Somerset LMC Weekly Update Friday 24th May 2019
Date sent: Friday 24 May 2019
Sent to all Somerset GPs and Practice Managers This and previous updates are available here
- ' Networking' the latest blog from LMC Chairman Dr Nick Bray
- Network News
- The Administration of 'Red Drugs' in the community
- New Process for Creating Basic Notes
- Biobank & GDPR
- Seniority figures 2015/16 (England and Wales)
- GP Career Plus
- EMIS NUG 26th Annual Conference and Exhibition-York
Network News: The GP Defence Fund (GDPF) is preparing guidance for LMCs to support PCNs in preparing the Schedules section of the PCN Contract. This will include:
-
An analysis of each of the PCN models, including the risks and advantages in relation to the legal structure, employment, pensions, VAT, and the engagement of the Clinical Director, as well as recommendations.
-
Template wording for the remaining Schedules of the Network Agreement. The templates provided can be amended or varied once the PCN is running; the purpose will be to ensure practices are provided with the minimum required to begin operating (and therefore receive funding) from 1 July 2019.
Somerset LMC and the GP Board will issue further information relating to this as soon as it is received. For the moment we would recommend PCNs start discussing their individual needs and familiarise themselves with the Schedules and Contract Clauses. Advice and guidance on decision making and Schedule 1 is already available on the BMA PCN Webpage below under the 'PCN Toolkit and other useful documents' section.
LMC Website PCN page: we have set up a dedicated page on the website this is a work in progress and will be populated as further information becomes available. Avon LMC have kindly shared a schedule 1 that they have developed. you will find this on the Legal page.
Federation or umbrella organisation model: For PCNs that are keen to have a federation or umbrella organisation model - the following has been published by the BMA VAT and PCN funding for Lead Providers. Please note that SPH is keen to explore working with PCNs as an umbrella organisation if required and will continue to look into the legalities and tax issues relating to a model where your PCN chooses to work directly with SPH on the recruitment and employment of staff. There will be more information and detailed options published by SPH as soon as the various detail is confirmed. If your PCN is keen to discuss this with SPH please contact sphadmin@nhs.net.
The Administration of 'Red Drugs' in the community: We are indebted to Shaun Green for this typically pithy summary of the arrangements after some practices raised questions. “As discussed at PAMM [there…] is the long standing pathway for administration of RED drugs in Primary Care by DNs. Regarding the Omalizumab request: this is a RED drug; commissioned by CCG for complex dermatology patients and …by NHS England for respiratory patients. The CCG would expect administration arrangements for RED drugs to be discussed between the prescriber, patient and Som Par service – we would not expect GP practices to get involved. For certain RED drugs alternative arrangements may be available via ambulatory care services in MIUs but again we would not expect GP practices to be involved.”
New Process for Creating Basic Notes: A new tool to create Basic Notes (aka Special Patient Notes) has been developed and launched, as part of the Somerset Integrated Digital e-Record (SIDeR) Programme. It uses the same software and login as the Electronic Palliative Care and Coordination System (EPaCCS) that was launched on 1 April 2019.This has been built by Black Pear, then tested and approved by Dr Justin Harrington, Somerset CCG CCIO and GP.Like EPaCCS functionality, Black Pear delivers a faster more intelligent way of creating a Basic Note, in as little as 30 seconds.
Once the Note is created, it is stored in SIDeR, written back into EMIS, and is flagged to 111/OOH service to make them aware that the GP Practice has created and submitted information.
As any relevant treatment plan can be stored in EMIS, it is not necessary to upload this as part of creating the Note, at the plan will be visible to all Somerset care organisations via EMIS Viewer.
Basic Note examples include:
-
The patient’s home has a key safe fitted, the combination is 12345
-
A key holder lives next door, her name is Mrs Miggins
-
The patient has a small dog that can bite
-
The patient has a Treatment Escalation Plan, which is visible via EMIS Viewer
This process replaces the need to login to Adastra. If you have any queries, or require additional Black Pear logins for staff, please contact jess.brown@nhs.net
Biobank & GDPR: Paul Cundy IT lead at GPC reports on the issue of Biobank having access to GP records “…We have been working with them to ensure that the process is GDPR and DPA2018 compliant and I’m pleased to report that work is now complete. On average each practice will have about 50 patients who are in the Biobank project. They were all properly and explicitly consented prior to GDPR. Biobank will be writing to a few practices with …papers, that we have agreed with them, as a trial and providing there are no problems will then write to all the rest. I hope the [letters] are self-explanatory and LMCs can be reassured that their constituent practices can also be reassured…have prepared a comprehensive Data Processing Impact Assessment that practices can use whole or… for their own bespoke versions. Depending on what their Privacy Notices say they may have to update those and they will need to add the Biobank extraction to their Data Processing Register. Given the numbers involved and the pre-existing explicit consent there is no need for any mass communication.” More will follow on Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD).
Seniority figures 2015/16 (England and Wales): The Final Seniority Figures for GMS GPs in England and Wales, 2015/16 have now been published and can be viewed here.
GP Career Plus: Wondering About Your Future in General Practice?
Are you thinking about leaving the Performers List? Or unsure whether general practice is still the right place for you? Then why not join the next GP Career Plus course due to start at the end of the summer. The Career Plus scheme pays GPs at the current LMC attendance rate to come a facilitated discussion and development group that meets twice a month for 6 months at venue and time and on a day mutually agreed by the members. The scheme is designed to rekindle your enthusiasm for general practice and to allow members explore the reasons why they may no longer be enjoying their work as much as they used to. GPs at any stage of their career are welcome, and the groups work well with a mixture of GPs including recent training completers as well as senior GPs who might be prepared to postpone complete retirement for a while. The only commitments are to attend as many of the meetings as you reasonable can, and to come with an open mind. The first three groups have been highly successful in all sorts of ways, not least because they have been a lot of fun!
For more details contact harry.yoxall@nhs.net. Reviews of GP Plus sessions.
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
Follow us on Twitter
Download the App
General Practice in Somerset Great Place Great Potential
We have updated our privacy policies on both the Somerset LMC and Somerset GP Education trust websites.
