused on practices most in need, using consistent Pan-London and local routes. In 2017/18, SWL identified 46 practices via the resilience heatmap plus 8 successful self-nominations, translating into 63 discrete interventions across rapid response, IT, back-office and workforce support. Engagement continued at scale—38 practices participated in 2019/20 and 22 practices submitted support requests in 2020/21, with needs consistently clustering around workforce pressures, practice management capacity, diagnostic/improvement support and specialist advice/guidance.

Alongside 1:1 interventions, we convened targeted learning and support for the wider system—for example delivering a SWL “Mergers & Moves” event for GPs, partners and practice managers (capacity up to 50), bringing together estates, digital records, legal, accounting and change-management expertise. We also commissioned and coordinated practical support packages that directly reduced pressure on practices—such as QOF/clinical coding support for six practices (12 days), EMIS training, 1:1 practice manager support, CQC support, and recruitment support—ensuring help was timely, tailored and focused on measurable improvements in day-to-day delivery.

More recently, in 2024–2025, Aim Solutions delivered a Herefordshire Council commissioned programme of 1-to-1 business support, helping local organisations strengthen resilience and plan for sustainable growth. We worked alongside each business to diagnose challenges, create clear action plans, and implement improvements across strategy, operations, finance and long-term sustainability—ensuring progress was realistic, measurable and built to last.