Somerset LMC Weekly Update Friday 11th November 2022
Date sent: Friday 11 November 2022
Sent to all Somerset GPs and Practice Managers This and previous updates are available here
- MD Soundbites!! (Access to Health Records & Future of General Practice)
- Somerset LPC/LMC Joint Update
- Acronym “BAME - Black/Asian/Minority Ethnic” Change
- Extended Access Reporting
- Dr Paul Hynam Newly Elected GPC Representative for Devon and Somerset
- UWE Independent Supplementary Prescribing (NMP) Programme
- Free Webinar Successful Succession - Insights for Effective Planning 23 November 2022 12-1pm
- Free Webinar - Partnership or Salaried; A New Option for Primary Care Business 16 November 1-2pm
- Top Tips...
Can be found here. New item this week
- ImmForm data - Job Vacancies
MD Soundbites!!:
Access to Health Records: Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced last week that the Citizens’ Access to Records programme will be going live! 30th Nov is the date for the NHS Digital switch on – this is being challenged by GPC. If your practice is fully prepared for the change having worked through the GP readiness checklist then the most appropriate option may be to allow the rollout to progress. Some practices may not be ready! The options are:
- To run a focused search see link here and subsequently apply SNOMED code 1364731000000104 (“Enhanced review indicated before granting access to own health record”)
- Apply batch exemption coding for the full practice list using SNOMED code 1364731000000104 (“Enhanced review indicated before granting access to own health record”). This will not revoke access to patients who already have online access but it will prevent any of those patients getting prospective (future) full record access if they do not already have it.
It is for practices to determine the best course of action – it remains a contractual requirement to offer and promote online access. A detailed update and links can be found here .
Future of General Practice- House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee: This was published on the 20th Oct – the key findings are
- The Health and Social Care Select Committee (HSCSC) says the crisis general practice needs to be acknowledged (as if we did not know that!)
- Strong and stable general practice is the foundation of primary care at scale
- They recognised the challenge between continuity of care and access of care
- HSCSC urges action to increase the GP workforce and make a career in general practice more appealing
For those that want the full report (get a coffee).
The LMC have written a strategy for general practice in Somerset and we will be sharing this with you. Through the Somerset General Practice Provider Board (GPPB) the LMC is working with the Chair Dr Berge Balian to really consider what can be done locally to help. We recognise that GPs need answers to local challenges. The ICB are also focusing on the strategy of general practice. To that end I ask you this – ‘How does general practice stay resilient and safe?’ This is the question that the GPPB will be addressing. If you have thoughts that you would like to share please e-mail me at justin.geddes2@nhs.net as I want to know what you think or contact your PCN CD. The LMC team are working hard to support you. Most of us love what we do but I believe we need more tools for the job, and less jobs to do – please take a minute to share your thoughts.
Take care everyone.
Justin
Somerset LPC/LMC Joint Update: We know the essential role our community pharmacies play and like us they are challenged. There was a collaborative meeting between the LPC and LMC leads this week to address the challenges that some late notice, ad hoc closures from pharmacies can create. The fundamental reason are workforce issues that all members of the NHS family are navigating. The impact is greatest in rural areas. Since the summer the opening hours delivered has dropped 4% from 99 to 95%.
The LMC were informed of the significant impact that ad hoc closures have on the pharmacy team. They have a large number of actions to complete, often with a one or two members of staff. The attached poster details this. One key point of critical importance is if the pharmacy has no pharmacist present then opening the doors to patients is NOT allowed. The LPC as the representative for community pharmacies across Somerset are actively supporting our pharmacies to navigate their closures effectively with minimum disruption. Like the LMC, the LPC are actively trying to address the workforce crisis. The LPC are taking ad hoc closures extremely seriously and doing all they can to minimise them.
We know that practices need to be informed as soon as possible if a pharmacy has an ad hoc closure. To that end we would like to offer practices the opportunity to be included in their local pharmacy WhatsApp group. In this way you will receive information in a more timely manner. If this is something you would like to do then please email Yvonne.somersetlpc@gmail.com and please state your name, phone number, surgery name and which PCN area you belong to.
The LMC will continue to address any issues with the LPC – so please e-mail somersetlmc.office@nhs.net if needed.
Michael Lennox/Yvonne Lamb, Somerset LPC
Justin Geddes, Somerset LMC
Acronym “BAME - Black/Asian/Minority Ethnic” Change: UK Government has produced a report to look at the experiences of people from ethnic minority groups. The acronym “BAME - Black/Asian/Minority Ethnic” was developed by a predominantly UK white majority standpoint. The report concluded that “BAME” is unhelpful and should be moved away from. The ICB has created some guidance to help you implement this change but if you have any specific questions or concerns, please contact somicb.equality@nhs.net for further assistance.
Extended Access Reporting: A number of PCNs and practices have asked how the Extended Access reporting will be collected from 1st October. There is no longer a requirement for manual reporting, the extraction will be via GPAD on a monthly extraction and can be viewed via the dashboard. We are awaiting confirmation if it will be extracted as appointments or hours, the ICB will be releasing further information in the next few weeks via the GP bulletin.
8.1.45 of the specification – PCNs will ensure that their appointment system used for Enhanced Access can be identified so that appointment data for that PCN can be incorporated into the General Practice Appointment Data (GPAD) set.
UWE Independent Supplementary Prescribing (NMP) Programme: UWE have extended the deadline for applications for the UWE IP module to 14th December for cohorts 8, 9, 10 and 12 and Jan 4th for cohorts 11 and 13. See here for more information. Anyone new to the IP role who would like to catch up and go through the programme and application process, please email: deborah2.moreno-chamorro@uwe.ac.uk or tel 0117 3288591.
Free Webinar Successful Succession - Insights for Effective Planning 23 November 2022 12pm-1pm: The Real Estate team at Capsticks and the Healthcare team at Monahans invite you to join us for an interactive discussion where we will be focusing on top tips for successful succession planning for GP Practices from a legal, financial, and accountancy perspective. Partner, Mark Jarvis and Senior Associate, Jennifer Bateman will be joined by Healthcare Accounting Specialises, Jenna Clark and Chris Clark from Monahans. Aimed at GPs and Practice Managers, our experts will explore the following key issues: Premises - legal aspects, Partnership Deeds and Declaration of Trusts – legal aspects, Finance as well as Accountancy and Tax. If you would like to register, please do so here or email Jenna.Clark@Monahans.co.uk or Chris.Clark@Monahans.co.uk directly.
Webinar - Partnership or Salaried; A New Option for Primary Care Business: Minehead Medical Centre, has become the first individual GP in the country to operate as a John Lewis Style Employee-Owned Trust. The advantage of this model is that it enables the practice to offer GPs and other health staff a say in how their practice is run. Staff at the practice can also develop a leadership role without needing to have money to invest in a partnership and profits generated are invested back into the practice to help improve services, training and wages. A key driver in the decision by the practice to incorporate firstly as a limited company and then as an EOT is to help protect the ongoing stability and sustainability of the practice. Minehead Medical Centre’s Dr Ed Ford is delivering a lunchtime webinar to share more about this on Wednesday 16th November at 1pm. To book a place on this webinar please log into our website and go to our events page here.
Top Tips...
If your practice ImmForm data is not uploaded you will need to enter it manually, there are a suite of searches within Ardens. Ardens - 3.15 – Vaccinations- Flu 2022-23 (Ardens V23.7), 8. Seasonal Flu ImmForm upload and there are four searches there to input the data. Top tip guidance can be found 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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