Welcome to this week's primary care bulletin

Key points this week include:

• GP cancer bulletin
• UKHSA team changes
• Changes to COVID-19 testing from 1 April 2024
• Pharmacy opening hours over Easter
• Views sought on working with CNWL NHS Foundation Trust's adult community mental health hubs
• Qwell closing: Change to online support for adults experiencing mental health difficulties 
• Chronic kidney disease (CKD) podcast
• New NW London musculoskeletal (MSK) service
• Training, webinars and more

GP cancer bulletin

This edition of the cancer bulletin includes:

• Urgent suspected cancer referral forms, a reminder – All GPs
• Temporary pause to cervical and bowel cancer screening SMS reminders – All practice staff
• London breast screening primary care engagement pack – All practice staff
• C the signs, NWL contract announcement – All GPs
• Community liver health checks (CLHC) - Detecting more hepatocellular carcinomas (liver cancers) early – All GPs
• Parenting with cancer conference: Saturday 25 May 2024 – All health care professionals
• Cervical screening assessor / mentor training dates: 23 April 2024 - All practice nurses, physician associates and GPs
• Primary care education resource to support urgent suspected cancer referrals - new module now live, Oesophageal cancer – All GPs
• Gateway C training resources – All practice staff
• West London Primary Care education schedule – All practice staff

Accompanying documents:

London region breast screening general practice engagement pack
Poster - London region breast screening general practice engagement pack
Parenting with cancer conference poster
Parenting with cancer conference flyer

UKHSA team changes 

The UKHSA team are making a few changes by merging their North London teams and moving to one email address for both North and South London teams.

All changes are taking place on 16 April 2024. Please see attached two slides that include all details. 

Changes to COVID-19 testing from 1 April 2024

From Monday 1 April there will be changes to the COVID-19 testing in adult and social care settings. Please can the below be cascaded amongst colleagues to avoid any delays in discharges. 

Discharges from acute hospitals

1. Routine COVID-19 lateral flow device (LFD) testing of asymptomatic individuals prior to discharge from hospital into care homes is no longer required. Testing may still be undertaken, based on local risk assessment by the hospital together with the care home, for example during outbreaks.

2. There is no need to test for flu or other respiratory viruses prior to discharge, unless clinically required. If individuals are tested before discharge into a care home and test positive for an acute respiratory infection (ARI), they can be admitted to the care home if the home is satisfied that they can be cared for safely. They should be supported to stay away from others for 5 days from the day of symptom onset, or from the day the test was taken if they did not have any symptoms.

Testing for outbreaks 

1. Routine provision of free COVID-19 Lateral Flow Device (LFD) tests for the management of outbreaks in healthcare settings, care homes and hospices, and other non-healthcare settings including prisons, immigration retention or removal centres, asylum reception centres, asylum hostel accommodation and reception centres, homelessness settings (including night shelters, hostels, hotels, and other temporary accommodation), domestic abuse refuges and respite rooms will be discontinued. However, free polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing to determine the cause of an acute respiratory infection outbreak in higher risk settings, where deemed appropriate by the UKHSA Health Protection Team (HPT), will continue to be available in line with usual processes.

Ordering lateral flow tests

1. The ordering portal for accessing LFD test kits for outbreak testing has now closed. During a suspected outbreak of acute respiratory infection (ARI), settings can access multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests through their local health protection team (HPT) to help identify the infection responsible.

Staff testing 

Staff do not need to take tests for any ARIs, unless indicated by a clinician or are eligible for COVID-19 treatments. Staff working on inpatient wards and in hospice settings treating the most profoundly immunocompromised individuals will continue to have access to symptomatic LFD testing, in line with local protocols to protect those most at risk.

For more information on the COVID19 testing check COVID-19: testing from 1 April 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). For any other infection prevention and control queries in adult and social care settings please contact winola.xavier1@nhs.net

Pharmacy opening hours over Easter

The table attached provides the opening hours for pharmacies in North West London which have been asked to open over the Easter Holidays.

