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Primary Care Bulletin - today's round-up
29 June 2021
Dear colleagues,
We’ve all got someone to say thank you to this year. Whether it’s the neighbours for checking we were okay, the delivery drivers who kept food on the shelves, the volunteers who helped get the vaccine out, or the kids for keeping us entertained – we want to get together to say thank you to them all.
This Sunday 4 July is Thank You Day, and we’re joining alongside some amazing organisations to say thank you to everyone who deserves it. You can join the celebrations, find out more about how you can take part and spread the word about Thank You Day by visiting the Thank You Day website.
We’d like to extend our own thank you to all the staff, security and volunteers at the vaccination sites that worked tirelessly over the weekend as part of the Grab a Jab campaign. Your support is just phenomenal.
Nikki and Ed
Dr Nikki Kanani
GP and Medical Director for Primary Care,
NHS England and NHS Improvement
Ed Waller
Director for Primary Care, NHS England and NHS Improvement
COVID-19 updates
Modern slavery and human trafficking
It is important that all NHS staff are made aware of and review the current policies and initiatives that support the Government’s objectives to eradicate modern slavery and human trafficking. It is also important that all staff, including those working in local vaccination services, are aware of the significant role the NHS plays in both combatting it and supporting victims.
The NHS England and NHS Improvement modern slavery and human trafficking statement is available, while further information and supportive materials are available from the Modern Slavery and Exploitation Helpline.
Modern slavery is a hidden crime, and its victims may be especially isolated during the coronavirus outbreak. It is not the health professional’s job to decide if someone is a victim, but if you do have concerns, raise them with your safeguarding lead.
General practice
2021/22 Investment and Impact Fund (IIF) indicator ACC-01
ACC-01 asks all practices in the PCN to map all active appointment slot types to the new national appointment categories and to comply with the August 2020 guidance on recording of appointments.
The submission and payment deadlines for ACC-01 have been extended, to 31 July and 31 October respectively. The procedure that commissioners should follow to receive submissions and make payments is available online. For any queries contact england.gpad@nhs.net. For any other IIF-related queries, please contact england.gpcontracts@nhs.net.
General practice webinar – 15 July
The next general practice webinar will take place on Thursday 15 July at 5pm. To attend, please ensure you register by 12pm on Wednesday 14 July 2021. If you registered for our last webinar you do NOT need to register again.
General practice COVID-19 recovery: the power of relationships
‘The power of relationships: what is relationship-based care and why is it important’ is the second in a series of RCGP reports, setting out how general practice should function in a post-COVID environment. It sets out to define what we mean by relationship-based care, what the evidence tells us about its benefits for patients, GPs and the wider health system and why it needs to be reinvigorated.
‘Abuse is not in a day’s work’ campaign
Leeds CCG has published a new no tolerance campaign on their website, reinforcing the message that Leeds is taking a zero tolerance approach to abuse and aggression towards its staff and patients. This includes a social media communications toolkit for GP practices to download and use across their channels, to ensure their staff are treated with respect.
Pharmacy
Department of Health and Social Care reimbursement of COVID-19 costs incurred by pharmacy contractors and recovery of advanced payments
All contractors are now being invited to submit claims for the additional costs due to Covid 19 that were incurred between 1 March 2020 and 31 March 2021. For more details, including how to claim, please refer to the NHS BSA’s website.
All claims must be submitted to the NHSBSA between 5 July and 15 August 2021. Payments will be made on 1 October 2021. At the same time, DHSC has confirmed that the uplift to the advanced payments received by contractors between 1 April and 1 July 2020, totalling £370m, will be recovered as part of the monthly reconciliation from 1 October 2021 to 1 March 2022 in six equal parts.
Webinar: diversity and representation in the leadership of pharmacy professions
Join a national webinar on 6 July at 7pm about diversity and representation in the leadership of the pharmacy professions with senior leaders from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK and NHS England and NHS Improvement.
The webinar will share progress, challenges and learning about increasing diversity and representation in the leadership of the pharmacy professions, including the impact on the quality of patient care and how the profession can work together to remove barriers and make a meaningful difference. This follows on from the publication of the Joint National Plan for Inclusive Pharmacy Practice on 10 March 2021 - published on the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK websites.
