29 April 2026
Bulletin
Pharmacy bank holiday openings; Measles update; HPV self-sampling; Education and training; and more.

Welcome to this week's primary care bulletin, covering the eight north west London boroughs


Key points this week include:
  • commissioned community pharmacy bank holiday opening hours
  • measles update: epidemiology, changes to guidance and actions for system
  • reduction in GP referrals for general surgery and colorectal at Hillingdon Hospitals
  • HPV self-sampling for cervical screening (SelfScreen) pathway update
  • breast screening dashboard now available.
Education and training:
  • online consultation and SMS digital tools
  • perinatal mental health education event
  • women's health update session
  • breast screening webinar
  • Infection prevention and control refresher webinar
  • functional skills training: Let's flip the equation.
If you have any submissions for this bulletin please complete this Google form. Any enquiries regarding the primary care bulletin should be sent to nclicb.communications@nhs.net with "primary care bulletin" contained within the subject line.

The next bulletin will go out on Wednesday 13 May 2026. The deadline for submissions is 3pm on Monday 11 May 2026

View previous editions.
Commissioned community pharmacy bank holiday opening hours

Community pharmacies are not required to open on bank/public holidays, therefore all London ICBs have commissioned a Bank Holiday Opening Service.  

Please find attached the list of community pharmacies (PDF) which are open for the commissioned Bank Holiday Opening Service. Please note there will also be other community pharmacies which are open on bank holidays, however these are not part of the commissioned service and are opening voluntarily. Also, there may be some pharmacies on the list which are open longer than those listed on the attached list, the hours in the PDF are the hours they are commissioned to open on bank holidays.
Measles update: epidemiology, changes to guidance and actions for system

The UK Health Security Agency established a national standard incident response for measles on 5 March 2026 to oversee the risk assessment and public health response to the increase of measles cases in England and coordinate national multi-agency input. The briefing note (PDF) highlights relevant updates to guidance, resources and training materials and key recommendations for action.
Reduction in GP referrals for general surgery and colorectal at Hillingdon Hospitals

The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Trust is getting a decline in the new referrals to general, surgery and colorectal services.

On investigation of this issue, the Trust found that data published about the waiting times for the clinics was incorrect.  Their department is open for business as usual and to offer your patients the best possible care. We have had some interesting developments, including robotic surgery and benign Upper GI surgery.

Their current waiting times for a first clinic appointment are as follows:
  • general surgery – five days
  • colorectal surgery – five days.
HPV self-sampling for cervical screening (SelfScreen) pathway update

All practices across NHS West and North London ICB will commence on expanding NHS England HPV self-sampling for cervical screening to their eligible population.

This is a groundbreaking step forward in making screening more accessible and empowering for patients and supporting the NHS England's plan to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040. All practices will receive a 'welcome pack' from The Doctor's Laboratory in the coming week. 
Further information is available in these documents:

West and North London ICB HPVSS cover letter
West and North London ICB HPVSS launch pack for primary care.

Clinical systems information: 

SystmOne practices - will need to approve a task called 'organisation group membership invitation'. Once they have done that and restarted SystmOne, all the tools - template, protocols and alerts - will become live in their practice for all staff. Further information can be found in a document (PDF).

North west London EMIS practices - will be sent the tools to import into their EMIS systems. See only the ‘alerts messages’ (last) section within a document (PDF).
Breast screening dashboard now available 

RM Partners and the NHS North West London Business Intelligence Team have developed a breast screening dashboard that shows screening coverage of GP registered women aged 50 - 71 across north west London. It enables clinical and non-clinical teams to view uptake at ICS, borough, PCN and practice level, and highlights variation by demographics, co-morbidities, and deprivation. This insight helps to develop targeted interventions to tailor outreach and encourage breast screening in communities where coverage is lowest.

View on the WSIC dashboard.

Education and training
Online consultation and SMS digital tools

Thank you for taking part in the online consultation and SMS provider demonstration held in March 2026.

For those who were unable to attend, or who would like to revisit the demonstrations, recordings for each supplier are available below. Q&As can be found below:

Accurx – Accurx demonstration (PDF)
Blinx PACO – Blinx PACO demonstration (PDF)
PATCHS – PATCHS demonstration (PDF).

If you would like to arrange a further demonstration at practice or PCN level, please contact the supplier leads directly:
Accurx – Megan Williams 
Blinx PACO – Paul Foster
PATCHS – Vishal Venugopal 

Following the demonstration period, practices are now asked to confirm their preferred online consultation and SMS platform via an online form.

This selection will inform final procurement and on boarding arrangements for the ICB funded platforms commencing from July 2026.

Where possible, practices are strongly encouraged to select a single supplier solution that supports both online consultation and SMS functionality. 

This will support better system integration, simplify workflows, and deliver significant financial efficiencies across the system.

Practices are also encouraged to consider alignment with their PCN or neighbourhood to support future ways of working and collaborative models of care. Please ensure your response reflects your practice’s agreed position.

The deadline for submission is 30 April 2026.

If you have any queries, please contact the Digital Transformation Team via the Digital First Team.
Perinatal mental health educational event

A collaborative study day for maternity, mental health, acute and primary care professionals is taking place on Thursday 25 June 2026, 9am - 5pm. The event focuses on improving integrated support for women and birthing people with complex mental and medical needs.

This in-person event takes place on 150 Du Cane Road, London, W12 0HS. There is a small fee to attend. Book your place via Eventbrite.
Women's health update session

The update for GPs, as well as contraception and sexual health clinicians, will be held on 5 June 2026 at Double Tree Hilton, Elstree. 

Please note you will get CPD events for your participation. There is a cost to attend.

Register through the SP corporate website.
Breast screening webinar

The webinar will be held on 21 May 2026, 1 -  2pm. It will include current updates on breast screening health promotion activity from Dr Mansi Tara, Health Promotion Lead, and an update on recent service-related changes from Steven Davies, Operations Manager, Breast Screening Services. In addition, Dr Bushra Khawaja, RM Partners GP Clinical Lead, will provide a demonstration of the dashboard.

Register for the event via Medtribe.
Infection prevention and control refresher webinar

The webinar covers essential infection prevention and control updates. Topics include standard precautions such as hand hygiene, PPE, as well as managing measles and Legionella. This is ideal for practice staff wanting a practical refresher and the opportunity to ask questions. There are multiple dates to choose from. Book your place through Eventbrite.
Functional skills training: Let's flip the equation

Is a lack of English or Maths not quite adding up? If you have staff who feel a little divided when it comes to confidence with numbers or communication, this could be just the support they need. Central London Healthcare Training Hub is offering functional skills training to help colleagues build confidence, sharpen their skills, and progress with ease - because when the basics click, everything starts to add up. Help us join the dots by registering your interest today.