GP update

Last week's editions of the GP update had an unexpectedly low readership - with less than half of the number of people opening them as normal. We know some people found it in their Outlook junk folder. If this happened to you, please mark as "not junk" or click "on always trust sender". Please also alert colleagues.

You can read Tuesday's update here and Thursday's here. They have some important information in them.

Apologies, but it is always worth checking junk folders occasionally as the filters can automatically block surprising items!

Flu and Covid booster phase three care home residents and housebound patients

Vaccine information for people without an NHS number 

A guidance letter from NHS England and NHS Improvement and Public Health England explains how people can have the Covid-19 vaccine without an NHS number. It stresses the vaccination is available free to everyone in the UK. This includes all migrants.

The letter emphasises people do not need to have a GP or an NHS number to get the Covid-19 vaccine, it reassures that the vaccines are safe and available to every adult living in the UK without any immigration checks. 

The letters are available in a number of languages from Arabic to Urdu.

Blood tube shortages

This information was sent out by email on Friday to practice managers:

"Apologies that this information was not in yesterday’s GP update but we needed to make sure that the information circulated was accurate following the issuing of new guidance.
 
Pathology services across Kent and Medway are issuing communications direct to primary care, requesting that clinicians are cautious in requesting blood tests and limit this to clinically urgent requests only, so that vacutainer tube stocks can be maintained during the current global supply chain shortage. While Kent and Medway Pathology services do not rely on Becton Dickinson vacutainers (the ones that are in short supply), there is now significant pressure on all vacutainer supplies across the NHS. New NHSE-wide measures were issued yesterday . The letter includes the following instruction:
 
all primary care and community testing must be halted until 17 September 2021, except for clinically urgent testing. Examples of clinically urgent testing include:

• bloods that are required to facilitate a two week wait referral
• bloods that are extremely overdue and/or essential for safe prescribing of medication or monitoring of condition
• bloods that if taken could avoid a hospital admission or prevent an onward referral
• those with suspected sepsis or conditions with a risk of death or disability.

There are a small number of Quality Outcomes Framework (QOF) indicators, which require a blood test to be carried out. Unless clinically urgent, practices should move blood test activity scheduled before 17 September to later when supply improves. Given QOF is an annualised process, there aren’t any plans to change QOF.
 
We appreciate this temporary position is frustrating for patients and services, but unfortunately these restrictions are expected to last for the next few weeks. The CCG is in regular touch with Kent and Medway pathology services and will continue to use GP update to provide the latest information.
 
NHSE has suggested this text should be circulated to GP practice staff for use in patient communication and can be placed on your website:

“A supplier to the NHS has advised us of a global shortage of some equipment used for taking blood tests.
 
Anyone who needs a test for urgent health problems, will still get one but where your clinician recommends that it’s safe to do so, then you may be asked to come back for a test at a later date, or your appointment may be rescheduled.
 
Given the nature of the shortage, we cannot give an exact date for when the test will be rescheduled, but please be assured that if your condition or symptoms require it, then you will get a test, and we will be re-booking your test when supplies become more easily available.
 
If your condition or symptoms change or get worse, please contact the NHS as you would normally.”

Cancer screening webinar

NB Medical Education is running the second of its four-part cancer webinar series supported by Cancer Research UK. It will focus on cancer screening. Are you aware of the changes in the bowel and cervical screening programmes in the UK? Are you wondering how to improve your screening uptake? Join us for an interactive hour to get up to date in cervical and bowel cancer screening and how to encourage patients to get involved.

This webinar will take place on Tuesday, 14 September, starting at 8pm and finishing at 9pm.
You will be able to claim one CPD credit for this online webinar with a downloadable certificate provided.
GPs can register now.

Other webinars included in this series include: Lung cancer, Diagnostic Tests and Safety Netting and Health inequalities: How can PCNs make a difference? Once registered, on-demand recordings of webinars that have taken place can be accessed through your NB Dashboard.

