Primary care bulletin - 6 November 2024
Bulletin:
Cancer patient experience survey; Imperial Pain Management Department; NW London GP practice SMS allocation update

Welcome to this week's primary care bulletin

Key points this week include:
  • NW London GP practice SMS allocation and NHS App data update 
  • Cancer patient experience survey
  • Imperial Pain Management Department - Directory of Service (DOS) updates
  • Anti Bullying Week - Keeping Well (staff wellbeing)
  • EDI Apprenticeship opportunity
  • Digital Telephony - Patient feedback survey
  • ICT and Digital Business Continuity Guidance
Webinars and training, including:
  • Help shape the new Equality, Diversity and Improvement (EDI) Plan for primary care
  • Extended deadline - NW London polypharmacy ePACT2 case study opportunity
  • 'Doing what we do but a bit greener' workshops
  • Pancreatic cancer webinar
  • ICHP CVD education series  
  • Bitesize cancer education
  • Primary Care Systems User Groups
  • The importance of community engagement for vaccinations webinar

If you have any submissions for this bulletin please email them to the communications inbox - nhsnwl.communications.nwl@nhs.net

Deadline for content is 3pm Monday

To view any previous editions click here
NW London GP Practice SMS Allocation and NHS App data update 

This article is about the latest September 2024 SMS fragment data and update on patient messaging within NW London.

Here's a recap and some important points to note: 

Please find attached the SMS fragment allocation for April - September 24/25. This data shows the usage of both Accurx and all messages sent via your clinical system, which includes online consultations suppliers. Please note that there is also information about the number of messages that have been sent via the NHS App.

Find an FAQ attached.

NHS SMS and NHS App webinar

The next NW London SMS and NHS App webinar is taking place 1 - 2pm on Wednesday 27 November 2024.

We will be discussing the SMS allocation and reviewing the data as well as discussing ‘tips and tricks’ for S1 and EMIS GP practices. Please add this link to your calendar so that you can join the webinar:

For any queries, please contact us at nhsnwl.digitalfirst@nhs.net. 

You will be able to join the meeting here.
 
Cancer patient experience survey

Thank you for your continued support of the Cancer Patient Experience Survey (CPES). Questionnaires for the 2024 survey will start to be sent out by post to people who are eligible to take part in the survey from 15 November 2024. All adult patients (aged 16 and over), with a primary diagnosis of cancer, who have been admitted to hospital as inpatients for cancer related treatment, or who are seen as day case patients for cancer related treatment and discharged between April and June 2024 will be sent the survey later in the year.

We would be very grateful if you could raise awareness of the survey with patients receiving treatment between April and June 2024. This will help to encourage as many people as possible to complete and return the survey when they are invited to take part.

Please find a communications toolkit and posters that can be used and displayed in hospitals and treatment centres.

Research carried out as part of the CPES has shown that certain demographic groups are consistently less likely to respond to the survey, including young people and some ethnic minority groups. We also have a video that can be used to encourage groups we hear less from to participate in the survey to help shape cancer services. Social media clips are also available to download.

Thank you for your continued support.
Imperial Pain Management Department - Directory of Service (DOS) updates

The Pain Management department will be updating their Directory of Service (DOS) from ‘triage, advice and guidance’ to ‘advice only’ from Tuesday 1 October 2024. This change will help the service streamline suitable patients and provide clear guidance to GPs on where best to refer.

Please see more details attached.
Anti Bullying Week - Keeping Well (staff wellbeing)

11 - 15 November 2024 marks Anti Bullying Week with the theme Choose Respect. 

Within the NHS, 18.7% of staff have reported experiencing bullying or harassment in the last year from colleagues.

Being treated unfairly at work can understandably have a significant impact on your wellbeing.

The NHS website offers information on how to identify if you're being bullied at work, how to stop it, and advice on getting support.

We are here to support you. Get in touch with us by:      

Telephone: 0300 123 1705   

Email: keepingwell.nwl@nhs.net      

Complete a self-referral form  
Extended deadline - NW London polypharmacy ePACT2 case study opportunity

Extended Deadline - NW London polypharmacy ePACT2 case study opportunity.

