Somerset LMC Weekly Update Friday 12th July 2024
Date sent: Friday 12 July 2024
Sent to all Somerset GPs and Practice Managers This and previous updates are available here
- MD Soundbites!
- And So it Begins cont..
- GPAS (General Practice Alert State) - No data available due to network problems
- Clinical News/Updates
- Information for GP Partners/Salaried/Locums/Practice Managers
- - BMA Letter to the New Secretary of State for Health & Social Care
- Patient Safety Alerts
- Domestic abuse awareness campaign during the football season
- Expressions of interest are now being accepted for a final cohort of the GP Assistants programme due to begin towards the end of the year
- Are you making the most of your Buying Group membership? - Training/Events
- Resources
- Resources to supporting children and young people with their gender identity - Safe Working in General Practice (BMA) This guidance is regularly updated with new items and suggestions
- Job Vacancies
And So It Begins
So we begin continued.. – Number four of the actions for practices to choose is Stop rationing referrals, investigations, and admissions - Refer, investigate or admit your patient for specialist care when it is clinically appropriate to do so. Refer via eRS for two week wait (2WW) appointments, but outside of that write a professional referral letter where this is preferable. It is not contractual to use a local referral form/proforma – quote our guidance and sample wording
Clinical News/Updates
Information for GP Partners/Salaried/Locums/Practice Managers
BMA Letter to the New Secretary of State for Health & Social Care - How we can work together to rebuild general practice in England
Patient Safety Alerts: The Care Quality Commission has published a GP mythbuster on how practices should respond to information they receive that might have an impact on the safety of patients. They need systems and processes to disseminate and act on information. This includes information from external sources which could affect patient safety.
Domestic abuse awareness campaign during the football season: Research from the National Centre for Domestic Violence reveals that domestic abuse incidents increase by 26% when our national team plays, 38% if they lose, and 11% the day after, regardless of the outcome. Domestic abuse expected to spike during international football games. (somersetdomesticabuse.org.uk). Farah Nazeer, chief executive of Women’s Aid, comments: “In many ways, high-profile football competitions are a unique opportunity for us to come together and feel real unity and comradery as we root for our team to win. However, for those women and children living with domestic abuse, major championships can leave them vulnerable to existing abuse becoming more severe and frequent".
Expressions of interest are now being accepted for a final cohort of the GP Assistants programme due to begin towards the end of the year. There are a maximum of 42 places available for the Southwest region. Practices wishing to secure a place for a GP Assistant are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Only fully completed applications will be considered (i.e. Manager, GP Assistant and GP Mentor completing their part of the application), as it is only at this stage that Devon Training Hub become aware of the application and can confirm a place. Expressions of interest can be submitted now by following this link Further details are included in this flyer.
Are you making the most of your Buying Group membership? When was the last time you reviewed how much your practice is spending on the products and services you regularly buy? The cost of living crisis continues to bite and even GP practices will be looking for ways to reduce running costs. This is where your free membership to the LMC Buying Group can really come in handy as it offers practices access to discounts on a wide range of products and services. They can help you save money on the following areas:
• Medical consumables and equipment
• Stationery, Office equipment and furniture
• Workwear
• Insurance
• Confidential information shredding
• Energy
• Recovery Oxygen
• Telecoms
• Test and Calibration
• Online Training
• DBS Checks Processing
The Buying Group suppliers won’t just offer you a great price one week and then ramp up the price the next so you can be assured that if you order from their suppliers, you’ll get a great price every time you shop meaning you don’t have to ‘shop around’ to find the best deal every month anymore. If you’re not sure whether you’re a member and/or have access to the Buying Group website (this is where you can view the pricing/discounts and get quotes) then contact the Buying Group team on 0115 979 6910 or info@lmcbuyinggroups.co.uk . They can also help you with any questions you might have about your membership or the suppliers.
Training/Events
Resources
Resources to supporting children and young people with their gender identity: Please see think link which may be useful when supporting children and young people around gender identity and sexual orientation. Within this, we would like to highlight Home | 2BU Somerset (2bu-somerset.co.uk) which is a local service supporting children and young people around gender identity and sexual orientation. They also provide support to their families, and accepts both referrals from professionals and through self-referral.
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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