Somerset LMC Weekly Update Friday 3rd March 2023
Date sent: Friday 3 March 2023
Sent to all Somerset GPs and Practice Managers This and previous updates are available here
- MD Soundbites!
- Junior Doctor Industrial Action Between 0700 13th March- 0700 16th March
- Care Home Dashboard
- GPs Viewing a Patient after their Death
- Improving Communication of Hospital Deaths to Practices
- Working with Torture Survivors - an e-learning course for healthcare professionals
- Annual Reviews of Dementia Patients on Cholinesterase Inhibitors
- New to Partnership Payment Scheme – Please Apply Before 31st March 2023
- New to Practice GPN Fellowship Programme
- BMA Information for GP Practices
- Sessional GP Newsletter February 2023
- NHS Pension Update Training
- Job Vacancies
Junior Doctor Industrial Action Between 0700 13th March- 0700 16th March: Considerable planning is underway in SFT and YDH to manage the industrial action. We also recognise that your workload is likely to be affected by the industrial action, so if there is anything we can do to support, please contact andrea.trill@somersetft.nhs.uk or Meridith.kane@ydh.nhs.uk. Below is what primary care can expect from SFT/YDH over the strike period:
- The majority of clinics and non-urgent elective lists will be taken down for the week commencing the 13th March – patients will be contacted, but inevitably some will want to seek advice / reassurance from their GP
- Acute referrals to MPH and YDH can be made in the same way as usual
- Cover arrangements within the hospitals will be very different from usual, but the usual sources of advice will still be available and in fact there will likely be more senior front door cover from whom advice can be sought
- Discharge summaries may, in some cases, revert to paper form for the 3 day strike period
- It is likely that routine administrative tasks, including vetting of non-urgent referrals, checking and posting out of clinic letters etc., are likely to delayed over the strike period
Many thanks for your support.
Dr Andrea Trill
Care Home Dashboard: The new Somerset Outbreak Dashboard launched in February. This dashboard captures all outbreaks of notifiable diseases notified to the Health Protection Team at UKHSA. This means all stakeholders (UKHSA, IPC, LA Public Health, Adult Social Care, Primary Care, hospitals etc.) are aware of the status of all outbreaks, including number affected and days since last case. It also shows a map of how the outbreaks are spread across the county. This was created on the back of learning from the Covid-19 pandemic, when GPs requested data that formed the original Care Home Outbreak Dashboard in peak pandemic, so they were able to identify which care homes had incidents or outbreaks. We hope stakeholders will continue to find this a useful tool for monitoring infectious disease across the county.
GPs Viewing a Patient after their Death: There has been a lot of confusion of late with whether GPs can view via video link or not the following information has been given to us from HM Coroner Mrs Samantha Marsh regards GPs viewing a patient after their death:
GPs cannot view via video link, they must view the deceased in person after death.
If they haven’t seen within 28 days, then they must view the body after death. The law is clear on this; its either:
(i) They have seen the deceased within 28 days; or
(ii) They have seen the deceased outside of the 28 days AND also seen after death.
When a GP sends in an EDRF, and it is approved by HMC with a 100A that doesn’t ‘rubber stamp’ everything. The issuing of the A-Form merely indicates that HMC has been advised of the death and have no statutory duty to investigate it (i.e. because it’s a natural death). This process does not absolve the GP of complying with the law on being able to issue the MCCD; i.e viewing the body after death if it has not been seen within 28 days.
Improving Communication of Hospital Deaths to Practices: A recent review has led to a creation of a hospital template that can provide a prompt notification of death to practices. A formal notification of death will follow with more information. Full information can be found here.
Working with Torture Survivors - an e-learning course for healthcare professionals: Freedom from Torture, a charity providing therapeutic care to survivors of torture across the UK, have designed a course for doctors and healthcare professionals providing care for refugees and asylum seekers. The course was established in response to requests for training from GPs who are treating increased numbers of asylum seekers. A significant proportion of these patients will have experienced traumatic events, including torture, and have resulting complex health needs. Doctors may feel that they lack the specialist knowledge required to support this group.
Backed with funding from BMA Giving, the BMA’s charitable arm, the 10-module course educates on the physical and psychological impact of torture, the unique treatment needs of survivors of sexual torture and how to document evidence of torture in medical records. GPs and other healthcare professionals can access the course online and free of via the Freedom from Torture website.
Annual Reviews of Dementia Patients on Cholinesterase Inhibitors: SFT will remain responsible for such patients and this letter summarises this. In the Autumn of 2021 and Summer 2022, the shared care protocol was inactivated and during this time, a number of patients were discharged. They are unable to trace these patients themselves as their records are inaccessible once discharged and so this alternative search will enable the memory services to search for those patients not on their current records.
New to Partnership Payment Scheme – Please Apply Before 31st March 2023: The New to Partnership Payment Scheme (N2PP) is a commitment from the February 2020 ‘Update to the GP Contract agreement 2020/21–2023/24’, forming part of the suite of interlocking GP recruitment and retention initiatives. The overarching aim of the scheme is to grow the number of partners working in primary care, stabilising the partnership model and helping to increase clinicians’ participation levels . The scheme gives eligible participants a sum of up to £20,000 plus a contribution towards on-costs of up to £4,000 (for a full-time participant) available to support establishment as a partner, as well as up to £3,000 in a training fund to develop non-clinical partnership skills. To take part in the scheme, applicants will be required to ensure that they submit an application form and supplementary evidence to NHSEI (NHS England and NHS Improvement) and meet the eligibility criteria. Details of how to apply for the scheme and payment guidance can be found on the link below. Please note that the NHSE&I’s current closing date for applications is 31st March 2023 so we would strongly encourage applications before this time. For any further enquiries, please contact the New to Partnership scheme on england.newtopartnershipenquiries@nhs.net NHS England » New to Partnership Payment Scheme.
New to Practice GPN Fellowship Programme: Due to a change in the management and delivery of the New to Practice GPN Programme, and the need to recruit additional staff to work for the Training Hub, the next programme will not start until October 2023. We apologise to those of you that have already registered an interest and who are expecting to start in April 2023. You will automatically be invited to enrol in the October programme. Further information and application forms will be sent out to all practices in September.
GPN Fellows on the current programme will be contacted during April and May and offered ongoing support in the interim while the new programme is being developed.
For any enquiries or advice and support relating to the Fellowship, please email Somersetlmc.sth.office@nhs.net.
BMA Information for GP Practices: The BMA has a suite of information for GP partners, practice managers and doctors to use, worth keeping a link on your browser as well as the LMC website.
NHS Pension Update Training: Places are still available to book for our pension update training for practices. Shirley Whittle from Lentells Accountants will be delivering a free webinar on Tuesday 14th March 2-4pm. For more information and to book your place click 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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