Imperial College Health Partners (ICHP) is seeking two Primary Care Networks (PCNs) in North West London to highlight the use of NHSBSA Polypharmacy Prescribing Comparators in identifying patients for Structured Medication Reviews (SMRs).

In collaboration with NHS NW London, and as part of the Polypharmacy programme, ICHP has been tracking the percentage of NW London patients prescribed multiple high-risk medications. As of August 2024, over 38% of NW London adults aged 65+ are prescribed two or more DAMN (Diuretics, Angiotensin Receptor Blockers, Metformin, NSAIDs) medicines, while 11% are on 10+ unique medications.

By promoting the use of ePACT2 polypharmacy data, we aim to support PCNs in identifying patients who could benefit from SMRs, in line with the GP contract.

Who: NW London PCNs
When: Over four weeks in January – February 2024
Where: NW London
How: £750 provided to successful sites for staffing backfill
How to apply: Email Catherine Caldwell by Monday, 11 November, with a brief statement (max. 100 words) on how the funds would be used. 
EDI apprenticeship opportunity 

An exciting EDI apprenticeship opportunity developed by Henley Business School is available.
·
Ahead of the nomination deadline on 18 November 2024, Henley has run a series of Insight webinars with information about the programme structure, modules, and application process. The last of these will take place on 6 November. Book your place here.

Find out more including how to apply. 
User feedback on advanced cloud-based telephony

As part of the national programme to implement advanced cloud-based telephony, NHS England are seeking to obtain user feedback from practices that have gone live with their new system after benefitting from central funding support for implementation.

The national team would have contacted the practice since your new system went live to request that you provide feedback on the benefits of the new system through three online surveys: a practice post go live evaluation for completion by practice management; a staff post go live evaluation for individual members of the practice team and; a patient post go live evaluation.

Engagement with the advanced cloud-based telephony benefits review formed part of each practices’ agreement to participate in the cloud-based telephony programme, but so far, the national team have received very limited responses from NW London practices.

We would be grateful if you could help capture the benefits of advanced cloud-based telephony systems through the following steps:
  1. Complete the practice post go live evaluation
  2. Circulate the link to the staff post go live evaluation to the practice team
  3. Put the link to the Patient Telephony Feedback Survey on your website – suggest that you include your telephony system go live date on the page to ensure that the feedback is relevant.
ICT and Digital Business Continuity Guidance

NW London IT Team, Clinical IT Leads and Primary Care have built a guide that will support you with your own ICT and Digital Business Continuity plans. The document should not be taken as a final plan, but one that can help and support bolster your own. 

As with every business continuity plan, they should be checked regularly to make sure that the information is correct, and any amendments made. We would suggest that the plan is also tested, (like you would with a fire drill) to make sure that your teams understand what do to. 

The latest update can be found here on the NW London Primary Care Systems webpage and will be updated regularly. 

Should you have any questions, please click here to email the team.

Education and training
Help shape the new Equality, Diversity and Improvement (EDI) Plan for primary care

NHS England have scheduled one final opportunity for colleagues from primary care, in clinical and non-clinical roles, to help shape the new EDI Improvement Plan for primary care.

This session, being hosted outside core hours, will be your opportunity to discuss the programme underway, and contribute to this work, share reflections and help co-design and shape this new national resource.  

The session takes place at 7 - 8.30pm on 27 November 2024. Book your place here.

·Please contact the EDI team with questions: england.nationalediteam@nhs.net
Pancreatic cancer webinar
 
The NHS Cancer Programme is launching a pancreatic cancer primary care case-finding pilot, to improve earlier diagnosis rates of pancreatic cancer. We want to use GP patient records to proactively case-find eligible patients - people aged 60 years and over with New Onset Diabetes and weight loss. 

We are seeking Primary Care Networks (with support from Cancer Alliances) who would be interested in piloting this approach to improve pancreatic cancer diagnosis and outcomes for patients.  

