20 November 2024
Bulletin:
Cervical screening information; Pharmacy First launches; World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week; and more.

Welcome to this week's primary care bulletin

Key points this week include:
  • Cervical screening next test due dates and results 
  • Pharmacy First national campaign launches
  • NHS North West London MyHealthLondon platform is now open to all practices
  • It's World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week 
  • NHS North West London statement on Oviva
  • Pharmacy opening hours for Christmas and New Year Holidays 2024/2025 
  • Public consultation 18 November 2024 to 24 February 2025
Webinars and training, including:
  • North west London Homeless Health Clinical Community of Practice
  • Holistic health webinars (for primary care staff)
  • Chronic pain in primary care and Opioid Harm Reduction Programme MDT for Brent, Harrow and Hammersmith and Fulham patients
  • ICHP polypharmacy masterclass - Oral Nutritional Supplements (ONS)  
  • Training and development opportunity for GP practice administrative and reception
  • Calling north west London practice pharmacists and PCN staff managing chronic pain 

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
Cervical screening next test due dates and results 

The NHS England Screening Team in London has become aware that a large number of patients have been contacting The Eve Appeal regarding the date of their next cervical screening test or chasing results letters after being signposted there by healthcare professionals.
 
Where patients request information around their next cervical screening test or results, please check the Cervical Screening Management Service (CSMS) in the first instance. If further help is required, contact the NHS Cervical Screening Administration Service, see the Contact us section.
 
If you have any further questions or believe there has been a screening incident you can contact the Regional Screening Commissioning Team at england.ypa@nhs.net.
Pharmacy First national campaign launches

On Monday 11 November 2024, NHS England launched the second phase of the advertising campaign promoting Pharmacy First, which highlights how Community Pharmacists can now provide treatment and some prescription medicine for seven conditions, if appropriate, without the need for a GP appointment or prescription.

The campaign will run for six weeks and the adverts are appearing on video-on-demand, on radio, in social media and at poster sites across England. It is supported by partnership activity, PR, and multicultural outreach. Assets including accessible formats are available to download and use by primary care teams on the Campaign Resource Centre.
NHS North West London MyHealthLondon platform is now open to all practices

Building on the success of Know Diabetes, the NHS North West London MyHealth London platform is now open to all practices in north west London, joining over 40 practices that have completed wave One.

Your practice has been invited to sign up for the MyHealth London Service via the Data Control Console. An email inviting your practice was sent on 19 November (from data.controller.console@notifications.service.gov.uk, “DCC” or “Data Controller Console”). Once signed up, patients on the following QOF registers – Hypertension, Coronary Heart Disease, Stroke/TIA, Heart failure, Peripheral Arterial Disease and Chronic Kidney Disease - will be invited to access the platform and view their personalised health dashboard, access CVD eLearning courses and be sent lifestyle and behaviour change ‘nudge’ campaigns to support their health and wellbeing.

Communication Pack

The link to the MyHealthLondon comms pack is: https://www.myhealthlondon.nhs.uk/media/6971/myhealth-london-comms-pack.zip. You can promote the platform on your website, print off and display our QR code posters, add a signature to your email linking to the website, or use the social media graphics on your social media channels.

Why is this important?

Early evaluations of Know Diabetes account holders have shown significant benefits, including a 20% reduction in primary care activity, improved biometrics such as lower blood pressure and BMI, and increased patient confidence and commitment. As more patients activate their accounts, the positive impact on this patient cohort continues to grow.
It's World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week 

The 2024 theme, Educate. Advocate. Act Now, encourages everyone to educate themselves about antimicrobial resistance (AMR), advocate for bold commitments, and take concrete actions to combat AMR. By making informed choices, we can help prevent the spread of antibiotic resistance and protect future health.

Key webinars are taking place:
  • Recognising infection and improving antibiotic use in people with a learning disability or autism on Thursday 21 November 2024, 12.30 - 1.30pm. 
    Register here
  • Launch: Resource for Prescribing Improvement Schemes Concept on Friday 22 November 2024, 12.30 - 1.30pm. Register here.
Find further information, including on tips on how you can help to combat AMR and promote safer antimicrobial use, attached.
NHS North West London statement on Oviva

NHS North West London has been made aware of recent direct contact by digital weight management provider Oviva to general practices, offering access to Tier 3 weight management services under Right to Choose. NHS North West London has not commissioned Oviva to provide weight management services. 

We have no visibility on the expectations of general practice for monitoring patients under this service. 

NHS North West London is in discussion with NHS England to gain clarification on commissioning and financial questions that arise from this to ensure that any information being shared is accurate. We are going to conduct a due diligence process for the Oviva service to ensure it meets the requirements of NHS North West London and our patients. 

We will publish a further update as soon as this process is complete.
Pharmacy opening hours for Christmas and New Year Holidays 2024/2025 

Bank Holidays can affect the opening hours of local pharmacies. The attached document provides the opening hours for pharmacies in north west London, alongside other boroughs from the capital, which have been asked to open over the Christmas and New Year Bank Holiday Days. 

As explained in detail in the document, some pharmacies aren't listed. Additionally, some pharmacies might amend their opening hours in the days before and after the official Bank Holidays.
Public consultation 18 November 2024 to 24 February 2025

NHS North West London is inviting the public and other stakeholders to share their views on proposed improvements to adult community specialist palliative care services across the region. These proposals are part of a commitment to provide compassionate, high-quality support for residents facing serious or life-limiting illnesses.

To find out more visit www.nwlondonicb.nhs.uk/cspc 

Education and training
North west London homeless health clinical community of practice

The meeting takes place on Thursday 5 December 2024, 12 - 1 pm on MS Teams. Here is a meeting link for on the day.

