Primary care bulletin - 15 July 2024 |
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Bulletin:
Changes affecting audiology AQP patient care; cervical screening in CSMS; Medical certificate of Cause of Death and more |
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Welcome to this week's primary care bulletinKey points this week include:
- Changes affecting audiology AQP patient care
- Primary care survey - learning from patient safety events (LFPSE)
- Health and wellbeing fair at the Pinn Medical Centre
- Cervical screening in CSMS
- Deadline for 2023-2024 ARRS claims submission
- Reminder - Check your GP practice is on the distribution list to receive the new Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) - deadline 15 July
- Integrated Neighbourhood Teams - survey
- Maternity resources
- Keeping Well NW London
- Job opportunities
Digital
- Healthtech-1
- End of Life Care website
- Patient messaging update
- Online consultation regarding procurement for 2025
- Software to help patients register with a GP practice
Training and webinars including:
- ICHP CVD Education Series - CVD Coding in Primary Care
- Polypharmacy launch of patient facing resources: Supporting patients to get the most out of their SMRs
- Final dates released for polypharmacy action learning set workshops
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Changes affecting audiology AQP patient care
Primary care colleagues who have patients accessing Audiology AQP care (including domiciliary) from one of the three following providers are urged to read the attached communications relating to change in service:
- Chelsea and Westminster NHS hospital - The Outside Clinic - Scrivens Audiology AQP service is across seven of the eight NWL boroughs: Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Harrow, Hounslow, Kensington and Chelsea, and Westminster. |
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Primary Care Survey – Learning from Patient Safety Events (LFPSE)
The Primary Care Quality Improvement Team are gathering insights into the use of the LFPSE platform within primary care. LFPSE is now in use across the NHS, and has replaced the National Reporting and Learning System (NRLS), which was decommissioned on 30 June 2024. The team would be grateful if you could complete a survey, which aims to: · Understand LFPSE usage in primary care · Assess if training needs to be provided · Raise awareness of the National NHS System Please complete the survey by 15 July 2024 Survey link: https://www.menti.com/alao37r2s7gvCode: 5566 8672 |
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Health and Wellbeing Fair at the Pinn Medical Centre
The recent Health and Wellbeing Fair at the Pinn Medical Centre was attended by over 500 people, including over 30 local organisations, with a range of health talks and performances. There were talks from Healthshare, the new Harrow NW London musculoskeletal (MSK) provider, and presentations from Pinn Medical Centre GPs on healthy eating, diabetes and lifestyle medicine, as well as group meditation sessions and a workshop on asthma in children. An art competition, cancer care and dance workshops were just a few of the wide range of opportunities that were offered and enjoyed by local people. It was great to see such a large community attendance at the fair, and thank you to the invaluable patient association volunteer response that made the day possible!  |
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Cervical screening in CSMS
The CSMS is now live for all NHS Cervical Screening Programme call/recall activity. The Open Exeter system is no longer accessible for this purpose. For technical support with using or accessing CSMS, visit the CSAS website. NHSE Vaccination and Screening team want to make you aware of an issue which has been identified following the transition to the new Cervical Screening Management System (CSMS). In some instances, the CSMS record indicates a patient is not yet due for screening when they are in fact overdue. A review of this suggests it relates to people who have not responded to their last screening invitation and reminder letter. The team are exploring a fix including how to ensure the screening status in these circumstances shows the person to be “overdue” rather than “not yet due” on CSMS. In the meantime the following action is required. When someone comes forward for screening, if their record shows they are not yet due, sample takers and laboratories should check the screening history and last recorded test date and recall interval to ensure that eligible people are screened and not turned away. Any individual issues reported have been collated and the screening history record of each patient involved is being reviewed. Any new issues received through the service desk will continue to be assessed individually. Please continue to send any new issues through the CSMS “report a bug” process on the Cervical Screening Administration Service’s website. If you are reporting issues connected to data relating to a patient, please include NHS numbers so that each issue can be investigated promptly. An update will be provided soon.When a patient attends their screening, providers are reminded to check their full screening history on CSMS to ensure the test is being taken at the right time. As a result of the changes to the IT system, some patients may receive multiple invitation letters. Patients should be supported to make a cervical screening appointment, if they have not done so already, or if they have recently had their screening, be reassured that the additional letter is a result of the system change and can be ignored. If there are queries about the information held in CSMS related to a specific patient, please ensure that the NHS number of the patient (or other patient identifiers if the NHS number is not available) is included. Please also include a phone number and email address for the provider (GP Practice, sexual health clinic, laboratory, colposcopy or hospital clinic) so that if further information is required prompt contact can be made. |
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Deadline for 2023-2024 ARRS claims submission
The deadline for PCNs to submit their remaining ARRS claims for 2023-2024 is 15 July 2024.