Please note that Saturday 30 April 2024 is not a bank holiday; however there will be some pharmacies who normally open who will be closed on this day. 

Please share with patients. 

Views sought on working with CNWL NHS Foundation Trust’s adult community mental health hubs 

Applicable to practices in Westminster, K&C, Brent, Harrow, Hillingdon

CNWL NHS Foundation Trust are seeking feedback from GP’s on their experience working with CNWL’s Adult Community Mental Health Hubs. The purpose of the survey is to gather an understanding of GP’s views on their relationships with Community Hubs, what is working well and areas for development. 

This will not take any longer than 5 minutes to complete, and is accessible via the link. 

Qwell closing: Change to online support for adults experiencing mental health difficulties

Qwell, an online counselling service for adults who live in north west London is closing on 31 March. Ahead of the closure no new registrations will be possible on the website from 1 March 2024. 

Qwell is provided by a company called Kooth who will continue to offer online support for young people up to 25 years with access to free, safe and anonymous support through an online mental health community.

People experiencing difficulties with anxiety and depression can still get support face to face or in an online appointment from NHS Talking Therapies Services.

Please find a list of alternative support services that service users can be signposted to, depending on need.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) podcast 

NW London Kidney Care team would like to develop some sustainable educational resources for primary care health care professionals to support the management of CKD integrated with other long term conditions.

Developing a podcast (audio) was suggested by some primary care clinicians as a popular idea but we would like to better understand if and how this would be useful.

Please complete this short survey.

New NW London musculoskeletal (MSK) service

NW London ICB are pleased to announce Healthshare as our new community musculoskeletal (MSK) service provider across Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea, Hammersmith & Fulham, Brent, Harrow. They will also be providing community pain service in Hillingdon.

Bereavement training updated    

NHS England National Bereavement Care Pathway training has been reviewed and updated to ensure that language is in line with current guidance, and to add links to sources of information and support. 

Pregnancy loss and child death impacts a significant number of families each day. The core aims of the training are to improve quality of bereavement care and to reduce variance across services. 

Created in collaboration with charities, professional organisations and people with first-hand experience, the training is free to access and can be used by anybody who may come into contact with someone who is bereaved through loss of a baby, including non-clinical professions. 

To find out more and access the training, please visit the elearning for healthcare (elfh) news page.

Pan London infection prevention and control conference 

Wednesday 8 May

The conference has a focus on infection prevention and control in adult social care settings in London including care homes, supported living, private care and hospice care.

Presentations include:

• Back to the Basics of IPC
• Surviving Sepsis- a personal journey
• Measles Update
• Focus on risk
• Not the bug
• Practical prevention in the community and recognition
• Prevention
• Management of urinary tract infections

The event is via MS teams. Places are limited and on first come first serve basis, click here to book your spot on Eventbrite now! 

 Agenda and flyer are attached.  

Multiple dates available for polypharmacy action learning set workshops

Cohort fifteen - 17 April, 1 and 15 May 2024
Cohort sixteen - 8 and 22 May, 5 June 2024
Cohort seventeen - 12 and 26 June, 10 July
Cohort eighteen - 19 June, 3 and 17 July

The National Polypharmacy Programme invites you to join the action learning set (ALS) to help build GP and prescribing health care professionals’ confidence in, and understanding of, the complex issue surrounding and stopping inappropriate medicines safely. Delegates need to attend all three sessions. The ALS with also help PCNs deliver the medicines optimisation elements of the new Directed Enhanced Services contract and contributes to the QoF.

To learn more about the Polypharmacy ALS please click here, to register for either: 

Cohort 15 please click here
Cohort 16 please click here
Cohort 17 please click here
Cohort 18 please click here

Feel free to circulate this invite to other colleagues who may be interested. 

For further information and/or to get involved with the ICHP Polypharmacy Programme please contact - catherine.caldwell@imperialcollegehealthpartners.com