Every autumn, practices across England work tirelessly to deliver the seasonal influenza vaccination programme. It’s one of the busiest times of the year, requiring careful planning, additional clinics and a huge team effort.
But in 2021, one GP practice made a tiny administrative mistake that had a major financial impact.
The practice delivered its influenza vaccination programme as planned, vaccinating eligible patients throughout the season. However, it had failed to complete one crucial annual task: signing up to the Enhanced Service through CQRS.
When payment was due, NHS England refused to pay for the vaccinations delivered because the practice had not formally opted into the service. The practice appealed the decision, but NHS Resolution upheld NHS England’s position. Without the annual CQRS sign-up, there was no contractual entitlement to payment, despite the work having been carried out.
It’s a great reminder that sometimes the biggest risks in general practice aren’t clinical – they’re administrative.
A reminder for the 2026/27 flu programme
If your practice is planning to deliver the Childhood Seasonal Influenza Enhanced Service this year, don’t forget to complete your annual CQRS sign-up before the programme begins.
The service specification requires practices to sign up through CQRS before participating in the service, with an operational deadline of 20 August 2026 to ensure practices are ready for the programme starting on 1 September.
It’s a simple task that takes just a few minutes, but missing it could have significant financial consequences.
Why do mistakes like this happen?
In our experience, it’s rarely because someone isn’t doing their job.
It’s because annual tasks are exactly that – annual.
They sit quietly in the background for eleven months of the year before suddenly becoming critical. If the person who usually completes the task is on leave, changes role or leaves the practice without a complete handover, it’s incredibly easy for something like an annual CQRS sign-up to be missed.
That’s exactly why these situations continue to happen.
Preventing the problem before it happens
At Harmony, we believe every practice should know exactly which recurring responsibilities sit with each member of the team.
That’s why one of the first steps in the Simple Path is creating a comprehensive Skills Matrix.
Rather than relying on one person’s memory, the Skills Matrix captures every responsibility carried out within the practice – from annual CQRS sign-ups and seasonal vaccination preparations to CQC tasks, recalls, reporting and everything in between.
If someone is away unexpectedly, changes role or leaves the practice, you can immediately see:
- what they were responsible for;
- which tasks need covering;
- who has the skills to take them on; and
- what knowledge needs to be handed over.
Nothing relies on one person’s memory.
Nothing disappears when someone leaves.
Nothing gets forgotten because “that’s what Sarah always did.”
Could your practice survive a surprise handover?
Ask yourself one question:
If your practice manager, administrator or lead receptionist left tomorrow, would you know every annual, monthly and weekly task they carry out?
If the answer is no, you’re not alone.
But it’s also a sign that now is the perfect time to build a clearer picture of how your practice operates.
Because sometimes the smallest administrative task can have the biggest financial consequences.
And that’s exactly the kind of problem the Harmony Simple Path is designed to prevent.
Join the Harmony CQC Simple Path Community today and start building systems that work – even when key people are away or leave the practice.