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Integrated Neighbourhood Teams - survey
NW London ICS is carrying out a survey to understand the level of integrated working teams and organisations are doing to deliver services and provide patient centred care. Please complete a short survey which will inform further development of an integrated way of working. |
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Maternity resources
Following the recent Clinical leads meeting, below are some useful maternity resources for both patients and professionals:
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Keeping Well NW London
Recognising and supporting carers in the healthcare community.The theme for Carers Week 2024 was ' Putting carers on the map' to highlight the increasing pressures carers are under and to campaign for much-needed recognition and support. Results from the 2022 NHS Staff Survey outline that 1 in 3 NHS staff also have caring responsibilities outside of their work. Specialist support and more information about your rights as a carer can be found at Carers UK as well as on the Keeping Well dedicated webpage for carers. What is Compassion Fatigue?
Compassion fatigue refers to the ‘ emotional cost of caring for others or their emotional pain.’ It can develop over time and healthcare workers are at higher risk. Signs of compassion fatigue include feeling hopeless, detached or numb, reduced empathy, anxiety and withdrawal from others. It can be understood as a response to prolonged stress or trauma. Research has demonstrated that compassion fatigue can lead to poorer work-related morale, greater absenteeism and reduced job satisfaction.While compassion fatigue is preventable and can be reversed it is important to recognise its early warning signs and seek support. For more information about compassion fatigue, warning signs, tips, coping strategies and support available see the dedicated Keeping Well information page.You can contact us for free, confidential support via: · Telephone: 0300 123 1705 · Email: keepingwell.nwl@nhs.net · Complete a self-referral form |
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Healthtech-1
North West London ICB is offering practices 6 months free automated registrations with Healthtech-1. Practices could automate 95% of your registrations with all the clinical coding and patients get registered on the same day! In just 2 months, Bacon Lane Surgery has saved 47 hours of staff time and automated over 200 registrations. Click here to find out more. There are 23 spaces remaining which we're aiming to fill by the end of July Healthtech-1 and the National Register with a GP Surgery Service: how do they align?Healthtech-1 provides practices with the ability to automate the National Registration Form. Click here for more information. If you would like to participate in this pilot, please click here to submit an expression of interest. |
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End of Life Care website
A unique digital platform designed to support Integrated Palliative and End of Life Care across North West London. HPAL brings together the best resources in palliative care, making them easily accessible for clinicians, patients, and carers. https://hpal.medindex.co.ukHPAL features a ready populated clinical triage tool designed to address common clinical challenges in Palliative Care through a clinically designed search function. It’s service directory provides real-time information on available services in each Borough across North West London. It improves care at the point of contact through saving clinicians time by offering easy access to curated summaries of key symptoms. Its separate portal dedicated for family carers improves self-management for both patients and carers, and a portal for Clinicians providing a fantastic resource for Primary Care, Hospital and Care Home clinicians. HPAL also provides summaries of national guidance tailored to the Integrated Care System (ICS) and local needs. Users can search for information specific to their boroughs. It helps the ICS meet its obligations and improve equality of access across the ICS. Since its launch, over 500 users accessed the website within just three days, receiving excellent feedback for its ease of use. A huge thank you to Harlington Hospice for developing this invaluable resource for North West London. |
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Patient messaging update
Budget Achievement: NWL ICB is happy to announce that practices and PCNs have successfully adhered to the budget of 60p per patient from April 1 2023 to March 31 2024. This means, no practice will be required to make additional payments. The total SMS expenditure amounted to £1.3m. While there were variations among practices, with some exceeding their limits, we extend our thanks and congratulations for the prudent utilisation of NHS resources. Updated SMS Allocation from April 2024 – March 2025:From April 1 2024 to March 2025, the SMS budget decreases to 45p per patient, which is a total ICB allocation of £1.2m for this financial year. Therefore, with similar activity levels as the previous year, we anticipate staying within budget. Each practices’ updated allocation has been calculated based on the latest figures. As part of Modern General Practice the national digital tools funding is covering the cost of both Accurx Plus licenses and AccuBook whilst the ICB is covering the cost of SMS fragments (45p per patient) for this financial year. Additional funding, if identified will be added to the budget where appropriate. Please find attached the SMS fragment allocation for 23/24 (last financial year) and the new 24/25 SMS fragment allocation. This dashboard will be sent out to NW London GP practices each month so that you’re aware of the remaining allowance. From July the team will be hosting monthly webinars for GP practices to discuss the current cap allocation and share ‘tips and tricks’ to send communications out to patients via alternative routes, such as Accumail or the NHS App. The first webinar will be on Wednesday 24 July from 1-2pm. The invite will be sent out in the GP bulletin. Dashboards: Practices will receive a monthly dashboard after the 26 of each month containing SMS data from various sources including online consultation suppliers, clinical systems and Accurx for the previous month. The graph indicates your current monthly and year to date spend, a comparison to last year’s activity, your allocated budget and forecasted spend against the current allocation. Overall Budget Breakdown: The total ICB budget for text messaging covers various components, including:
- AccurX SMS Fragments
- Clinical system messages (TPP and EMIS)
- PATCHs generated SMS
- eConsult generated SMS (in Ealing only)
- Accurx Plus licenses, AccuBook functionality
Best Practice Guidance: We encourage practices to review their patient messaging strategies encompassing emails, SMS, and NHS App notifications. Additionally, consider digital literacy and health inequalities when determining the appropriateness of SMS. NWL is developing a comprehensive guide on best practice to ensure SMS is used appropriately with confidentiality and safety in mind. Please find attached the SMS top tips document, to show how GP practices can best use SMS functionality via your clinical systems, emails and the NHS App. For any queries, please contact us at nhsnwl.digitalfirst@nhs.net |
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Online consultation regarding procurement for 2025
On behalf of NHSE, NW London ICB will be re-procuring a solution/s for Online Consultations (OC) in 2025. Over the past few months the Digital First team have interviewed practices about their usage of OC and have found that some PCNs are self-funding alternative systems other than those commissioned (Patchs and eConsult). With this situation in mind it would be great if you could fill out the questionnaire in the link below so the team can understand the OC choices for each practice/PCN. This is a simple form with 6 questions.If agreed by our Primary Care Executive Committed it may be that from 2025 PCNs will choose their preferred systems (subject to IG requirements), with the proviso that each provider share OC data with NW London BI team and NHSE. |
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Software to help patients register with a GP Practice
Experience the ease and efficiency of patients registering with your GP Practice through a streamlined online system. Developed in collaboration with healthcare professionals and patients, the service simplifies and standardises the GP registration process. Key Benefits:
- Complimentary for NHS GP Practices: No cost for usage as NHS England (Digital) product.
- High Success Rate: 93% success rate in matching patients to their NHS number/PDS spine.
- Catchment Area Verification: Ensures patients register within the correct catchment area.
- Enhanced Integration: Integrated with the NHS Website (Find a GP), NHS Login and NHS App, which increases practice visibility. There is also future planned integration with EMIS & SystmOne to reduce workload further.
- Reduced PCSE Exceptions: Cut down exceptions by up to 60%.
- Best Practice Digital and Paper Forms: Adhering to principles used across government and NHS services.
- Accessibility Compliance: Meets WCAG AA accessibility standard.
- Contractual Compliance: Part of GP Contract 2024/2025 requirements.
Already over 3,000 practices in England have embraced the service, processing 1.3million registrations to date. Now, the service are extending their reach across London, ready to assist you in joining today! How to sign up: Register hereOr email: england.register-gp-surgery.support@nhs.net The team will also be hosting a number of regional webinars covering how the service works, why should you use it, how you set it up and any Q&As. If you would like to join a webinar, please email Hannah.foster17@nhs.net for dates and times. For more information, visit the website. |
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ICHP CVD Education Series – CVD Coding in Primary Care
Wednesday 24 July, 1.00pm-2.00pmOn behalf of Dr Kuldhir Johal (NWL ICS Clinical Lead for Cardiovascular and Renal Disease Interim). In this session, you will review searches and templates available in S1 and EMIS, as well as case finding and UCLP risk stratification tools, with a focus on hypertension and lipid management. You will have the opportunity to put your questions to the current NWL ICS Clinical Lead for Cardiovascular and Renal Disease, in a Q&A moderated by ICHP. Please click here to register for the session. For further information and/or to get involved with the ICHP CVD education series please contact: chanelle.corena@imperialcollegehealthpartners.com or catherine.caldwell@imperialcollegehealthpartners.com |
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Polypharmacy launch of patient facing resources: Supporting patients to get the most out of their SMRs
Tuesday 16 July 2024, 12.00-1.00pmA webinar to find out how the HIN polypharmacy patient resources are being used to better engage and support patients to get the most out of their structured medication review and facilitate shared decision making. Hear from national speakers about how this work helps us address health inequalities and problematic polypharmacy. To register please click here |
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Final Dates Released for Polypharmacy Action Learning Set Workshops
The National Polypharmacy Programme exclusively invites our NWL prescribers to join the Action Learning Set (ALS). The programme aims to 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:
For further information and/or to get involved with the ICHP Polypharmacy Programme please contact catherine.caldwell@imperialcollegehealthpartners.com |
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