Primary care
Primary Care Estates and Workforce support
To support Primary Care Networks (PCNs), the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) provides funding for 26,000 additional staff in new roles to create bespoke multi-disciplinary teams. As a result, PCNs will need to accommodate more people on their estate footprint. We have developed of a range of resources to help PCNs and systems to address this challenge, including tools and case studies highlighting best practice, which can be accessed on FutureNHS.
COVID Oximetry @ Home and Virtual Wards
The COVID Oximetry @home Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) sets out a minimum pathway to support people at home who are:
- symptomatic, and either;
- aged 65 years or older, or;
- under 65 years and clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV) to coronavirus OR where clinical judgement applies.
Since publication of the SOP, significant progress has been made on vaccination which means that many local areas are now choosing to use clinical judgement to onboard adults who are younger than 65 years old. We encourage systems, CCGs and practices to use their discretion to consider whether this is appropriate to support their local populations and services. Oximeters remain available for CCGs, trusts and ambulance services to request free of charge from england.home@nhs.net.
Inclusion Health Officer to support Inclusion Health Tool
The charity, Friends, Families and Travellers, along with other partners and supported by NHS England and NHS Improvement, are recruiting for an Inclusion Health Officer to support the roll out of the Inclusion Health Self-Assessment Tool for Primary Care Networks. The tool supports Primary Care Networks to assess and improve their work with populations experiencing the worst health inequalities in England.
Visit the Friends, Families and Travellers website for more information. Applicants with lived experience as part of one or more Inclusion Heath group are strongly encouraged. The closing date is Friday 9 July 2020.
Supporting a Greener NHS
The NHS Public Board has reaffirmed their commitment to net zero, supported by a quarter of a billion-pound investment in building a greener NHS. Reaching net zero will not be possible without the support of all 1.3million staff, and with COP26 to be hosted in the UK this Autumn, there is an opportunity to shine a spotlight on the great work happening across the NHS and encourage even more people to get involved.
A new campaign, due to launch this summer, will call on people from all parts of the NHS to pledge their support for a Greener NHS and take sustainable actions that improve their own health and wellbeing, as well as the health of their patients and the public, while reducing the NHS carbon footprint. To find out how you can get involved with building a Greener NHS, get in touch with greener.nhs@nhs.net or visit Greener NHS.
Podcast: Closer alignment between housing and health that benefits everyone
Listen to a new podcast for an insightful discussion on how partnership working is building stronger ties between housing and health that is seeing positive outcomes for local populations.
Blog: From the NCD for Respiratory Disease - Respiratory Clinical Networks and Support Units
Andrew Menzies-Gow, National Clinical Director for Respiratory Disease, outlines in a blog how Respiratory Support Units and Respiratory Clinical Networks were key to the pandemic response and how they’ll continue to play an important role as we look towards the future.
Reminder to complete the survey on FTSU in Primary Care
The Freedom to Speak Up (FTSU) team would like to learn about your experiences (positive and negative) of embedding FTSU across primary care. They want to produce resources to help you develop a culture which will enable your staff to feel safe to speak up about their experiences of working during the pandemic.
If you are part of a leadership team or a practice manager within a primary care provider, please take five minutes to complete the short questionnaire.
Dates for your diary
Tuesday 29 June, 6.30pm - 7.30pm. Using the Year of Care approach to personalised care and support planning to support people with long term conditions in a post COVID era
Tuesday 29 June, 7pm - 8pm. Initial Education and Training reform programme: Community pharmacy employers and leads, educators and training providers
Thursday 1 July, 4pm - 5pm. Initial Education and Training reform programme: Primary care and NHS Trust employers and educators
Thursday 1 July, 8pm - 9pm. PCPA, PSNC and NPA webinar on GP referral to Community Pharmacist Consultation Service implementation gems and resources
Friday 2 July, 12.30pm - 2pm. A years’ long clinical experience and insight of a Long COVID assessment clinic
Tuesday 6 July, 2pm - 3pm. Making online meetings accessible for people with a learning disability and autistic people
Tuesday 6 July, 7pm - 8.30pm. National webinar with senior leaders from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK and NHS England and NHS Improvement. Diversity and Representation in the Leadership of the Pharmacy Professions
Wednesday 7 July, 1pm - 2.30pm. Dermatology Transformation webinar
Wednesday 7 July, 1.30pm – 2.30pm. Supporting people with learning disabilities to access social prescribing
Wednesday 7 July, 2pm - 3.30pm. Carer-friendly general practice
Link of the day
