Bulletin Temporary transfer of community cardiology requests; Update on puberty suppressing hormones; North West London Training Hub's Enhanced Services Newsletter; Various webinars and more.
Welcome to this week's primary care bulletin
Key points this week include:
Temporary transfer of community cardiology requests for direct access echocardiogram - effective immediately
Government ban on puberty suppressing hormones made indefinite
Latest on Compassionate care for all - Help shape the future of adult community specialist palliative care in north west London.
Webinars and training, including:
NW London Training Hub's Enhanced Services Newsletter Free high quality bitesize learning resources and webinars
ICHP masterclass - polypharmacy as a chronic condition: Clinical and ethical approaches in primary care and mental health
Imperial - Temporary transfer of community cardiology requests for direct access echocardiogram - effective immediately
Imperial's Community Cardiology Team are temporarily transferring long-waiting echocardiogram patients from the community cardiorespiratory service to Willesden Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC). This is because the team are frequently exceeding community echo capacity, which has had a detrimental impact on patients and GPs.
This impacts patients from Ealing, and possibly in other parts of west London.
NHS patients who are already receiving these medicines for gender dysphoria or incongruence can continue to access them, as can patients receiving the medicines for other uses.
For children and young people whose access to puberty suppressing hormones have been discontinued (for example, prescriptions from non-UK prescribers) and are not on the waiting list of children’s gender services, NHS England will offer a targeted support from local NHS mental health services in England. Children, young people and their families can access this service, which is being coordinated through NHS Arden and GEM Commissioning Support Unit, by contacting agem.cyp-gnrss@nhs.net or calling 03001316775 and selecting option 3.
Latest on Compassionate care for all - Help shape the future of adult community specialist palliative care in north west London!
Free high quality bitesize learning resources and webinars
There are free high quality bitesize learning resources developed and delivered in collaboration with GatewayC , West London GP Cancer Leads and secondary care clinicians.
Register here to access RMP resources and more from GatewayC, from screening to diagnosis.
You can register here for the next webinar on 'gynecological cancers: red flags and practical tips’ scheduled for Wednesday 15 January 2025, 12.45 - 1.30pm.
ICHP masterclass - polypharmacy as a chronic condition: Clinical and ethical approaches in primary care and mental health
Dr Waseem Jerjes, GP Partner, Hammersmith and Fulham Partnership, and Imperial College Health Partners would like to invite you to attend our upcoming webinar. It takes place on Wednesday 15 January 2025, 12 - 2 pm.
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.
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.
ACT NOW in a sickle cell crisis
NHS England will host a webinar on embedding the ACT NOW approach to effectively identify sickle cell patients in a crisis and provide rapid pain relief and treatment to prevent complications.
Held on Thursday 30 January 2025, 3 - 4pm, the webinar is an opportunity for staff to hear from clinicians implementing ACT NOW and to have questions on the topic answered. Sign up here.