We have a couple of guest speakers confirmed: Dr Caroline Shulman (Inclusion Health Clinician and Researcher Honorary Senior Lecturer, UCL Pathway Senior Clinical Fellow - Homelessness and Palliative Care) and Dr Lyndsey Williams (GP and Clinical Lead, NW London End of Life Programme). They will be presenting on ‘End of life and Homelessness’ and there will be an opportunity to ask questions at the end of their joint presentation.

We will also have an opportunity for you to bring any:
  • Anonymised cases for peer discussion / sharing of expertise
  • homeless health projects that would benefit from advice from the support network
  • System blocks you're experiencing with accessing support for this population.

 If you have anything else you’d like to suggest for the agenda, please email Janaka Yatigammana.

Please forward this email to any fellow clinicians you think would like to attend.
Holistic health webinars (for primary care staff)

This are a series of holistic health webinars for staff, focused on workplace wellness. mind and body. Webinars will be delivered by Work Well Doctors.

21 November 2024, 1 - 2.30pm - Resilience and burnout

The WorkWell Doctors will take you through understanding stress and burnout, the physical impacts on our minds and bodies. Through our busy lives working in healthcare, there are some practical strategies which we can use to understand how to help with the everyday stressors of work life.They will also discuss helpful tools to improve your wellbeing at work and at home.

Book here

10 December 2024 - 1 - 2.30pm - Culture in the workplace 

Workplace culture is fundamental to how any team works. Understanding workplace culture, and how to create and maintain a positive one in the NHS, has proven benefits to help to improve staff satisfaction, staff retention and patient outcomes. We will help to define workplace culture and provide practical strategies on how to improve this for your team. 

Book here

Next in this series (dates and booking links will be shared in due course): 
  • Rest, sleep and health
  • Boundary setting and break culture
  • Menopause
  • Habits and physical activity
  • Mental Health
Chronic pain in primary care and Opioid Harm Reduction Programme MDT for Brent, Harrow and Hammersmith and Fulham patients

On behalf of Dr Ian Bernstein (Responsible Officer and Musculoskeletal Physician Connect Health), we would like to invite you to the upcoming chronic pain in primary care and Opioid Harm Reduction Programme MDT meeting on 28 November 2024, 12 - 1.30pm. You are welcome to refer patients even if formal reviews have not yet begun or simply attend to listen to the discussions or theoretical cases presented by others.  

Please click here to register for the session. 

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

We hope to have attendance from practice and PCN clinical pharmacists, social prescribing link workers, health coaches, care coordinators, GPs, the community MSK pain team, and Imperial College Health Partners. Please forward this invitation to your practice and PCN teams, as well as the invitees listed above, as we do not have their contact details. Even if you do not have a case to discuss, there is much to be learned from hearing how others are managing chronic pain. Feel free to join or leave the meeting as your schedule permits; we understand your time is valuable. 

For further information and/or to get involved with the Chronic Pain in Primary Care & Opioid Harm Reduction Programme please contact catherine.caldwell@imperialcollegehealthpartners.com 
ICHP polypharmacy masterclass - Oral Nutritional Supplements (ONS)  

John Adams, Vittoria Romano and Imperial College Health Partners would like to invite you to attend our upcoming Polypharmacy Masterclass - Oral Nutritional Supplements (ONS) on Wednesday 27 November 2024 from 12 - 2pm.

This session will focus on improving understanding and prescribing practices for ONS, with a special emphasis on the impact of polypharmacy and the importance of appropriate use for healthcare professionals across all settings—not just dietitians.  

Please click here to register for the session.   

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 
Training and development opportunity for GP practice administrative and reception 

We are pleased to offer an opportunity from Digital Transformation and Delivery Team in partnership with NAPC (National Association for Primary Care) in north west London for practices and PCNs to take part in a new and exciting Primary Care Training and Development Opportunity Supporting practice and administration staff.  This builds on a pilot which commenced over the Summer. 

What is the programme?

The four module programme will help staff to:
  • Establish a consistent approach to triage and request management for the most common requests across practices
  • Ensure you have the tools, skills and forum to maximise the use of digital tools to help improve access, patient and staff experience
  • Gain confidence in the use of digital tools to help you do your job more effectively
  • Feel better supported and empowered to navigate requests effectively, manage complexity and develop stronger personal and team resilience in challenging situations.

Who is this for?

We are looking for 2-3 admin and reception staff from a practice (including one person who is a decision maker in the practice and has authority to enact change (practice manager or clinician) and 2-3 practices across the PCN to take part in this programme which will be delivered via mixed sessions with other practices and PCNs across north west London to promote shared learning and networking. 

When does the programme start?

The next cohorts are due to commence on 28 November and 5 December 2024.

Where can I find out more?

To find out more, please see the attached flyer which should be shared widely within your teams and book onto one of the two briefing webinars:

Wednesday 13 November 2024, 12:30 - 1.30pm

Tuesday 19 November 2024, 12:30 - 1.30pm

Please email your expression of interest to join a briefing webinar by contacting us at nhsnwl.digitalfirst@nhs.net
Calling north west London practice pharmacists and PCN staff managing chronic pain

Managing chronic pain, particularly when discussing deprescribing, can be complex. Connect Health (north west London MSK Partnership provider) are offering an opportunity to enhance your approach with evidence-based strategies designed to empower your patients in managing their pain more effectively.

This tailored program for practice pharmacists and PCN staff will enable you to:
  • Adopt a coaching mindset to support chronic pain management
  • Communicate the latest insights on chronic pain with confidence
  • Promote non-pharmacological alternatives to improve patient outcomes
    Refine your consultation skills to foster patient engagement and support deprescribing
The course consists of two interactive sessions, available in December, please click here to register your interest.

Feel free to circulate this invite to other NW London practice pharmacists and PCN staff who may be interested.