Somerset LMC Weekly Update Friday 20th January 2017
Date sent: Friday 20 January 2017
All Somerset GPs and Practice Managers This and previous updates can be found here
- "The Dead Canary Sketch" latest blog from Nick Bray Somerset LMC Chairman
- Flu Immunisation Update
- Progress on Group Indemnity Cover
- The latest Sessional GPs e newsletter
- GPFV Receptionist Training
Flu Immunisation Update Congratulations to everyone on improvement across the board on immunisation uptake so far this year. At the end of December 70% of over 65s had been immunised – about the same as 2015 – but every other cohort was better. The trial of flu immunisation by midwives at TST has almost doubled the previous uptake rate of 40%, and the school age programme delivered by the school nurses has exceeded the 50% “transmission disruption” target. Practice Front Line Staff uptake in the county has risen from 54% to 62%, though only a minority of practices have fed back recent information. It’s worth using up your remaining vaccine stock on any eligible patients, especially pregnant women and those “at risk”, as although the likely direct benefits of immunisation fall as spring approaches, immunising now can encourage patients to present for a jab earlier in the season next time.
Sometime in the spring practices will be contacted again by Pinnacle Health, the company that operates the “PharmOutcomes” system, with a request for a generic practice NHSMail account that can be sued to send electronic notifications of immunisations done. We encourage you to take up this offer, not only because if means you will get reliable and timely notification of ‘flu jabs, but also other information is likely to be provided using this channel in due course.
The LMC and the LPC proposal for a new “alliance” contract for flu immunisation is being considered by the BNSSSG Flu Group, and we hope it will be piloted for the 2017 immunisation season
Progress on Group Indemnity Cover May offer significant benefits The Peninsula Academic Health Sciences Network working group on primary care indemnity has been making steady progress, and we now understand much more about the complexities of indemnity cover and the potential benefits of organising this at a large scale. The AHSN is working on a specification, and meantime the LMC has been in conversation with the MPS and MDU about group cover across localities that may wish to work together and see one another’s patients.
The next step is to get some basic information from practices about your current indemnity arrangements via a very simple questionnaire, which was sent to practice managers yesterday, and we hope to have something to offer localities who choose to offer “Improved Access” shared additional hours appointments after 1st April.
GPFV Receptionist training we have had replies from a few clusters of practices that would like to facilitate this training for their teams and are now arranging dates with the provider to deliver these in February March and April, to aide others who have not yet been in touch please see the overview of the Active Signposting and clinical correspondence training which can be tailored to meet individual needs. These will be fully funded by GPFV money. Please contact the LMC office with the details of a lead for each cluster, ideally 3 practices in each depending on the amount of staff.
Kind Regards
Jill
Jill Hellens
Executive Director
Somerset LMC
TEL: 01823 331428
Fax:01823 338561
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