Welcome to this week's primary care bulletin

Key points this week include:

• CNWL adult ADHD clinic temporary closure to new referrals notice/ADHD medications supply
• CNWL autism roadmap - support for parents, families and carers
• Diabetes in children and DKA - new resources available 
• Ealing extranet to close on Friday 15 December
• Women's health in North West London - what are your experiences?
• Support for staff affected by the conflicted in Palestine and Israel
• Training, webinars and more

Please note the CNWL Adult ADHD Clinic is temporarily closed to new referrals. See CNWL Adult ADHD Assessment and Treatment Service

Patients can request to be referred to an independent sector provider under NHS Right to Choose if deemed clinically appropriate. A list of providers offering services under Right to Choose and their current wait times is available at Right to Choose - ADHD UK 

In addition you will be aware there is a national shortage of medications for those diagnosed with ADHD. Guidance for GPs is available on the ICB website

Click here to see weekly updates of what medications are available. 

CNWL has launched a new digital tool to help parents and carers find support for children and young people that have been diagnosed with autism, or who may be waiting for a formal diagnosis. 

You can access the Autism Roadmap online at the new dedicated webpage

Autistic people may require support with things like communication, interaction with others, using their imagination, being flexible and feeling overwhelmed by activity in the world around them.

 Autism is different for everyone, but this roadmap offers advice and guidance about some of the challenges autistic people may face and how our services can help. Topics include behaviour, communication and language, sensory, eating habits, toileting, sleep, mental health and more. 

The roadmap is not exhaustive, and we hope to add further resources when they become available. If you think anything is missing, let the team know at: communications.cnwl@nhs.net

Find out more about the Autism Roadmap here 

Shared on behalf of Dr Nilanjana Ray, Consultant Paediatrician (LNWUHT) and Ealing Diabetes GP Lead Dr Mohsin Choudry

As part of the National Diabetes Network Delivery Plan, a working group under aim one has been developing resources to support reduction in DKA at diagnosis of type 1 diabetes.

When discussing education for primary care professionals, it was recognised that it can be difficult for busy practitioners to attend teaching sessions. We therefore developed a short e-learning tool that can be shared with those working in primary care.

The tool was developed by a group including representation from diabetes professionals and GPs around England and Wales.  Feedback was obtained from diabetes professionals, GPs/APNPs, and the Primary Care Diabetes Society before producing the final version.

The tool is now available on the CYPDN website.  Please note:

It’s written as a PowerPoint presentation. This can be shared by email, or people can be directed by a link or QR code to view the slideshow online.
It’s been designed to watch as a slide show with some text appearing on clicking, and some animation. If sharing we recommend sharing as PowerPoint show (*.ppsx) so that when people open the file it goes straight into playing the slideshow. About half the people in the pilot just read the slides without actually playing the show.
It takes around 5 minutes to work through the slides.

In the next few months we hope to launch a longer slide set that can be used for delivering a lecture style update in a group education session.

Links:
DKA prevention at diagnosis homepage
E-learning tool homepage
Direct link to watch slideshow online

Following the closure of our other borough extranets in NW London, the Ealing extranet is set to close on Friday 15 December.

You can continue to find information and resources aimed at primary care and health professionals on our website.

We are looking for insight from women who live in NW London about women’s health and well-being services and experiences. We want to better understand the unique challenges and experiences that women face in their healthcare journeys. Share your thoughts and experiences through our survey. 

Responses are confidential and the information provided will be used for NHS research purposes only. Sharing experiences will help us to understand the challenges women face in their healthcare journeys and how we can improve the quality of services for them. 

Click here to complete the survey.

Please share the survey link with those it may be relevant to. 

Following the tragic events in the Middle East and the devastating and ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the West Bank, we are aware that staff may be deeply affected by the situation and unfolding events.   

For many of our colleagues, this may be a frightening time. People may have friends and family who live in the region or understandably be deeply impacted by the news coverage, images or videos on social media. There have also been reports of an increase in antisemitism and islamophobia causing concern for many of our colleagues around feeling safe. 

We would like to remind staff that Keeping Well NWL is here for anyone who may be struggling. The Keeping Well website has specialist resources for support available and you can contact us for free, confidential support via:

Telephone: 0300 123 1705    
Email: keepingwell.nwl@nhs.net    
Complete a self-referral form 

Tuesday 12 December, 12.00pm-12.30pm

ReachDeck is an all-in-one solution that helps break down communication barriers. Helping to support every website visitor. 

This is an event for practices to help them understand Reachdeck and the benefits to their practice and patients. 

Join the webinar - enhancing website accessibility 

Click here to sign up on Eventbrite

Email digital first for meeting invite: nhsnwl.digitalfirst@nhs.net 

Following the recent Framework Wave 3 contract procurement for the NHS Type 2 Diabetes Path to Remission Programme, NHS England has announced that Counterweight is the successful provider who will be delivering T2DR in NW London ICB/ ICS.

You will be able to refer your patients starting 1st February 2024. 

This service will be run by Counterweight, a leader in type 2 diabetes remission and weight loss. They were the intervention provider for the DiRECT clinical trial which showed an 87% remission in participants who lost over 15kgs. 

This webinar is intended for health care professionals and will cover what the programme is, how service users can gain access, and what is required from primary care staff. 

Counterweight invites you to join the webinar There are three identical webinars available on MS Teams:

· Tuesday 12th December 2023, 1.00 – 2.00pm       
Click here to join the meeting 

· Wednesday 10th January 2024, 5.00 - 6.00pm       
Click here to join the meeting 

· Thursday 15th February 2024, 12noon – 1.00pm       
Click here to join the meeting 

Put the date in your calendar today. Should you have any questions or require further information, please do not hesitate to reach out to nhsnwl.diabetes@nhs.net.