Somerset LMC Weekly Update Friday 20th December 2019
Date sent: Friday 20 December 2019
Sent to all Somerset GPs and Practice Managers This and previous updates are available here
We would like to wish all our hard working colleagues a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We hope you all get time to relax and recharge with family and friends.
The LMC office will be closing from 4.30 PM on Friday 20th December and will reopen at 8.30 on Monday 30th December, if you do have an urgent matter there are mobile contacts on the LMC office answerphone.
- 'A Christmas Hancock and Bull Story' the latest blog from LMC Chairman Dr Nick Bray
- How the Grinch stole General Practice’s Christmas
- Notes from the Somerset GP Board (SGPB)
- New District Nursing Referral Form
- Debt and mental health form (DMHEF)
- 2WW Wait Referrals
- Support England online update
- Somerset Tops Local League table on Flu Jabs
- The Surprise Study
- And Finally
How the Grinch stole General Practice’s Christmas: Christmas Enjoy a festive Blog from Dr Peter Aird from East Quay medical centre
New District Nursing Referral Form: Colleagues will have seen the new,…er, comprehensive DN referral form. We have been assured by the Trust that this is an optional choice and that telephone referrals will still be accepted. We do not expect any difficulties but should you experience anything different do let us know at once.
Debt and mental health form (DMHEF): We have been contacted by practices regarding the new Debt and mental health form and process introduced following a cross sector agreement with the BMA. New BMA guidance was published from 1 October 2019 and a much shorter form has been introduced that can be completed by a wider range of healthcare professionals, thereby reducing the burden on GPs. As part of the agreement, GPs in England can no longer charge a fee for completing the DMHEF. The only contractual requirement is to answer yes or no when asked whether the indebted person has a mental health condition and if the answer is yes then to give the name of this condition. There is no obligation or expectation to complete the reverse of the form. All forms and accompanying guidance are available on the Money Advice Trust website.
Richard Vautrey said “We want to empower patients by encouraging the use of self-certification and reduce the need for GP practice involvement in these situations, but we hope that, where that’s not possible, this updated form will now make things quicker and easier for those to get the help they need and deserve.” Read his statement here.
2WW Wait Referrals: The LMC is concerned to hear that some 2ww referrals are being delayed and even returned to practices if not supported with blood test results. We have represented to the CCG and Trusts over the years that sometimes blood test results are irrelevant to immediate referral e.g. with a palpable rectal tumour or after a suspicious ovarian or renal ultrasound. We believe that bureaucratic delay cannot be justified if the accompanying blood tests are “in the system” and so the results available to look up by triage. We would remind colleagues however that it is necessary to make sure that blood taking is prioritised when an obvious 2ww referral is made. Sometimes urgent hospital appointments happen BEFORE the practice has arranged phlebotomy. Furthermore with more complex, frail patients being referred the WHO score must be completed to allow such people to be booked longer appointments.
Support England online update: The new Primary Care Support England (PCSE) online service for submitting Performer List (PL) applications and changes is now live and replaces the old paper forms. Every doctor on the PL will receive an email requesting that they set up their own PCSE online account and all GPs will have received their invitation by Christmas 2019. We are aware that some e mails are landing in Junk folders so please do check details of process here. Given the inaccuracies in the present list. There will inevitably be teething problems, but the General Practitioners Committee (GPC) is in regular contact with PCSE, so please highlight any issues by emailing info. gpc@bma.org.uk
Somerset Tops Local League table on Flu Jabs: GP Nurse representative Paula Messenger reports “Overall Somerset has a higher uptake of all vaccines than Dorset, Devon and Cornwall. The aspiration for all at risk groups is 50% uptake. Somerset is the highest for over 65s at 69%, 2 year olds 37%, 3 year olds 30%, under 65s 40%, and pregnant women 43%.
The Surprise Study: We publicised this to colleagues in the Summer. It is rare that proper research really focuses on something so important in primary care where real data is so often lacking which is a deficiency to be deplored given how often our work is still second-guessed in commissioning. End of life care is also an area of vital (!) importance. A few places still remain. Participants needed for research by University College London looking at how the “Surprise Question” is used in practice by GPs. You will be asked to review 20 patient summaries. It will take no more than 30 minutes to complete. For participating, you have the option to receive feedback on your results in addition to a certificate of participation. For more details, see the website: http://bit.ly/thesurprisestudy
And Finally...
As part of the Annual Electronic Declaration (eDEC) practices were required to submit a patient-facing email address. Derby & Derbyshire LMC held a competition for practices who did not want to submit a real one. Runners up included theblackhole@Crapita.co.uk, hidinginafridge@pcse.org.uk, Imapracticemanager@getmeoutofhere.co.uk but the winner is the highly topical Letusfinish@fourthirtyonchristmaseve.com
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.
