Somerset LMC Weekly Update Friday 18th February 2022
Date sent: Friday 18 February 2022
Sent to all Somerset GPs and Practice Managers This and previous updates are available here
- GPC England calls for negotiations on a new GP Contract
- New to Partnership Payment Scheme Evaluation
- Arrangements for Death Registration - From The General Register Office
- LMC Elections 2022
- Social Care Day of Remembrance and Reflection, confirmed as taking place on Thursday 17 March 2022
- Level 5 Coaching & Mentoring
- Job Vacancies
- And Finally...
GPC England calls for negotiations on a new GP Contract: In an extraordinary meeting GPC England discussed the 2022-23 proposals from NHSE for this year’s GP contract changes, the committee called on the Government to start negotiations for a new GP contract and to provide support for practices with the extra demands in the wake of the pandemic. During 2018 the BMA negotiated a five-year contract deal for general practice in England, with an agreement reached with NHSE in January 2019. Since then details on implementation and additional amendments have been negotiated annually. However, as the deal was reached long before the arrival of the pandemic and all the additional and unprecedented challenges it has brought for practices, GPCE is calling on the Government to enter negotiations for a refreshed, fit-for-purpose contract so that practices can ably take care of patients, and adequately respond to the needs of general practice. GPCE also called for immediate support for practices in managing the record backlog in the communities, so as to safely care for our patients and laid out our intention to begin plans for a profession-wide consultation on the future of General Practice.
Read the statement here.
New to Partnership Payment Scheme Evaluation: NHSE/I are evaluating the structure and impact of the New to Partnership Payment Scheme to understand better how it is viewed by GPs, whether it has made a positive impact, either for you as new partners or in recruiting new partners to your practice. If you have received this grant payment and would be willing to share your experience and feedback, please get in touch by emailing england.newtopartnershipenquiries@nhs.net
Arrangements for Death Registration - From The General Register Office: From midnight on 24th March 2022:
- All deaths will need to be registered in person as the provision to register deaths by telephone will no longer be in force.
- A funeral director will no longer be able to act as a qualified informant.
- A medical practitioner who has not been in medical attendance during the deceased’s last illness will no-longer be able to certify the cause of death (to complete a medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD)).
To assist reverting from the emergency to normal working arrangements there are some transitional arrangements around MCCDs which allow those issued on or before 24 March 2022 under the emergency provisions to still be accepted by registrars. Fuller details will follow in due course.
While it has not yet been possible to amend primary legislation, which is why we need to revert to face to face registration, we have been able to put some secondary legislation into place, through an Electronic Communications Act (ECA) Order and a change to our regulations which will enable some new arrangements to take effect from 25 March 2022. These are summarised as follows: - To be able to issue an MCCD, the certifying medical practitioner will need to have been in attendance during the deceased’s last illness and either seen the deceased within the 28 days prior to death (the extension to 28 days has been retained via a change to secondary legislation) or after death *.
- The new arrangements will enable MCCDs to continue to be received electronically from medical practitioners but will additionally remove the need to subsequently receive a hard copy. As the e-copy will have the same legal status as the paper, this will mean they can also be electronically stored and the requirement for hardcopy MCCDs to be sent into GRO on a quarterly basis is also able to be removed. There is some ongoing work on how long the e-copies will need to be retained.
*INTERESTINGLY THIS IS A MATTER OF DEBATE AND THE BMA IS TRYING TO REDEFINE “ATTENDANCE” IN THE CONTEXT OF MODERN HEALTH CARE TEAMS OF AHPs.
LMC Elections 2022: All GPs and Practice Managers in the county will have received nomination forms and letters for election to the LMC committee for a four year term 2022-26, if you are interested and would like to know more please do get in touch. If you have already decided to stand for committee election please do return your signed nomination forms by Noon Wednesday 2nd March to somersetlmc.office@nhs.net
Social Care Day of Remembrance and Reflection, confirmed as taking place on Thursday 17 March 2022: Employers are being encouraged to consider:
- Sharing a tribute on social media to staff who have worked so hard through the pandemic.
- Plan a memorial/tribute for any staff lost during the pandemic,
- Sending staff a personalised letter to thank them for their work.
- Arranging a virtual or in-person opportunity for your team to meet up and reflect on the past year together.
For practices wishing to take part further information can be found here.
Level 5 Coaching & Mentoring: There are 20 places available with first refusal to primary care colleagues on the “Level 5 Certificate in Effective Coaching & Mentoring”. The South West Councils website has more information on the training.
If you are interested or have any queries please contact Oli Fletcher Workforce Programme Lead Somerset Integrated Care System (ICS) oliver.fletcher@nhs.net or Jean Painter jean.painter@nhs.net. The programme is looking to commence in May and September 2022.
And Finally...
GP in Somerset: The recent guest blogs featured on the GP in Somerset website and fed through all the social media platforms have proved popular and increased engagement with GPs and clinical staff outside the Somerset area, if you have a special interest or hobby that you feel would be of interest to others and would be happy to write a blog please do get in touch. Read the most recent guest blog on wellbeing and managing workload by Vice LMC chairman Dr Tim Horlock here.
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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