19 December 2024
Bulletin:
A festive message; Asks ahead of Christmas; Pharmacy opening hours; Information on the winter campaigns and vaccines; and more.

Welcome to this week's primary care bulletin

Key points this week include:
  • Primary care bulletins during the festive period
  • A festive message 
  • Asks ahead of Christmas
  • Pharmacy opening hours
  • Tackling modern slavery in NHS procurement: proposed regulations and guidance
  • UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) health protection briefing note: Influenza virological surveillance
  • UKHSA vaccine update
  • Preparing for a successful spring 2025 COVID-19 vaccination programme
  • Community specialist palliative care public consultation
  • Implementation of zero tolerance action to samples received in the laboratory with an incorrect PIN or no PIN
  • Latest SMS fragment data and update on patient messaging.
Webinars and training, including:
  • Pharmacists for greener healthcare - how to communicate with patients to reduce their pharmaceutical footprint workshop
  • Final dates released for polypharmacy action learning set workshops
  • ICHP masterclass - polypharmacy as a chronic condition: Clinical and ethical approaches in primary care and mental health 
  • Are your medicines working for you? Translations for SMRs  

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
Primary care bulletins during the festive period

We plan to send out the bulletin on these dates:
  • Wednesday 18 December 2024 (content deadline 3pm on Monday 16 December 2024)
  • Monday 23 December 2024 (content deadline 3pm on Friday 20 December 2024)
  • Friday 3 January 2025 (content deadline 12pm on Thursday 2 January 2025, but mostly will be content sent over festive period)
  • Wednesday 8 January 2025 (content deadline 3pm on Monday 6 January 2025) with continuation of this routine thereafter.

A festive message

Dear colleagues,

As we approach the end of the year I wanted to take this opportunity to reflect on 2024.

Once again primary care has provided phenomenal care for the residents of north west London.

General practice consistently delivers more appointments for their patients whilst at the same time tackling important preventative strategies such as rolling out the new RSV vaccine.

This year has also seen you managed the increased measles cases. The launch of Pharmacy First in February brought with it new adaptations to ways of working, especially for our community pharmacist. Our dental colleagues have achieved similar levels of activity to pre-Covid levels.

I am always so proud to represent the primary care teams of north west London and I continue to be passionate about the amazing work we do.

Thank you so much for all of your hard work. Your teams consistently go above and beyond for patients and it is a privilege to work with you.

Christmas and New Year are still very busy clinical periods but I hope you do get a time during those weeks to spend some time relaxing with those family and friends close to you.

I look forward to continuing to help our residents improve health and wellbeing in 2025.

Best wishes,

Clinical Lead - Primary Care
Genevieve Small
Asks ahead of Christmas

Please remind patients to check that they have enough medication to cover the Christmas and new year period.

Furthermore, please ensure that your websites and answerphone messages let patients know that they are able to contact 111 online, as well as by phone. This will help 111 better manage demand on bank holidays.
Pharmacy opening hours

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

There may be additional pharmacies opening which are not listed. If the pharmacy the patient would like to visit is not listed, then they can check their opening hours by searching at www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-pharmacy or by calling NHS 111.

In addition, there will be some pharmacies who normally open who may be closed or closing early on Tuesday 24 December and Tuesday 31 December 2024. Any patient who is unsure can visit www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-pharmacy or call NHS 111.
Tackling modern slavery in NHS procurement: proposed regulations and guidance

The Government is consulting on new regulations and guidance to eradicate modern slavery in healthcare supply chains. It includes seeking views on:
  • How the regulations will be implemented
  • The impact of the regulations on tackling modern slavery
  • How public bodies want to be supported to implement these new duties.
Please share your views by 11.59pm on Thursday 13 February 2024.
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) health protection briefing note: Influenza virological surveillance

The UKHSA has updated guidance for influenza virological surveillance arrangements for winter 2024/25. Clinical diagnostic laboratories are asked to:
  1. Ensure that influenza subtyping (for H1/H3) is attempted on all severe influenza A cases (ITU/HDU/ECMO/fatal cases), either locally or in a UKHSA laboratory
  2. During the winter epidemic period, arrange for a proportion of influenza A positive material to be subtyped - either using validated subtyping assays locally OR by referring a locally-agreed proportion of influenza A positive samples to a UKHSA Clinical Network Laboratory (CNL)
  3. Forward influenza A positive samples for which subtyping attempts have failed (unsubtypeable samples) to the UKHSA respiratory virus reference unit (RVU Colindale)
  4. Forward samples from cases with suspected exposure to avian influenza to UKHSA CNLs for H5 subtyping.

    Read the summary
UKHSA vaccine update

This newsletter includes:
  • Flu vaccination uptake
  • Updated publication materials for pregnant
  • Women, pre-school and children at one year of age upcoming and past immunisation events routine, as well and non-routine vaccine supply.
Read the update here.
Preparing for a successful spring 2025 COVID vaccination programme

Thank you for your support and commitment to deliver the 2024 autumn COVID and flu
vaccination campaigns. Up to 9 December 2024, we have delivered over 9 million COVID
and over 17 million flu vaccinations. We have also introduced the RSV programme, which
has given over a million vaccinations together with the ongoing delivery of existing routine
immunisation programmes.

