Somerset LMC Weekly Update Friday 1st December 2023
Date sent: Friday 1 December 2023
Sent to all Somerset GPs and Practice Managers This and previous updates are available here
- MD Soundbites! New - 'Private healthcare and the GP kickback'
- GPAS (General Practice Alert State)
- England LMC Conference 2023 Report
- The Ever Increasing Short Term Supply Issue of Drugs
- Ongoing Shortages of ADHD Medications
- GPC Survey for ALL GPs
- Safeguarding Concerns and Shared Access
- National Presentation on DM in Children
- Memory Referrals
- getUBetter APP Progress Report
- Community Pharmacy - Hypertension Case Finding Briefing
- Reminder for 6th December Q&A Session for NHSE Advanced Practice Apprenticeship/Masters Funding 2024
- Somerset New to Practice General Practice Fellowship Programme for Newly Qualified GPs
- Safe Working - Online Discussion Group with GPC Representative Dr Paul Hynam
- Safe Working in General Practice (BMA) This guidance is regularly updated with new items and suggestions
- Job Vacancies
- Somerset Emotional Wellbeing Podcasts...
- Supporting New Fathers
- Digital Health Innovation - And Finally...
- Carol Hobbs' Retirement
The Ever Increasing Short Term Supply Issue of Drugs: This continues to be a spiralling issue. Unless these drugs get switched to the serious shortage protocol which is then listed on the weekly newsletter through the Specialist Pharmacy Service, pharmacists are unable to prescribe an alternative. Generic prescribing will help to a point, but with widespread shortages it’s not solving all the problems. Following our concerns, comms will go to community pharmacists requesting that when all options locally have been exhausted and the patient declines to wait, that alternative of those available are suggested to the GP. Practices may also wish to join their PCN Pharmacy WhatsApp groups which enable on the day conversations about stock issues. Currently GPs, pharmacists, surgery staff and palliative care teams are on there. To join a group please contact Yvonne Lamb - yvonne.somersetlpc@gmail.com and provide your telephone number, name and PCN group that you wish to join.
Ongoing Shortages of ADHD Medications: The national disruptions of various strengths of methylpenhidate, lisdexamfatamine and guanfacine will continue until April 24. The alert is available (NATPSA) here alongside SFT guidance (ADHD meds supply). Unlike methylphenidate and lisdexamfatamine, we would like to highlight that abrupt withdrawal of guanfacine discontinuation can be harmful and secondary care input will be required.
The National PSA advice suggests that specialists teams should:
- Support primary care teams seeking advice for patients currently prescribed the affected products
- Provide individualised management plans, where required; and
- Recommend alternatives in line with NICE guidance, where appropriate.
The letter from SFT states ‘Note that switching between formulations can result in changes in symptom management at different time periods during the day. Patients should be reviewed after the switch and doses adjusted if required.’
Therefore, by definition we cannot prescribe under shared care which states that it only applies to patients ‘who have been initiated and stabilised on any of the drugs by a specialist experienced in the treatment of ADHD.’ The LMC advice is that these patients are referred back to their team for management of their medication during this period of time.
GPC Survey for ALL GPs: This survey is now open until the 21st January, GPC want to hear from ALL GPs, ST3s and ST4s whether BMA member or not, working in any capacity. It’s your opportunity to have your say on what you would like to see in the new GP contract from April 2024, a chance to influence negotiations and the next parliament, if you do one survey please do this one and complete what you can, do share widely. QR code link and web link.
Safeguarding Concerns and Shared Access: A current case raised this week highlights the risks with shared access. In this instance a maternity safeguarding letter entitled ‘social issues’ was uploaded and visible to the patient. This reminds us of the risks of uploading similar documents which may include urgent care letter raising similar safeguarding concerns.
National Presentation on DM in Children: Children’s and Young People’s National Diabetes Network have created this excellent downloadable presentation (5 min) highlighting the pitfalls of diagnosing diabetes in children Short e-learning tool - National Network.
Memory Referrals: The memory team sent out comms a few months ago highlighting new exclusion criteria for their service. We can now confirm that this was sent in error and the existing referral guidance will continue. If a referral is rejected and there is a concern about driving the team suggests a referral to the CMHT for a risk assessment.
Community Pharmacy - Hypertension Case Finding Briefing has been updated to reflect the service requirements from 1st December 2023; please see this news story for further details, and the briefing for General practice here.
Reminder for 6th December Q&A Session for NHSE Advanced Practice Apprenticeship/Masters Funding 2024: Our Advanced Practice Lead Catherine Hayden is holding a second Q&A session on 6th December for managers and clinicians interested in accessing the NHS England funding for Advanced Practice in 2024. The session will cover what Advanced Practice is, governance and NHSE funding opportunity available to apply for early next year. Book your place via the SGPET website. Further information and links about Advanced Practice can also be found in "Topics" on the Somerset Training Hub Teamnet site.
Somerset New to Practice General Practice Fellowship Programme for Newly Qualified GPs: Are you or do you know a GP who is newly qualified and is/will be working in Somerset? If so this funded fellowship programme may be of interest. It is a 2 year programme designed to provide personalised support to newly qualified GPs to help gain confidence and to develop enjoyable, fulfilling and sustainable careers in general practice. It is for those in their first year, but can be extended for certain circumstances such as maternity leave. NHSEI is aiming for a 100% uptake and nearly all of our Somerset GPs have joined. We started on April 21 and have had up to 72 fellows, so you may already have one of our fellows working in your practice! We have had great feedback, and one of the highlights is the benefit of the mentoring, appreciation of paid time (£10,000 pro rata per annum) to undertake chosen CPD or interests and the online monthly Thursday lunchtime 30-minute session with various speakers. Example topics include: knowing about appraisals; PCN overview; lifestyle medicine; managing difficult blood results on a Friday afternoon and time management. This programme continues to evolve according to the needs and aspirations of our fellows. Our next cohort will start in March 24 and the closing date is 12th February 2024. As NHSE have not confirmed if the New to Practice will enable new Registrations beyond March 24, please register your interest early. See programme, application form and needs analysis for more information. If you would like to find out more or apply, please contact Dr Catherine Ievers catherine.ievers1@nhs.net.
Safe Working - Online Discussion Group with GPC Representative Dr Paul Hynam: Following recent updates to the BMA’s Safe Working Guidance, we will be running a series of online update sessions to explore the practical implications of delivering a safe service. These one hour sessions will be fully interactive and will provide a safe space to discuss the pros and cons of the various measures being proposed. They will not be recorded. There will be a maximum of 20 participants per session. For Somerset GPs and practice managers only.
Dates: Wednesday 7th December 13.00-14.00 (book online) & Thursday 14th December 19.00-20.00 (book online).
And Finally...
Dear Colleagues,
You will be aware that Carol Hobbs retired from her role as Programme Director for Somerset Training Hub at the end of November 2023, after a long career in secondary and primary care. We are holding a celebration for Carol at Taunton Racecourse (Owners & Trainers room) on Friday 12th January 2024 between 6.30pm and 9.30pm. There will be fizz and food, so please do drop in or spend the evening and celebrate with Carol and other colleagues. Please contact the office at lmc.office@nhs.net if you wish to attend. This link will open an e-card if you would like to send a message to Carol, if you know someone who would like to sign the card please forward onto them. If you would like to contribute towards a gift for Carol please contact Mandy at the LMC on amason1@nhs.net. We hope you will be able to join us.
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.