Primary Care and Cancer Alliance colleagues are invited to join a webinar at 4pm on Tuesday 12 November 2024 to find out more about the pilot. We will tell you more about the pilot and the expression of interest process, including guidance on how to complete the application form. The webinar will include dedicated time for questions and will be recorded for attendees to refer back to. 

Pancreatic cancer is the 10th most common cancer in England and only 7.3% of people live 5 years or more beyond the date of their diagnosis.  Currently around 77% of staged pancreatic cancers are diagnosed at a late stage. It is hard to diagnose because early symptoms are often vague, non-specific and intermittent. Evidence suggests a link between New Onset Diabetes and pancreatic cancer and paired with weight loss, can provide an early indication of the disease.  

You can register for the virtual webinar here. Please note that a meeting link for the session will be circulated on the day.  

For more information please contact Krishni.Thayaparan@nhs.net.
'Doing what we do but a bit greener' workshops

Join our online series, led by Dr Matt Sawyer, a GP from the North East of England and a leader in sustainable GP surgery training. Dr Sawyer is passionate about helping primary care move towards the NHS Net Zero ambition. Watch a video about the course here. 

We are offering limited number of spaces, split into 3 cohorts. We recommend that multiple people from each practice sign up to participate. 

Find further details and booking information attached.
ICHP CVD education series  

On behalf of Dr Carla Plymen  (Heart Failure Lead, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust), we would like to invite you to the upcoming CVD webinar on “Heart Failure in Primary Care” at 12 - 1pm on Tuesday 19 November 2024. 

In this interactive session, we will provide a comprehensive overview of heart failure, its importance in clinical practice. Review referrals pathways to NWL Heart Failure services and medications utilised. Additionally, we will introduce the Heart Failure Pages on the MyHealth LDN site, a valuable resource for both patients and healthcare professionals. You will have the opportunity to put forward any questions to the panel 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
Bitesize cancer education

Free bitesize cancer education that is being delivered in close collaboration with Gateway C, West London GP cancer leads and secondary care clinicians to develop and deliver high quality bitesize learning resources.

The presentation of skin cancer in primary care session is taking place at 12.45pm on 20 November 2024. Register here.

There are sessions on other topics. Find out more and book here.
Primary Care Systems User Groups

The NW London User Groups are organised to provide surgeries with updates on their clinical systems. They also provide information and updates on other North West London projects and programs to support staff that use IT. These groups are aimed at all surgery staff, from practice managers to receptionists. 

The Primary Care Systems User Groups will be held on the following dates:
 
Tuesday 12 November 2024 at 1pm for Ealing and Hounslow boroughs – joining link.

Thursday 14 November 2024 at 12pm for Central, West and Hammersmith and Fulham boroughs - joining link.

Thursday 14 November 2024 at 1pm for Hillingdon, Harrow and Brent boroughs – joining link. 

The user groups are recorded and placed in the borough teams channels, so if you miss one you can watch on catch up! To join your borough area, please email us and let us know which borough you belong to, and we will add you.
The importance of community engagement for vaccinations webinar

The Royal Society for Public Health has recently completed some research with parents, carers and healthcare professionals living and working in Tower Hamlets, around the importance of community engagement for vaccinations and would like to disseminate their findings. Please find details of the webinar below:

The Importance of Community Engagement for Vaccinations

1 - 2pm on Thursday 14 November 2024

Supporting communities is integral to the practice of public health. Working with local people to promote and protect health helps us prevent diseases and ensure people can live longer and healthier lives. By engaging with communities and understanding their concerns and questions regarding immunisations, we can address them and impact vaccines uptake.

Join us in this free webinar, where we will discuss the importance of community engagement in vaccination strategies and will present the findings of new RSPH research with parents, carers and healthcare professionals living and working in Tower Hamlets.

The webinar is free and open to everyone. Please share it with your networks. You can book your place using this link.
 
A full report will be available in due course. It would be great if you and your teams could attend the webinar – therefore please disseminate the above link to your staff so they can book a place on the webinar.