Primary care bulletin - 11 December 2024

North west London infection prevention and control update - winter 2024-2025

System updates

The Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) team have launched a new webpage which can be found on the NHS North West London website, under the professionals tab.

Please click here to access the IPC webpage.

You will find the latest guidance from NHSE, UKHSA and national guidance relating to standards and IPC compliance which is required for all NHS service providers under the resource tab.

Winter Planning checklist 24/25

This is a checklist for acute NHS service providers which assists in ensuring service provision remains safe throughout the winter months.

Primary care

Winter Planning 24 - 25

There is a winter planning checklist specifically for primary care, general practice services. This can be found under the primary care tab on the IPC webpage.

IPC Practice Lead Training commencing March 2025 - May 2025

This one-day training course is fully funded to ensure all IPC Practice Leads have the education and knowledge required to fulfil their role to lead and implement change.
Please sign up using the QR code on the flyer, this can be found here.

Medical E Governance (MEG)

A total of 161 practices across north west London have signed-up and are using the MEG audit tool to complete the annual IPC audit. It would be great to see higher numbers of usage so we can understand more about what areas of training and resources are needed to help support IPC in primary care.

For further information on MEG, data storage and usage and how to sign up, please follow the link here

Urinary tract infection (UTI) management

There are also resources for reducing UTIs in our communities, which may lead to life threatening E. Coli Blood stream infections. There is a free UTI animation you can download for your patient facing computer screens for public health messaging purposes, please find this on our IPC webpage.

Social Care

We had a very informative IPC conference, held on the 28 November 2024 for adult social care services in north west London, thank you so much to our fantastic guest speakers.

Watch the conference here.

School aged vaccination catch up clinics

The clinics are currently running for any school aged children (aged 4 to 16 – school years Reception to Year 11) who missed their vaccination at school. Dates and times are available by borough (note: north west London clinics are listed under the second header).

Central flu procurement and supply – call for provider engagement

The NHS England Vaccination Strategy sets an ambition to improve the efficiency and responsiveness of vaccine supply. As part of this, the aim is to explore the potential costs and benefits of centralising the procurement and supply of adult flu vaccine.

NHS England want to hear from providers of the adult flu vaccination service about the current procurement model and how this supports delivery of the flu programme. Providers are invited to complete a questionnaire which takes 15-20 minutes and is anonymous. The deadline for completion is close Tuesday 17 December 2024. Thank you in advance for taking the time to provide feedback.

New integrated healthy lifestyles service in Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea

The new smoking cessation and cardiovascular prevention services in Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea are now available. As of 9 December 2024, One You Westminster and One You Kensington and Chelsea are now delivered by Reed in Partnership.

Both services continue to offer smoking cessation and cardiovascular prevention services, with a renewed focus on addressing health inequalities. Working closely with voluntary and community sector organisations, partners and residents, and building on the great work done by Thrive Tribe, support is now targeted towards those who need it most including global majority/Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, people with a disability and those with mental health issues.

Find out more, including about how you can refer to the new service.

Compassionate care for all - improving community specialist palliative care for adults in north west London

Public consultation 18 November 2024 to 24 February 2025.

View the latest newsletter.

Public deliberation findings on future of primary care services in London published

A new report, setting out the views of the public on the future of primary care services in London has been published.

More than 100 members of the public, NHS staff and those working in social care, took part in a series of deliberative workshops commissioned by NHS England London and the five London ICBs, giving their views on primary care services including GP and dental care.

The workshops examined people’s views on potential for change and improvement in key areas, including initial access to healthcare services, triage and prioritisation, team-based working in healthcare and ‘onward and proactive’ primary care services.

The insights captured in the report will feed into local, ICB and regional strategies, bringing the public’s experiences and expectations into the heart of future policy design and service transformation for the region and into the national engagement exercise to co-develop a 10 Year Health Plan.

Information on Universal Care Plan coding

It has come to our attention that the UCP code (advance care plan 736366004) has been missing from the searches. Please note the code isn't enabled in EMIS, so EMIS practices are unable to enter the code. However, the code will be populated in the patient's record once the UCP is completed in Valeda. The searches for Asthma or COPD priority group and oxygen therapy have been amended to include this code for payment.

Further information will follow.

Find out more about UCPs.

Post COVID Service referrals

Send all referrals to ‘NWL Post Covid SPA’ – via eRS.

See a reminder of eRS information needed to refer to the north west London Post COVID Service:

Trust Name: Central London Healthcare NHS Trust
Speciality: Post-Covid-19 Syndrome
Service Name: North West London Post Covid Single Point of Access
Service ID: 7982011
Location: WOODFIELD ROAD MEDICAL CENTRE.

For further information on coding, the referral pathway and offers from community and PCAC see the updated website.

For any queries or questions about the service or referrals, please send an email to: clcht.nwlpcspa@nhs.net

Frequently asked questions about tirzepatide

Please find attached an FAQ document about the roll out of tirzepatide (also known as mounjaro) across the NHS.

The recent announcement from NICE means patients will only be able to access tirzepatide, where clinically appropriate, within 90 days of NICE's final guidance being published for specialist weight management services and 180 days in primary care.

