1 October 2020

Dear colleagues,

Today marks the beginning of Black History Month – a chance for us to celebrate the past, present and future of our Black colleagues working in primary care and the NHS. This month we will use social media to help share stories of our Black colleagues and highlight the huge contributions they have made to health and care. NHS Employers have also put together a summary of what’s happening in the NHS during Black History Month.

Nikki and Ed

COVID-19 guidance and updates

Register to the PPE portal for free PEE for all primary care providers

Infection rates are rising in the UK and winter is approaching. To ensure all primary care providers, including community pharmacists, optometrists, dentists, orthodontists and GPs, have a resilient route for getting free COVID-19 PPE, we have increased order limits.

Register and access the portal using your CQC/MHRA/NHSE/NHS BSA registered email. Guidance on what PPE items you can order (including order limits) is also available.

Call the customer service team on 0800 876 6802 if you have any questions about using the PPE portal. The team is available from 7am to 7pm, 7 days a week.

The PPE portal will be the primary source of free COVID-19 PPE (including Flu vaccination requirements). However, if there is a severe disruption to distribution, in the first instance get in contact with your local authority or LRF. A gov.uk page will shortly be published with the local authority/LRF contact details. If this route is not possible, get in contact with the NSDR.

General practice

Changes to the GP Contract

We have sent a letter to practices advising them of changes to the GP contract from 1 October 2020 to implement the agreements reached with the BMA in 2020/21. The amendments to the Regulations are available online. The letter also outlines the extension of temporary changes to GP contract under the pandemic regulations.

Help to increase electronic Repeat Dispensing

We have previously reminded GPs to consider transferring patients to electronic Repeat Dispensing (eRD) wherever possible. We know that many practices have increased their utilisation of eRD with average weekly usage increasing by 400k items since the start of the pandemic, but there are further opportunities.

GP Practices can request the latest list of their registered patients that the NHS Business Services Authority has identified as potentially being suitable for eRD, based on recent medication history by emailing nhsbsa.epssupport@nhs.net. Further background and support for transferring patients to eRD can be found in our letter of 4 June 2020.

Primary care

Primary care networks working with community services

The NHS Long Term Plan outlined how we would roll out the Enhanced Health in Care Homes model across England by 2024, which moves away from traditional reactive models of care delivery towards proactive care that is centred on the needs of individual residents, their families and care home staff. The model is included in the primary care networks (PCNs) Directed Enhanced Service (DES) for 2020/21, as well as the NHS Standard Contract. From today, PCNs working with Community Services have been asked to:

• deliver a weekly ‘home round’ to your aligned care homes;
• work with your multidisciplinary teams to develop and refresh the personalised care and support plan for the patients living in your aligned care homes;
• support with a patient’s discharge from hospital and transfers of care between settings, including giving due regard to NICE Guideline 271.

The Enhanced Health in Care Homes Framework provides helpful advice on achieving this and should be read alongside these contractual requirements. Contact the team for more information.

New and holistic medication reviews for thousands of patients as new guidance rolls out

New NHS guidance that comes into effect today, will help primary care networks (PCNs) offer thousands of patients a holistic review of their medication, to help them stay healthy and remain independent.

The guidance supports PCN clinical pharmacy teams with implementation of the structured medication review (SMR) and optimisation service requirements in the Network Contract Directed Enhanced Service Specification in 2020/21.

PCNs are asked to proactively consider all aspects of the guidance when planning, implementing and delivering the service. It outlines how each PCN will identify and prioritise patients who would benefit from a SMR, including those:

• in care homes
• with complex and problematic polypharmacy, specifically those on 10 or more medications
• on medicines commonly associated with medication errors
• with severe frailty, who are particularly isolated or housebound or who have had recent hospital admissions and/or falls
• using potentially addictive pain management medication

We recently published a PCN clinical pharmacist case study from Nipa Patel who has over 20 years’ experience of working in community pharmacy, general practice and clinical commissioning groups (CCGS). This case study describes how care is being delivered in SASSE Network 2 PCN, as well as how SMRs are already being implemented.

 NHSX free patient information videos

As part of its plans to support staff through the pandemic, NHSX has secured a licence for NHS clinicians to access a library of over 600 health and care videos for patient information completely free of charge until the end of the year. The videos have been written by NHS clinicians and developed to work within care pathways. They have been professionally produced by Health and Care Innovations (HCI) for use by patients and have been independently, clinically assured by various NHS trusts across the UK. An online resource hub, including specialty webinars, is also available to NHS clinicians and includes guidance on how to access the videos by clinical specialism or pathway, and how they can be made available to patients as part of the patient journey. 

Action on Inclusive Pharmacy Professional Practice

A joint national Statement of Principles on inclusive pharmacy professional practice for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in England was published on 25 September 2020. Sixteen national organisations and over 40 individuals who attended the first National Roundtable on Inclusive Pharmacy Professional Practice, signed the statement in August 2020.

Roundtable members and national pharmacy organisations are now collaboratively developing key priorities for action on which they will work together, reporting back to a second roundtable. The statement and more information can be accessed via this blog published by Keith Ridge.

 RPS and RCGP joint statement on delivery of flu vaccination programme

 The RCGP and the RPS has issued a joined statement emphasising how important professional collaboration locally between GPs and community pharmacy is to deliver the flu vaccination programme in the most effective way for patients. 

Environments where the vaccine is delivered must be safe and include adequate access to PPE. All eligible, trained professionals should be utilised to administer the vaccine and good processes for sharing information and routes of communication between GPs and community pharmacy should be established, to encourage uptake.

Dentistry

Sign up: NHS dentistry and oral health bulletin

This October, we are launching a new NHS dentistry and oral health bulletin, which will include a roundup of all the latest news and important resources for anyone working in NHS dental services. We will still share important content in this bulletin. 

Dates for your diary

Wednesday 7 October, 7pm – 8pm. GP Fellowship Scheme webinar

Thursday 8 October, 12pm - 1:30pm. New PCN care coordinators webinar

8 - 9 October. UK Annual Social Prescribing Link Worker Day Awards and Conference. A virtual awards ceremony and conference is set to mark the day.

Tuesday 13 October, 11am - 12pm. Building back from COVID-19: Involving citizens in the next phase of pandemic response

Wednesday 11 November, 9am - 9pm. PCN Network virtual conference

12 – 13 November. PCRMM Virtual Conference 2020

A message from Nikki

This weekend I’ll be walking over 60 miles - from my home to the site of the refugee camp my dad first arrived at on Greenham Common - to raise money for Doctors of the World. If you’d like to support me, please find out more. Thank you.