Support for veterans

The Secretary of State of Health and Social Care has written a letter about the potential negative impact recent events in Afghanistan can have on the physical and mental wellbeing of veterans who have served in any capacity, but now, particularly those who have served in that country.

The letter encourages all NHS frontline staff to use the excellent support offer available to veterans and to signpost to services as necessary including information about Op COURAGE: The Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Service.

Removal of children from shielded patient list

The reviews that trusts, paediatricians and GPs were asked by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer (DCMO) to carry out last summer resulted in around 40,000 children and young people being removed from the shielded patient list. 

Following an evidence review, which found the Covid-19 risk for this cohort to be very low, UK chief medical officers have accepted the recommendation from the UK Clinical Review Panel to remove all remaining children and young people. These individuals will receive a letter from Jenny Harries, former DCMO and current chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, should have received a letter explaining this decision between 25 and 26 August.  

 
For your information, a version of this DHSC letter is here, and answers to the main questions that we anticipate from parents/guardians is available here.
 
No action is required of you at this time.

2021/22 general practice resilience programme

As we announced in an earlier edition of the update (and in line with the national guidance) the Primary Care Contracting Team is following a similar process to previous years to join this programme by inviting bids from GP providers. These will then be reviewed by a small panel, which will include the LMC.

The principles and processes and national criteria remain the same as previous years. 

The aim of the funding is that it is used to provide an agreed level of support to those practices that are considered to be in greatest need of receiving help.  

If your practice was supported in previous years, you would have previously received a request to provide a short evaluation report. This will be used to assess suitability and need for any further support.

If you wish to be considered for the programme, please complete the self-referral application form and send back to kmccg.primarycare@nhs.net by close of play on Friday, 3 September.  A panel will convene with the aim of approving bids by 30 September at the latest. We aim to confirm the outcomes by no later than the first week of October.

If you have any questions about the programme, please contact Fay Lacey – Project Manager Primary Care Contracting on kmccg.primarycare@nhs.net.

Kent and Medway Care Record - urgent completion of critical tasks to allow access

1. guide leads through the software activation, which will then enable ‘click-through’ access to the KMCR. EMIS has already uploaded the necessary upgrades into the background of local systems and the KMCR has configured each practice's account so final activation should not take long
2. support with the EMIS DCRv2 approval.
3. show the EMIS administrator how to access the KMCR from within EMIS for both clinical and administrative users so that they in turn can train colleagues on how to access the KMCR.

• urgent ICT incidents: NEL Service Desk 03304 602511
• if your query is non urgent or relates to a current call reference, please use NEL's self-service portal.

Helping patients with digital services

The NHSx Implementation Team have been receiving requests from GP staff via our help desks (both clinical and non clinical) struggling to find the answers they need to direct patients for Covid pass, NHSApp and GP Online Services.
 
As you may be aware, there are already many guidance tools accessible to frontline staff and they will always remain available and regularly updated.

However, We would like to urgently provide the most helpful guide for GP staff that will provide answers they require. 

In order to get this as accurate as possible we are kindly asking if GP staff can complete this very short survey by by Friday, 3 September.

Survey on electronic patient records

All frontline clinicians who use NHSX's electronic patient records (EPR) system in their work are invited to share their experiences via a new user survey.
 
The electronic patient record is a key tool in delivering safe, effective care for patients/service users, and frontline clinicians are being encouraged to give their views on using it in practice.
 
By participating in the first NHSX national EPR usability survey, you will help NHSX understand how the EPR system is working for you, including where it is performing well and where it can be enhanced.
 
The survey is being conducted by an independent research organisation called KLAS who are working on behalf of NHSX. It takes just eight minutes to have your say by filling in this questionnaire before the survey closes on Friday, 10 September.

Please share this update with colleagues who are welcome to subscribe to the mailing list. 

Previous issues of the GP Practice Update are available online

If you have any feedback or ideas to make the updates more useful to you please email. 

Read the CCG’s latest Prescribing Newsletter and supply shortage alerts.

Useful links

• Content list of previous issues of GP Update
• Offers for NHS staff
• NHS England primary care bulletin