Final guidance is expected to be published on 23 December 2024.

NHS North West London will be working with NHS England and its providers across the sector to implement NICE recommendations. Further updates will be provided in the new year.

Introducing the Parkview Children's walk-in centre pilot in Hammersmith and Fulham

The Parkview Childrens' walk-in centre pilot (Hammersmith and Fulham), a new service designed to provide immediate care for children aged 0-5 years old within Hammersmith and Fulham, has now launched.

The walk-in centre pilot offers a convenient and accessible way for parents and caregivers to get medical attention for their young children without scheduling an appointment. Our team of experienced GPs and advanced practice staff will provide treatment for a variety of minor illnesses and injuries.

Find out what the service covers and opening hours.

Decarbonising Primary Care Estates across London

The NHS aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2040, with an 80% reduction target by 2032. Primary care accounts for 25% of the NHS carbon footprint, requiring urgent action to decarbonise its estates.

The London Estates Development Unit (LEDU) is supporting GP practices with tailored sustainability solutions to reduce emissions, improve efficiency and cut energy costs.

Sustainability solutions include:

Energy-efficient retrofits: Insulation, double glazing, and heating/cooling management
Solar panels: On-site renewable energy generation
Heat pumps: Zero-carbon heating and cooling.

LEDU is also working with partners to provide financing options to support installation and will also be hosting upcoming webinars and workshops to support GPs with their sustainability needs.

For more details, or to arrange a call to discuss, please email Primarycarenzc@london.gov.uk.

Interested in testing an innovation to improve the detection of cardiovascular disease?

An opportunity for North West London Primary Care Networks (PCNs) and community organisations to test an innovation that addresses challenges around cardiovascular disease (CVD) screening.

We are inviting north west London Organisations to test a novel point-of-care test that addresses the challenges of CVD screening in communities. PocDoc combines a digital app with microfluidic assay technology to measure the full lipid panel, HBA1C, QRISK3, heart age, and BMI in under 10 minutes via a tablet or phone. Results, including blood pressure, are automatically sent to patients, and can be shared with clinicians via NHS Mail and GP Connect.

This project forms part of the NHS North West London's mission, which seeks to prevent 25% of heart attacks and strokes in our local population, while actively addressing health inequalities in cardiovascular disease by 2029. Participating organisations will be supported by an integrated team from Imperial College Health Partners (ICHP), the North West London Health Innovation Network, PocDoc and NHS North West London

If you are not interested in this point-of-care testing project but you are interested in working on other innovation projects, please do complete the appropriate form.

Access the form and find out how to apply.

NHS England London region Controlled Drugs Newsletter - Winter Edition 2024

The Winter 2024 newsletter from the NHS England London Region Controlled Drug Accountable Office (CDAO) team is out now. We will be once again circulating this to LIN members, community pharmacies, GP Practices and relevant private prescribers across the London Region.

Please also find attached for your information, a guide for reporting controlled drug incidents and concerns.

You can also access this newsletter and previous copies via the Resource Centre on the CD Reporting website.

The next edition will follow in Summer 2025.

Guidance for the collection of patient ethnicity data

The London Region Immunisation Team are pleased to publish the following practical information to help practices in the collection of patient ethnicity data. All information provided is intended to support updating existing patient records and newly registered patients. The GP information pack and posters, created in November 2022, include supportive information on the collection of patient ethnicity, benefits for the patient and systems, statutory responsibilities and supportive coding guidance and materials. Should General Practice teams have any additional queries about ethnicity coding or data please see page 14 in the GP information pack.

Red tape challenge survey

On 3 October 2024 the Secretary of State for Health and Care and the NHS Chief Executive announced a rapid review of the bureaucracy between primary and secondary care – named ‘The Red Tape Challenge’ – reporting early in the new year.

The purpose of the review is to improve understanding of the issues for patients, providers and commissioners, and set out more immediate, operational improvements that could be adopted. The review provides an opportunity to build on and accelerate existing work and engagement on the interface between primary and secondary care. See further information in these documents (one and two).

NHS England is seeking the views of stakeholders, as well as patients/carers, and the general public.

Please complete this survey.

A patient/carers and public survey can be found here.

WorkWell – does it impact on patient benefits?

Michael Begley, Provisions Manager for Jobcentre Plus (JCP), West London District Office clarifies, ”This voluntary initiative is designed to support individuals in north west London who are economically inactive due to health barriers. No matter how long a person has been unemployed, individuals should have no concerns about losing their benefits if they are interested in joining or have already joined the WorkWell programme”.

The WorkWell-North West London programme offers a comprehensive approach by providing tailored support and resources to improve health and wellbeing, and ultimately enhance their ability to engage in meaningful employment. We encourage all practices to inform their patients about this valuable opportunity and to reassure them that their benefits will remain unaffected by their participation in the programme.

To refer patients into WorkWell:

Tel: 0808 196 2386

For professionals only, email: nclicb@nhs.net

Website: shawtrust.org.uk/workwell-west-london/

Scan the QR code on the flier: