Somerset LMC Weekly Update Friday 15th March 2024
Date sent: Friday 15 March 2024
Sent to all Somerset GPs and Practice Managers This and previous updates are available here
- MD Soundbites! New this week - Rebuilding General Practice
- GPAS (General Practice Alert State)
- Clinical News/Updates
- HRT Guidance Updates
- Memory Clinic Update
- Professional Record Standards Body
- Somerset New Lipid Guidance
- Somerset Respiratory Guidance - Information for GP Partners/Salaried/Locums/Practice Managers
- Peninsula Medical School Student Placements
- Rebuild GP: Talking to Patients Toolkit
- Specimen Partnership Agreement
- Sponsor Licences Some Good News
- Theft Warning - Safe Working in General Practice (BMA) This guidance is regularly updated with new items and suggestions
- Job Vacancies
- Somerset Emotional Wellbeing Podcasts - new... Sustainability in Healthcare and Preventing Urinary Tract Infections
Clinical News/Updates
HRT Guidance Updates: An updated HRT PPC guidance document has been published by DHSC. This is to reflect changes to the definition of products in scope of the HRT PPC, following the launch of new products onto the market, and an agreed process for managing discontinuations. The latest version can be found here HRT PPC guidance | NHSBSA.
Memory Clinic Update: The LMC are in talks with the memory team following a number of issues raised by practices. These include out of date referral criteria on Teamnet, B12 levels, and assessment of risk in those without a formal diagnosis of dementia was discussed. If you have concerns about any specific rejected referral, please direct enquiries to Samuel.Lawton@SomersetFT.nhs.uk. We will update you with a generic email for this in time.
Professional Record Standards Body: The PRSB is aligning its standards to the new Pathology standard (DAPB4101) going through approval at the DAPB in March. The current components used in PRSB standards were developed before the recent pathology standards. The PRSB need to ensure that test results and reports that clinicians receive can be shared digitally with their colleagues and can be incorporated into shared care records. The PRSB are asking clinical informaticians with an interest in pathology to review PRSB standards in light of the new standards to ensure that they align. To support this work, the PRSB are holding a webinar on Thursday 21 March, 11am - 1pm, to register click here.
Somerset New Lipid Guidance: Dr Alex Bickerton and his team have created clear lipid guidance. We look forward to further education on this through SGPET in the year ahead. If you have any feedback on this guidance please contact Alex.Bickerton@SomersetFT.nhs.uk.
Somerset Respiratory Guidance: These important guidance documents outline Somerset Respiratory Programme Groups view on inhaler switching and Nebuliser guidance. I do hope they help clarify significant issues that have been raised over the last year in primary care.
David Long, LMC Respiratory Nurse Advisor.
Information for GP Partners/Salaried/Locums/Practice Managers
Peninsula Medical School Student Placements - Message from Dr Kath Speller: A big thank you to all the practices across Somerset who have hosted our students this year. Feedback has been fantastic from both students and practices and some students have already expressed they would be keen to return to Somerset for Specialty Training. This has great potential to increase clinician numbers in Somerset going forwards, and therefore improve workforce sustainability across the county.
Our teaching offer for the next academic year is now available for interested GP practices.
Example funding:
a single 2 week placement per year for a single Y3 or 4 student = £1,372.50
a pair of year 5 students across the year (6 pairs x 5 weeks each) = £32,780
a mixture of year 3 and year 4 pairs across the year (30 weeks) = £39,075
If you have any questions or feel it would be useful to arrange a chat with me, then please don't hesitate to get in touch.
Dr Kath Speller (Community Sub-Dean for Peninsula Medical School) kath.speller@nhs.net or PenMedSchool@SomersetFT.nhs.uk.
Rebuild GP: Talking to Patients Toolkit: GPs and Practices care about patients. But negative press narratives and a toxic political environment have damaged relationships with patients and public perceptions of general practice.
What is known:
- 6 million more patients
- 400 million annual appointments
- 90% of NHS contact is in primary care
The campaign commissioned by the GPC have launched the Rebuild General Practice patient engagement toolkit – a collection of materials that will help GPs and practices to convey the crisis in general practice to patients.
You can find all the materials here.
- Ask your patients and/or friends to join Rebuild General Practice in calling on government to fix the crisis, using the templates in the toolkit (MP letter, social posts, etc.)
- Display the patient engagement animation on the screens in your surgery to show patients the reality of the crisis and let them know how they can help.
- Share our social media thread – and post your own.
Rebuild General Practice is all about unity. That’s unity within the profession, unity within the NHS, and, crucially, unity with the wider public.
Specimen Partnership Agreement: As alluded to in a December update, Somerset LMC commissioned a template partnership agreement from Adrian Poole of www.apers.co.uk which is written in plain English and is available to Somerset Practices by emailing the LMC office somersetlmc.office@nhs.net. It comes with the general disclaimer that specific advice should be obtained on its use, but the aim is to have something which is readily available and which will avoid unnecessary expense for all. We do hope practices will find this helpful.
Part of Adrian's Employment Law Update to practices next month will be devoted to going through the agreement and answering any questions.
Sponsor Licences Some Good News: The Home Office has announced that employers will no longer need to renew their sponsorship licence from Saturday 6 April. This will apply to all routes, including study and work.
Theft Warning: We are sorry to have warn yet again to be wary of thefts from general practices. There have been a few incidences in the past and we have received a further warning that this could be on the increase again, please be vigilant.
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
General Practice in Somerset Great Place Great Potential
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