4 February 2026
Bulletin
SMS patient messages update; Medicine Supply Notification; IT updates; Education and training; and more.

Welcome to this week's primary care bulletin

Key points this week include:
  • SMS patient messaging update
  • North West London Musculoskeletal (MSK) service
  • north west London hypertension practical guidelines – supporting our wider team
  • update to asthma guideline
  • Identity agent version upgrade for smartcard users
  • Inactive laptops reminder
  • chronic back pain survey.
Medicine update:
  • Medicine Supply Notification - Oxybutynin (Kentera®) 3.9mg/24hours transdermal patches.
Education and training:
  • be part of shaping London’s approach to tackling health inequalities
  • Physical Activity Clinical Champion training
  • GP learning network sessions for GPs working in care homes.
If you have any submissions for this bulletin please email them to the communications inbox - nhsnwl.communications.nwl@nhs.net. View previous editions.


Please note the deadline for submissions is 3pm each Monday.
SMS patient messaging update

From April 2025, the SMS contribution was reduced to 30p per patient, as agreed by NHS North West London under a three-year business case. This change has previously been communicated via bulletins, emails, webinars, and through the Local Medical Committee.

The NHS North West London Digital Transformation and Delivery Team has published a monthly SMS dashboard to support GP practices in monitoring their SMS usage. The dashboard shows the number of messages sent and indicates whether a practice is approaching or exceeding the 30p per patient contribution.

We are currently holding the publication of the latest data to ensure there are no discrepancies. We are working closely with SMS suppliers and data analysts to validate the information before release.

Thank you for your patience and understanding. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Digital Transformation and Delivery Team.
North West London Musculoskeletal (MSK) service

Cora Health North West London MSK service has very good availability to see your chronic MSK pain and rheumatology patients. Please refer on ERS detailing your reasons for referral, any relevant previous clinic letters, and investigations.

chronic pain:
  • acceptance and commitment therapy model helping people to accept their chronic MSK pain diagnosis and offering holistic treatment approaches to help people pursue values based goals
  • MDT team of advanced practice physios, nurses, psychologists and a GPwER.
  • we can offer medicines optimisation where the patient is willing and ready to reduce medication
  • refer on ERS selecting pain management.
rheumatology:
  • consultant led rheumatology clinics with advanced practice physiotherapists
  • for patients with multi-site pain where systemic causes have not been excluded
  • suspected early inflammatory arthritis should still go urgently to the local Trust
  • refer on ERS selecting rheumatology.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please reach out to Daniel Bourke.
North west London hypertension practical guidelines – supporting our wider team

NHS North West London is pleased to share the north west London hypertension practical guidelines, a practical reference for allied health professionals, community pharmacists, as well as colleagues in community settings.

The guidelines bring key information together, covering referral considerations, diagnosis, blood pressure targets, actions, and medications, to help teams manage hypertension confidently and consistently. Direct links and QR codes are included for detailed guidance and resources.

This resource aims to support practical, consistent hypertension care across north west London and can be shared with relevant colleagues and teams.
 
Developed under the clinical oversight of Dr M. Haidar, NHS North West London Clinical Lead for Cardiovascular Disease, Renal and Medicines Optimisation.
Update to asthma guideline

The following North West London guideline has been updated and added to the NHS North West London website.

Asthma Management in Adults (Aged 18 Years and Over): Local Preferred Inhaler Choices and Inhaler Prescribing guide

This guide outlines the management of asthma in adults and locally preferred inhalers choices in North West London, in line with the new collaborative Asthma: diagnosis, monitoring and chronic asthma management (BTS, NICE, SIGN) (November 2024) 

The NW London Asthma Guidelines webinar recordings can be downloaded via Sharepoint.
Inactive laptops reminder

All NHS North West London laptops need to be used regularly to ensure they receive up to date operating, security and application updates.

