Primary care bulletin - 6 August 2025

UK Health Security Agency Health Protection Briefing Note 2025/024: Increasing detection of sexually transmitted Trichophyton mentagrophytes genotype VII infections

Skin infections of the face, body, groin and genitals caused by Trichophyton mentagrophytes genotype VII (TMVII), a dermatophyte fungus, are increasingly being reported across Europe and have been detected in the UK. Due to the highly inflammatory, pustular nature of infections, clinicians may not suspect a fungal infection, thus accurate diagnosis and treatment may be delayed. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) advises that TMVII be suspected in cases of dermatitis and where there has been no improvement after first line antibacterial or antiviral treatment for alternative diagnoses. Find out more in the briefing note.

If you get any queries, please email Andrew Borman of the UKHSA.

Upcoming removal of legacy data drives – project transition update

As part of our ongoing efforts to modernise and streamline our digital infrastructure, we will be removing access to the legacy shared and personal drive, which you should have stopped using by now.

Find out what this entails and prepare now.

Serious Shortage Protocols for Cefalexin - extension

Because of ongoing supply issues, we are extending the Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs) SSP077 (Cefalexin 125mg/5ml oral suspension sugar free) and SSP078 (Cefalexin 250mg/5ml oral suspension sugar free), of which the former ended on 1 August 2025 with the latter due to end on 8 August 2025.

The new end date for these SSPs is Friday 26 September 2025.

The SSPs are available to view on the NHS Business Service Authority (BSA)’s dedicated SSP web page.

If you have any questions regarding the SSPs please email the NHS Prescription Service.

Updated Patient Group Directions for inactivated influenza vaccine and HPV

The following Patient Group Directions have been published:

NHSE UKHSA Inactivated Influenza Vaccine PGD v14.0
NHSE UKHSA HPV Vaccine PGD v7.0.

They can be found halfway down the linked webpage.

Availability of live attenuated influenza vaccine

The availability of live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) cannot be confirmed until late summer. This is due to the complex manufacturing and regulatory processes (some of which are unique to LAIV) that are required before the vaccine is released to the market, further to a rapid production period following the World Health Organization announcement on strains in late February each year.

As with all vaccines, flu vaccines are biological products and manufacture can be unpredictable. But unlike other vaccines used in the routine immunisation programme, flu vaccines are ‘just in time’ products, manufactured under very pressurised timelines – and in very large volumes, both of which add risk and complexity to the process.

Additionally, there are multiple flu vaccine ‘platforms’ (e.g: egg-based and cell-based), and vaccine production systems differ across these platforms which can affect timelines for individual products. LAIV is an egg-based vaccine.

Deliveries of LAIV to UKHSA are phased throughout the autumn, and UKHSA opens ordering as soon as sufficient vaccine has been made available to support the demand from providers of the programme, and in 2025 it is anticipated that this will be in early September.

UKHSA advise that the likelihood of vaccine availability should be taken into account when vaccination sessions are being arranged, to reduce the risk of disruption to planned activity should vaccine not yet be available, and providers of the programmed should check the ImmForm news page regularly.

Additional notes are available.

Single Point of Access - inner London

From Monday 4 August 2025 we have changed our booking process for patients referred to podiatry, bladder and bowel, specialist weight management, falls prevention and diabetes services within the triborough - Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster.

The patients referred to these five services will now have seven days, instead of 14 days from the date they receive a welcome letter to make contact and book/agree an appointment date.

Once accepted by the service, the Single Point of Access (SPA) admin team will contact the patient using the contact details available on the referral. If they are unable to make contact, the SPA admin team will send a welcome letter which allows them seven calendar days from the date on the letter to make contact either by calling 020 8102 5555 or emailing on CLCHT.BookingSupport@nhs.net. They will then be added to a waiting list.

Finally, SPA admin will call the patients on this waiting list on day seven to try and offer/book appointment or will leave a voicemail and/or text to alert that they will be discharged the next day (day eight), allowing them the opportunity to make contact asap.

If patients still do not make contact, they will be discharged back to the referrer on day eight.

Consultation for executive directors

Whilst the joint Chair and CEO appointments processes are underway, Rob Hurd has worked with Frances O’Callaghan, CEO of North Central London ICB, to co-design a future proposed joint executive management team structure.

Consultation with executive directors of both ICBs started on 5 August 2025. This formal consultation process is expected to run until early September and will be followed by the appointments process in accordance with the change management policies.

We understand that there will be a lot of interest in what the proposed executive structure might look like and we want to be as open as we can. However, at this stage, we won’t be able to share the proposed structure more widely.

It is envisaged that the agreed new executive management team structure will be shared before the end of September. Please be sensitive to ICB executive directors as they go through the consultation process.

Thank you letter from Wes Streeting MP and Sir James Mackey

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the CEO of NHS England express their gratitude for your support during the recent resident doctors' strike.

Education and training