Our team of partnership law experts, have unrivalled experience of advising on issues affecting GP and dental partnerships. We can advise on existing partnership and property ownership arrangements as well as offer our new partnership deed service which offers comprehensive yet concise governance arrangements to help manage your partnership effectively and reduce the risk of future disputes.

We have substantial experience of dealing with both GP and dental mergers and acquisitions. Our team advises on sale and asset purchases for both buyers and sellers as well as corporate acquisitions via share sale. We can advise on all legal aspects of the process, from heads of terms and due diligence through to the sale documentation and nuances of transferring the NHS contract in addition to the property and staff transfer arrangements.

We act for a substantial number of PCNs providing a range of support including: tailoring, reviewing and updating Network Agreement schedules, PCN incorporation, workforce sharing arrangements, NHS pension issues, collaborations with third parties and internal disputes.

Our primary care commercial team and wider commercial team advise GP providers in relation to developing, reviewing and negotiating all types of commercial contracts. 

Capsticks also have considerable experience in NHS contracting having drafted several iterations of the primary care contracts, bespoke enhanced service arrangements and parts of the NHS standard contract. We also have extensive experience in advising on a range of clinical and commercial contracts with commissioners. 

Some delivery models such as lead provider contracting require the use of sub-contracting arrangements and we can assist in the development and negotiation of the same.

Whether assisting an existing GP provider company or GP federation with their constitution, restructure or compliance with Company House requirements or setting up new corporate vehicles for GPs or dentists, we have a team of experienced solicitors who can assist.

We can deal with all your employment law queries, including reviewing employment contracts, policies and procedures, the application of TUPE on practice sales and acquisitions. We can also provide advice on disciplinary and redundancy procedures.

Our HR specialists support practices reduce sickness absence, conduct investigations and can support you through change management programmes.

Data sharing and processing agreements are an essential component in allowing all parts of a PCN to access necessary data for the purposes of population health management and the management and supervision of network staff. We review existing information governance arrangements and prepare bespoke agreements to enable clients to utilise the necessary data in a legally-compliant and practical way.

In the event of a dispute, our dispute resolution team will advise and support you throughout the whole process, including providing a comprehensive mediation service to help you resolve your dispute without resorting to expensive litigation, if at all possible. If litigation is unavoidable, our team is experienced in handling court hearings at all levels, and will always consider the implications of your contractual relationship with NHS England.

As premises are typically the largest asset of any GP practice, it is essential to receive specialist advice from lawyers who understand the Premises Costs Directions. We advise on all types of property work, including sales and leasebacks, grants of leases to third party occupiers within the practice, freehold purchases and all types of landlord and tenant law.

We are often asked to carry out reviews of the property arrangements held across PCN estate, in order to help you identify opportunities to increase efficiencies and mitigate against possible risks. We will provide you with a straightforward report summarising those arrangements at a fixed price which will help you to consider your longer term strategy.

This process can identify property arrangements that need to be regularised, such as putting formal leases in place at practice premises owned or part owned by former partners, or resolving service charge disputes with landlords such as NHS Property Services. Capsticks also has extensive experience of advising practices of all sizes on significant new health centre developments with all of the major national primary care developers. This means that you will be in the safest possible hands by instructing us, wherever a new development is the ultimate goal.

This will also help to inform PCN estate strategies which are increasingly vital for future development of the networks as highlighted by the recent publication “Critical Thinking in Developing an Estates Strategy” which provides an excellent overview of the key issues including many on which we can offer legal support, available here.

We know how important a strong CQC rating is and have unrivalled experience in supporting providers of health and social care with these issues and a proven track record in delivering successful outcomes in relation to CQC inspection. We can provide advice in relation to CQC inspections, including providing vital training sessions prior to inspection and, if necessary, assistance in challenging erroneous findings afterwards.