We need to continue to work collaboratively and focus on areas of low uptake, increasing
access, confidence and opportunity for all. NHS England will work with systems to identify
areas of need so that appropriate

Read the attached to see full details.
Community specialist palliative care public consultation

All GP practices in north west London should now have received a small package of summary consultation documents and posters. Please can we ask you to make sure they are put in a public area and the posters put up on notice boards.  If you have not seen your package please let us know by emailing nhsnwl.endoflife@nhs.net.

If you have not done so we would also appreciate your support by sharing information about the consultation with your patients. This could be by:
  • Putting the poster on your noticeboards
  • Sharing information through your social media channels
  • Adding an article to your website or any patient newsletter.
We have also produced an animated case study that can be placed on your practice TV screens. All information and resources can be found on our website at www.nwlondonicb.nhs.uk/cspcresources.

Find out the latest on the consultation including a round up of feedback at our first three consultation events.
Implementation of zero tolerance action to samples received in the laboratory with an incorrect PIN or no PIN

We wrote to you on 25 September 2024 and held a webinar on 6 November 2024 to explain the zero-tolerance approach being taken from to the management of samples received in the laboratory without a valid/incorrect Sample Taker PIN or No Sample Taker (ST) PIN. This is to be fully implemented on 1 January 2025. 

NHS England London, and Cervical Screening London (CSL) laboratory would like to thank all those sample takers who have responded to requests to:
  • Register for your unique ST PIN
  • For those already registered, to check you are using the correct ST PIN.
1 January 2025 is fast approaching and there remains further work to be undertaken to ensure full/fuller compliance with the national guidance.

The November 2024 Cervical Sample Taker Database (CSTD) audit findings in November 2024 informs as found below.
  • Number of sample takers using an incorrect PIN was 418
  • Number of sample takes with no PIN was 165.
It is very important that immediate action is taken to ensure compliance. Please see the attached documents, a letter to support you with CSTD queries, registration and checking you are using the correct ST PIN. It also includes a flow chart that explains the management process of samples that are received with no ST PIN or an incorrect PIN.

This guidance applies to all NHS cervical screening stakeholders and will be shared across the system.
Latest SMS fragment data and update on patient messaging

Please find attached the SMS fragment allocation for April - October 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.

The SMS allocation percentages have been updated to include seasonal messages and the increase in messages during March for QOF, we have changed the allocation from a 6% increase per month to 9% from October 2024 – February 2025 and will be at 15% in March. This may mean that GP practices move from Amber to Red or Red to Purple but we have done this to help practices stay within their allocation or see how much they may be charged at the end of the year.

Read our recap and important points to note.

Education and training
Pharmacists for greener healthcare - how to communicate with patients to reduce their pharmaceutical footprint workshop

Pharmacists for greener healthcare are hosting an online workshop. Don’t miss this chance to connect with fellow members and learn from leading experts about sustainable practices in the pharmaceutical sector.

It takes place at 11am on 19 December 2024.

Register here.
Final dates released for polypharmacy action learning set workshops

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

The National Polypharmacy Programme exclusively invites our north west 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. 

We are also looking for prescribers to register their interest in sessions in 2025 and 2026. 

By registering their interest prescribers will be offered priority places.

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 amar.singh@imperialcollegehealthpartners.com.
ICHP masterclass - polypharmacy as a chronic condition: Clinical and ethical approaches in primary care and mental health 

Dr Waseem Jerjes, GP Partner of Hammersmith and Fulham GP Partnership, and Imperial College Health Partners would like to invite you to attend our upcoming polypharmacy as a chronic condition: clinical and ethical approaches in primary care and mental health webinar on Wednesday 15 January 2025, 12 - 2pm.

The session will focus on strategies for deprescribing in primary care and addressing mental health. polypharmacy. The aims of this masterclass include redefining polypharmacy and exploring its implications in primary care, with a focus on the ethical and psychological elements of deprescribing, including shared-decision making. It will also address the challenges of evidence-based strategies managing mental health polypharmacy while emphasising the role of personalised medicine and a multidisciplinary approach in enhancing patient outcomes.

Please bring along any questions for discussion.   

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 Amar Singh.
Are your medicines working for you? Translations for SMRs  

ICHP are looking to roll out the translated polypharmacy – are your medicines working for you across the wider north west London footprint. The patient facing checklist aims to help patients and health professionals have conversations about medicines. Are your medicines working for you? focuses on empowering patients to have discussions and structured medication review with their GP, practice pharmacist, or other health professional.

For further information and/or to get involved with the ICHP Polypharmacy Programme please contact  

catherine.caldwell@imperialcollegehealthpartners.com