Primary care bulletin - 18 September 2024

Help us share key health messages this winter

NHS North West London’s winter campaign is now underway, sharing key messages on winter vaccinations and service access (right care, right place). To help deliver this information, the communications team is looking to produce video and audio content with clinical staff - both in English and other widely spoken languages. This may be in the form of a scripted voice note, a video you record on your phone, or having the communications team film a short clip in your work setting – this can be decided based on what you are comfortable with. We are also looking for support reviewing written translations to ensure they are fully accurate.

We appreciate that staff are extremely busy but we hope by sharing these messages in a range of formats, from trusted voices, we can make a difference. If you would like to find out more or express your interest, please email Emelia Goodall, communications manager, at Emelia.goodall@nhs.net.

N365 OneDrive and Teams - all staff to use personal Windows login

The GPN365 Projects Team are now in Phase 2, moving your Shared Data from the server and migrating NW London Practices onto Teams.

Your personal data can be accessed via OneDrive which has already been implemented.

ACTION REQUIRED: All staff need to use your own personal windows log in and sign into OneDrive under your own nhs.net account and password.

Find out more here.

Reminder about flu vaccination start dates

Practices are reminded that this year there is a staggered start to the flu season as per the national flu letter here: National flu immunisation programme 2024 to 2025 letter.

From 1 September 2024:

pregnant women
all children aged 2 or 3 years on 31 August 2024
primary school aged children (from Reception to Year 6)
secondary school aged children (from Year 7 to Year 11)
all children in clinical risk groups aged from 6 months to less than 18 years

From 3 October 2024

those aged 65 years and over
those aged 18 years to under 65 years in clinical risk groups (as defined Influenza: the green book, chapter 19 - GOV.UK
those in long-stay residential care homes
carers in receipt of carer’s allowance, or those who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person
close contacts of immunocompromised individuals
frontline workers in a social care setting without an employer led occupational health scheme including those working for a registered residential care or nursing home, registered domiciliary care providers, voluntary managed hospice providers and those that are employed by those who receive direct payments (personal budgets) or Personal Health budgets, such as Personal Assistants

Practices are reminded that they will not be paid for any activity given outside of these dates as per the enhanced service specification details shown below:

Payment and validation (GP ESS)

11.1 Subject to compliance with this ES, a payment of £10.06 shall be payable to the Practice for the administration of each influenza vaccination to Patients.

11.2. Practices will only be eligible for payment in accordance with this ES where all of the following requirements have been met and payment is conditional on:

11.2.1 the Patient who received the vaccination(s) was a Patient at the time the vaccine was administered, and all of the following apply:

(a) the Practice has only used the specified vaccines recommended in this ES and/or Commissioner guidance;

(b) the Patient in respect of whom payment is being claimed was within an announced and authorised cohort at the time the vaccine was administered, unless exceptional circumstances apply as set out at paragraph 9.7 and the vaccination was administered after the announced and authorised date for the vaccinations to take place;

Further details with regards payments etc can be found in the ESS here.

***All vaccines supplied by UKHSA for the 2024/25 children’s flu programme are now available to order on ImmForm***

Summary:

Both LAIV (Fluenz®) and QIVc are now available to order in England via ImmForm.
LAIV is now a trivalent vaccine with the brand name Fluenz®.
As in previous years, order controls and allocations are in place for UKHSA supplied children’s flu vaccines.
All information on the availability and allocation of vaccines for the children’s flu programme provided in this update remains subject to change at all times. The ImmForm news page will always have the most accurate and up to date information.
UKHSA does not supply any flu vaccines for patients aged 18 years and over.
Please refer to guidance from your respective health departments for arrangements in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

***Flu Special Vaccine Update Published***

Vaccine update: issue 349, September 2024, flu special

GP placements for St George's, University of London, physician associate students

We are thrilled to have welcomed 80 students into our new cohort this autumn, however we are looking for general practice placements to support their training.

The year 1 placement commitment is weekly from Wednesday 16 October 2024 to 2 July 2025, with the same student/s returning for a 9 week placement (full-time) in 2026. We expect students to attend for a minimum of 7 hours each Wednesday, working under the direct supervision of a designated GP/GPs within the practice. Remuneration is also available, according to the below schedule:

First year - £3189 per student per year (£1063 paid to the practice at the end of each academic term of the year)*
Second year - £4559 per student per year (to be paid at the end of the academic year in August)*

*Subject to change by NHS England who provide the placement tariff.

For more information on MPAS clinical placements, please visit our website.

We do currently have a placement deficit and would encourage practices to reach out to us should the opportunity of supporting a PA student be of interest.

Education and Training

Interpreting blood test results in suspected cancer webinar

A ‘Interpreting Blood Test Results in Suspected Cancer’ webinar is taking place on 1 - 1.30pm on Wednesday 16 October 2024.

This is an excellent opportunity to refresh your cancer knowledge and hear the latest pathway updates across West London. You’ll gain valuable insights from our cancer specialists and will be able to ask questions in a live Q&A.

With our specialist speakers we will be covering:

What blood tests to conduct if you suspect cancer.
What blood test results may raise the suspicion of cancer.
Are tumour markers useful in primary care
Blood tests required for the non-specific symptoms pathway.

The NW London Big Green Medicines Webinar

The webinar will be taking place on Wednesday 16 October 2024, 9am - 1pm via MS Teams.

All sessions will be bite-sized (up to 30 minutes in length) and will be recorded.
The aims are to:

Celebrate successful and on-going green and sustainable medicines project
Share best practice and create opportunities for collaboration
Provide an opportunity for networking

The agenda is attached.

You will be able to join the meeting here.

Further co-production training

Following the successful delivery of recent co-production training earlier this year we are pleased to announce further dates have been made available in October, and are reserved for Primary Care colleagues.

If you are interested in learning about what co-production is (and isn’t!), and some of the techniques you can use to help plan for and deliver our services in collaboration with our communities do book your place via the link below. More information about the training can also be found here.

Polypharmacy Action Learning Set Foundation Course

ICHP are pleased to announce the second cohort of the Polypharmacy Action Learning Set Foundation (ALSF). This is a pilot educational opportunity for primary care clinicians not yet eligible for the Polypharmacy ALS.

The eligibility criteria is listed below.

Pharmacists: 2 years' experience or less in primary care or less than 12 months as a prescriber (not yet eligible for the Polypharmacy Action Learning Set 3-day programme)

Pharmacy technicians: Band 5 and above, having completed or undertaking the PCPEP programme with at least 2 years' primary care experience.

The course content has been developed and will be delivered by Health Innovation Wessex. Cohort Two is set to run on the 24 September and 8 October from 9.30am to 12pm on both days.

ICHP have three spaces for this cohort, delegates must commit to both sessions.

If you would like to attend this session, please email catherine.caldwell@imperialcollegehealthpartners.com stating in no more than 100 words, why you are interested in attending.

Final dates released for Polypharmacy Action Learning Set Workshops

Cohort twenty – 16 October, 6 and 20 November 2024

Cohort twenty-one - 13 and 27 November and 11 December 2024

Cohort twenty-two - 22 January, 5 and 26 February June 2025

The National Polypharmacy Programme exclusively invites our NW London 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:

Cohort 20 please click here

Cohort 21 please click here

Cohort 22 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

FICHP CVD Education Series – Lipid Management in Primary Care

On behalf of Dr Kuldhir Johal (NWL ICS Clinical Lead for Cardiovascular and Renal Disease (Interim)), we would like to invite you to the upcoming CVD webinar on “Lipid Management in Primary Care” on Wednesday 25 September 1-2pm.

In the session, you will explore updates on the latest NICE changes and NW London Lipid Guidelines ensuring alignment with current standards of care. We will review key elements of the QoF, enhanced service specifications, and Medicines Management and Optimisation focusing on how these frameworks impact lipid management. We will discuss next steps for CVD Champions, opportunities for involvement, and review referral pathways for lipid services to streamline care.

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.

Please click here to register for the session.

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

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