Somerset LMC Weekly Update Friday 5th July 2019
Date sent: Friday 5 July 2019
Sent to all Somerset GPs and Practice Managers This and previous updates are available here
- Waxing Lyrical the latest blog from LMC Chairman Dr Nick Bray
- GP Pensions Retention Advice Note
- TNA Placement Claim Forms for Practices
- Cameron Fund Latest news
- Theft & Subsequent Scam
- Diabetes - Some good news
- Emis has a problem
- Seasonal Flu Vaccinations
- Associate Primary Care Director: A message from Dr Berge Balian, Medical Director for Symphony Healthcare Services (SHS)
TNA Placement Claim Forms for Practices: Somerset Training Hub (STH) - formerly known as SCEPN - secured a fixed amount of funding last year from Somerset CCG specifically to: ‘incentivise and support General Practices to increase the number of nursing student placements during 2018 and 2019’.
Claims can now be made to STH by any practice that previously offered to support TNA placements in 2018 and also those who have recently offered places in 2019. Any practice that has not offered placements but now wishes to do so may be able to claim a proportion of the funding providing there are residual funds. The details can be found here and claim form here. if any further queries please contact carol.hobbs4@nhs.net before claiming.
Theft & Subsequent Scam: We are sorry to have warn yet again to be wary of thefts from general practices. A member of the clerical team at a semi rural practice near Bridgwater was robbed at work this week. Her bag was in an open room off a corridor used by patients to walk to consulting rooms. What was worse was that she received a call subsequently at the practice (proving that the robbery had happened there) purporting to tell her the miscreants had been apprehended but could she provide a few details to help with the inquiries? We all think we would be immune but naturally she wanted to help in her relief and gratitude and so gave away the PIN.
Diabetes - Some good news: You will be aware that the diabetes clinicians plan to work as one integrated team in Somerset. It was encouraging to hear that YDH has agreed to release Dr Alex Bickerton from the general medical take sessions so he can work more closely with primary care. There are plans to reinstate diabetes virtual clinics from the end of July. A budget transfer has been agreed to continue to fund My Diabetes My Way to include the patient self-management clinician sharing platforms. There’s still a long way to go but it’s a start to a new way of working.
Emis has a problem: Which can occur when altering medication quantities within EMIS Web: when updating the quantity to an unusual pack size, it is possible that EMIS Web will display this as a decimal number. This only happens if the medication was initially added with a quantity in the form of a calculation, e.g. “2 x 28” [Does anyone actually do this? Ed.] EMIS Web would correctly convert into a quantity of 56 BUT if you later edit and enter a quantity which is more or less than the standard pack size, it will convert this into a [crazy] decimal expression of the original amount. Unfortunately this only shown in the Care Record Medication screen and in the Issue window - the Edit window will display the correct quantity. This means the quantity on a resulting prescription will be incorrect and could potentially cause an EPS issue to fail. Controlled drug prescriptions will be illegal if the words and figures displayed do not exactly match. A fix will be included in a forthcoming EMIS Web release but in the meantime we strongly advise that medication quantities are added as a whole number not as a calculation. If you need to change the quantity of a medication, end the current medication course and restart with the required quantity entered as a whole number. Particular vigilance should be given when signing EPS prescriptions – if you notice that a prescription contains a decimal number you should cancel it and re-issue with a correct amount.
Seasonal Flu Vaccinations: Important information re: staff flu vaccinations in social care settings (e.g. care, nursing homes etc) and health care settings (e.g. NHS Trusts and similar independent health organisations, and GP practices etc).
Associate Primary Care Director: A message from Dr Berge Balian, Medical Director for Symphony Healthcare Services (SHS): SHS has a new and exciting opportunity and is looking for a passionate and experienced primary healthcare professional to become the new Associate Primary Care Director for the organisation. SHS was established with the principal aim of supporting General Practice in Somerset and developing Primary Care at scale. Our Charter and Articles of Association enshrine partnership working and openness with all practices in the local area and is a priority for the organisation; collaboration in particular is one of our 5 key values. Due to this, SHS is looking for an individual who will:
- Represent the views of “independent” practices and General Practice on the SHS Board;
- Support SHS by providing an “external” perspective on issues debated by and agreed by the Board;
- Act as a point of liaison between SHS and “non-SHS” practices, and provide updates and feedback to those practices regarding developments in SHS; and
- Help to ensure that the ethos and values of the organisation are upheld.
If you are interested in finding out more, please see: https://www.somersetlmc.co.uk/jobs/view/9710 or contact Bryony Finch: Bryony.Finch@YDH.NHS.U.
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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