If laptops aren’t powered on and connected to a GP / corporate network or the internet on a regular basis i.e. a minimum of one full day per month, they will not receive them, resulting in security risks and causing issues for important upgrades.

If laptops are no longer needed or used they should be returned to NHS North West London IT department to be re-deployed and aid asset/budget management.

The IT department can temporarily disable laptops and will implement a policy to disable any device that has not connected to our systems for 60 days from the week beginning 9 February 2026.

To have a device re-enabled you will need to log a call with the IT Service Desk providing a valid phone number.

If you have any questions regarding this please email the Client Systems Team.
Identity agent version upgrade for smartcard user

On 31 March 2026 older versions of the agent may be blocked from authentication, so devices must have the current version, v2.4.10.0, installed before that date.

The install disconnects devices and may require a reboot so the IT department. have been deploying the new agent in the evening between the hours of 8pm and 6am. This is for desktops and laptops. If you believe you still have an older version installed please leave your device powered on and connected to a network or the internet overnight.

From the week beginning 23 February 2026, we will begin deploying the new agent to all devices we identify with the older version installed during normal working hours, Tuesday through Thursday.

You can check your version of IA by hovering over the IA icon in the system tray at the bottom right of your screen, see below.


Additional information can be found on the NHS England Digital website.

If you have any questions regarding this please contact the Client Systems Team.
Chronic back pain survey

Midlands Partnership University NHS Trust is conducting a survey to gather insights into the services and support currently available for patients with chronic back pain within primary care. Your feedback will help identify any gaps in service provision across multiple Primary Care Networks (PCNs).

Your responses will be treated confidentially, both as a PCN manager and for your organisation.

Please review the attached participant Information sheet (PDF) for further details. 

We kindly ask that you complete the survey based on the services you currently provide.

Medicine update
Medicine Supply Notification - Oxybutynin (Kentera®) 3.9mg/24hours transdermal patches
  • Oxybutynin (Kentera®) 3.9mg/24hours transdermal patches are out of stock until late-February 2026
  • Oxybutynin 5mg and 10mg modified-release tablets remain available and can support increased demand
  • Oxybutynin 2.5mg/5ml and 5mg/5ml oral solution sugar free remains available and can support increased demand
  • Oxybutynin 2.5mg and 5mg tablets remain available but cannot support increased demand
  • Alternative anticholinergic/non-anticholinergic agents for urinary incontinence remain available and can support increased demand (see supporting information).
Find out more in the Medicine Supply Notification (PDF).

Education and training
 Be part of shaping London’s approach to tackling health inequalities
 
The London Office of Technology and Innovation is supporting London’s Health Mission, a 10-year endeavour to significantly close the gap in health inequalities in our city by using London’s innovation and digital transformation opportunities. There will be a series of workshops to engage with local government, health, as well as voluntary and community sector professionals working on this theme. All workshops will be held at The Crowndale Centre, 218 Eversholt Street, London, NW1 1BD.

Find out more and register now.
Physical Activity Clinical Champion training

Moving Medicine, in partnership with Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, has organised a number of introduction to the Physical Activity Clinical Champions sessions, focusing on how brief physical activity conversations can be integrated into everyday practice to improve patient outcomes.
 
This session will be delivered by expert sports and exercise medicine registrars and covers:
  • why physical activity matters in clinical care
  • how to confidently deliver brief interventions
  • practical tools you can start using immediately with your patients.
Find out more and book now (PDF).
GP learning network sessions for GPs working in care homes

We're delighted to invite you to our first Learning Network session, which will focus on 10 February 2026, 1 - 2.30pm.

This event is open to all GPs who are working in care homes across London. 

Please register for this Teams event on Eventbrite.

The GP Learning Network will also explore a range of key topics, including:
  • end-of-life care
  • systems interface
  • challenges in sharing clinical information across providers.
All sessions are led by experienced GP colleagues working within care homes across London.

Save the dates for these future sessions on 14 April, 19 May and 8 July 2026. Email Maria Tsiliakou to receive updates.