Somerset LMC Weekly Update Friday 21st December 2018
Date sent: Friday 21 December 2018
Sent to all Somerset GPs and Practice Managers This and previous updates are available here
- 'The Twelve Rays of (hope for) Christmas' the latest blog from LMC Chairman Dr Nick Bray
- CCG Delegated Commissioning Powers Ballot Result
- SGPB Notes from Wednesday's meeting
- News from the Performance Advisory Group
- Death Certificate Books: Don’t Leave Ordering a New One too late!
- MHRA Safety Alerts
- Fax machines
- And finally
CCG Delegated Commissioning Powers Ballot Result: Practices have voted to agree that the CCG should have delegated commissioning powers from NHSE by 49:2 votes with no abstentions. Turnout was 77%. Nine practices attempted to vote twice such was their enthusiasm.
News from the Performance Advisory Group: Diabetic foot ulcers are an urgent problem and should be seen as soon as possible, ideally the same day, and referred to the hot foot clinic. (In many practices an experienced GPN will make the referral). Please recall that a doctor that has been referred to the GMC for any reason will have their case discussed at PAG and that this is usually found to be a supportive process.
After a patient kills him - or herself the case is often discussed at PAG. The members are anxious to reassure GPs that they recognize that, although many patients who kill themselves will have seen their GP recently, in the majority of cases there is nothing the GP could have done. PAG is made up of GPs from Bristol, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall and includes educationalists, LMC representatives and lay patient representation as well as the NHSE contracts and performance teams. Our LMC representative is pleased to report that she considers the discussions to be fair and proportionate.
Death Certificate Books: Don’t Leave Ordering a New One too late! Some colleagues have found these difficult to obtain at short notice. The LMC has spoken to the County Registrar who has been working to try to smooth the process. The key is to remember to use the postcard request slip at the back of the book when you are getting towards the end. If that is lost write to your local office on headed paper with the name, qualification, GMC registration and signature of the requesting GP for security purposes and please state the level of urgency. The Customer Service Team at County Hall deal with all enquiries – you cannot contact your local office by phone which they acknowledge is frustrating – but the CST will provide the address or email and warn the local office you will be in touch. If it is urgent – and most practices say they have already run out by the time they reorder (see above!) – then an appointment at a local office may be necessary to allow the Registration Officer to complete the necessary security checks immediately. By doing this you can guarantee getting the book there and then. When a surgery rings the CST because they have not received the book requested by post they will email the local office urgently to contact the surgery with an update and a resolution (including making sure you know their closing time). But recall that all of this can be avoided if you order in time.
MHRA Safety Alerts: The Somerset CQC Inspector has reported that some practices do not appear to receive all safety alerts either because they are not signed up to or say they are rely on CCG pharmaceutical advisors. The NHSE regional team has the responsibility for disseminating these and, of course, the CCG weekly update is a useful source. The LMC tried over many years to filter alerts to those relevant to GPs and briefly, in a past iteration of NHS management, was asked to triage them. This was eventually deemed unsatisfactory and now everybody is supposed to see everything, no matter how unlikely they are to be relevant. For the purposes of CQC inspection then colleagues may like to remind their registered manager that a policy could be devised for regularly checking for alerts at https://www.cas.mhra.gov.uk/Home.aspx
Fax machines: Fax machines will be banned across the NHS under radical plans to overhaul outdated technology and IT systems, The Sunday Telegraph can disclose. Matt Hancock, the Health secretary, banned hospital trusts from buying fax machines on Friday and ordered them to be phased out completely by April 2020. NHS Trusts will instead be required to invest in new technology to replace any outdated systems, using £200million of Government cash set aside for modernisation earlier this year… The news comes after it emerged that the NHS is the world’s leading buyer of fax machines, with more than 8,000 machines in service across the NHS including 600 in one hospital. Medical leaders blamed this a “stubborn” resistance to new technology, which risked medical records not keeping up with patients, putting people at risk of mistakes in critical situations such as in A&E. There is a risk that they are not a secure way to pass on medical information about patients. Under Mr Hancock’s plans, which were issued as a ministerial edict, NHS organisations will be monitored on a quarterly basis until they declare themselves ‘fax free’.” – Sunday Telegraph
And finally: A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our readers on behalf of everyone at the LMC. The office will close over the festive season at 4pm on Friday, 21 December and will reopen on Monday 31st December. If you have an urgent problem during this period please ring the office on 01823 331428 from where you will be directed to the appropriate person for immediate action or advice.
Kind Regards
Jill
Jill Hellens
Executive Director
Somerset LMC
Crown Medical Centre, Venture Way, Taunton, TA2 8QY
Tel: (01823) 331 428
Fax: (01823) 338 561
www.somersetlmc.co.uk
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