Somerset LMC Weekly Update Friday 16th December 2016
Date sent: Friday 16 December 2016
Sent to all All Somerset GPs and Practice Managers This and previous updates can be found here
- Flu Immunisation – Please keep up the momentum!
- Open Exeter and immunisation payments
- Starters and Leavers
- Sessional GPs Newsletter
Flu Immunisation – Please keep up the momentum!
Concerning early signs of increased flu activity in care homes, schools and hospitals this winter
With all the usual caveats about data reliability, percentage immunisation coverage in the county is continuing to run ahead of this time last year, and though the difference has dropped we are still better than 2015 in all but two ( children aged 5-15 “at risk”, and diabetics over 65) of the 20 subcategories. Although most practices will have completed the bulk of their immunisation sessions, as the weather gets colder and flu starts to get media coverage, there will be an opportunity to catch some of your eligible patients who have not yet been immunised.
Readers will remember that last year there was a significant flu outbreak in a school the Region, and there has already been a similar episode at a school in Manchester. Worryingly there have already been 19 flu clusters reported in the country – 12 in care homes, four in schools , and three in hospitals. For the same period in 2015 there were just three. The incidence curve is beginning to climb very early. Children in special schools are at particular risk from flu, but increasing percentage coverage of all risk groups is still worthwhile, whilst the hospital outbreaks are a reminder that front line health care staff need to be immunised as well.
Meantime the good news is that School Age programme, provided in Somerset by the School Nurses, has immunised 62% of eligible children. The national target is 50%. The trial of flu immunisations by midwives at TST has been even more spectacular with coverage of pregnant women in one cohort reaching 82% with roughly half given by practices and half by a midwife when women attend for a scan.
Open Exeter and payments we would urge practices to regularly check immunisation information on Open Exeter. If you do identify any gaps in a child’s immunisation history it is always worthwhile checking with the Child Health team to see if they have any further immunisation data on that child. Practices are sometimes missing out on higher target payments due to a very small number of immunisations, and this will help with payments.
Starters and LeaversThe LMC have not been receiving any information from PCSE on changes to the perforners list in Somesret, would practices kindly complete the update template if changes have occured, it would also be helpful to know changes to Nursing and HCA staff as well so that our database remains current, thank you
Kind Regards
Jill
Jill Hellens
Executive Director
Somerset LMC
TEL: 01823 331428
Fax:01823 338561
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