Primary care bulletin - 4 March 2026

UK Health Security Agency Health protection briefing note: Increase in Mpox cases

Mpox cases in England are increasing, particularly in London. The north west London Infections are predominantly occurring in known risk groups, notably gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM). Most cases are clade IIb, however in the last six weeks there has also been an increase of clade Ib cases in London. Currently there do not appear to be differences between the clades in terms of severity.

The UK Health Security Agency plans to re-issue advice to communities most at risk, remind clinicians to remain vigilant, and improve coverage of two doses of vaccination for those eligible, who are predominantly GBMSM at higher risk of exposure.

Find further guidance in the letter (PDF).

New NHS campaign to help reduce medicine waste in London

This March we are launching a campaign to help people only order the medicines they need and reduce avoidable waste. Nationally unused medicines cost the NHS an estimated £300 million each year and in North West London alone there is around £465k in potential savings. By supporting patients to check what they already have at home before reordering and only request what they need, we can help ensure NHS resources are used effectively.

Please support the campaign by sharing the key messages and materials across your networks and encouraging responsible ordering within your practice. If your practice or pharmacy would like printed copies of some campaign materials, please email the NHS North West London Communications Team to arrange this.

2025/26 access specification: Data review and required actions

On 2 March 2026, NHS North West London issued a letter (PDF) to all Primary Care Networks (PCN) clinical directors and PCN managers for onward cascade to their constituent practices regarding the 2025/26 access specification

The purpose of the letter is to share current PCN performance data for the 2025/26 access specification, and to:

ensure PCNs have full visibility of their recorded activity and progress, thereby enabling them and their constituent Practices to work together to address any gaps or areas of shortfall, and review areas where targeted activity could increase their share of the related funding
remind PCNs of the final submission dates and requirements.

NHS North West London hopes this communication will support PCNs and practices to maximise delivery in the remaining time of 2025/26.

We would also like to thank all PCNs and practices for their hard work and continued collaboration in improving access to general practice and patient outcomes across north west London.

Digital First communications update

In 2025, the NHS started sending digital invitations, reminders and some results for the NHS Cervical Screening Programme, utilising the NHS App.

Following comprehensive user research demonstrating strong support for receiving screening results digitally, the programme will soon make results requiring referral to colposcopy available through the NHS App. This will ensure that all cervical screening communications will be available digitally. Initial feedback, including from our Customer Contact Centre indicating no concerns raised by users to date, suggests good acceptance of digital communications.

Digital First communications first appear as an NHS App notification. If the NHS App message isn’t read within 72 hours, a letter will be sent as a failsafe. Some participants may also receive an SMS notification.

Since June 2025, over three million invitations have been sent via NHS Notify, where 9 out of every 10 invitations have been delivered digitally, with the remainder being sent by post.

This digital transformation supports the NHS commitment to put patients in control of their own healthcare, making it easier to manage appointments and health needs. We would like to thank staff involved in delivering NHS Cervical Screening Programme services for playing an important part in ensuring these changes are communicated to women and people with a cervix coming forward for screening. Please can sample takers inform patients attending cervical screening that if they have the NHS App downloaded, their results will be delivered via the NHS App. If they don’t have NHS App, they will be sent a letter in the post.

Data has shown that participants are booking and attending their appointments quicker if they are communicated with digitally. We are continuing to monitor the impact of uptake of cervical screening and how digital communications affects this.

Continuing to encourage all those eligible remains central to our ambition to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040. We are grateful for the continued efforts to support this aim.

Resources to help encourage participants to download the NHS App and switch on notifications are available for use on NHS Futures, with additional resources coming soon.

For further information, please contact NHS England Digital Screening.

Accurx Scribe free pilot

Accurx Scribe is currently being offered by Accurx as a free pilot for general practice until 30 June 2026.

Accurx Scribe is an AI-powered clinical documentation tool designed to generate consultation notes from patient–clinician conversations, with the aim of supporting clinicians to reduce administrative workload and streamline record keeping.

Accurx Scribe has completed the NHS North West London technical review process, confirming that it has met the required technical checks for use within the north west London environment.

Practices may choose to participate in this pilot directly with Accurx if they feel it may be beneficial for their teams.

Please note that the ICB does not currently fund, commission, or hold a preference for any specific AI scribing or ambient documentation product. Practices are therefore free to consider and trial solutions that best meet their local needs, in line with their own governance processes and information governance requirements.

Following the pilot period, should practices wish to continue using Accurx Scribe, they would be required to enter into a contract directly with Accurx.

Any decision to adopt or trial Accurx Scribe should be made at practice level, ensuring that appropriate data protection, clinical safety, and governance considerations are in place.

If practices wish to learn more about the pilot, they can contact Accurx directly or refer to the supplier's information.

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