25 February 2021

Dear colleagues,

Thank you for the work you are doing to deliver the vaccination programme and address vaccine inequalities in your area. We have written to CCGs to describe further national actions to enable and locally deliver community activity and engagement to support COVID-19 vaccination access and uptake, building on the vaccine uptake strategy. This includes details of additional funding to further support and enable locally led community engagement in all areas with health inequalities.

We have also written to commissioners to outline further opportunities to reach out to communities with lower uptake levels by operating temporary vaccination clinics in community venues. In particular, a large number of places of worship have expressed an interest in supporting the COVID-19 vaccination programme. We are asking local commissioners to support these venues to partner with existing PCN and pharmacy providers to host roving COVID-19 vaccination clinics.

PCN vaccination sites are also reminded that they should be focussing on cohort 6 for vaccination. As per the provisions of the Enhanced Service, the guidance is that only in exceptional circumstances should those in cohorts 7-9 be invited to a PCN site if patients in cohort 6 remain to be vaccinated and can be prioritised.

Kiren and Ali

COVID-19 updates and guidance

Advice on COVID-19 vaccination in people with learning disabilities from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI)

Yesterday (24 Feb), the JCVI advised the government that everyone on the GP Learning Disability Register should be vaccinated as part of priority group 6.

Adults with severe and profound learning disabilities, and those with learning disabilities in long-stay nursing and residential care settings, should have already been offered the vaccine in priority group 6. However, as GP systems may not always capture the severity of someone’s disability, JCVI supports the plan to invite anyone on the GP Learning Disability Register – as well as adults with other related conditions, including cerebral palsy – for vaccination as part of priority group 6.

Please use the following accessible resources (produced in collaboration with people with lived experience) to support your communication about vaccination appointments with people with a learning disability and their family carers: 

• COVID-19 vaccine film produced in collaboration with Skills for People and Learning Disability England  
• PHE easy read COVID vaccination leaflet
• PHE easy read ‘What to expect after the vaccine’ leaflet
• PHE easy read adult consent form
• Additional training materials for COVID-19 vaccinators and volunteers provide top tips on communicating with people with a learning disability and autistic people and reasonable adjustments that should be considered.

Guidance to support gestational diabetes patients advised to shield

NHS Digital have updated their guidance to support clinicians whose patients with previous gestational diabetes have been advised to shield via the QCovid process. This is supported by a gestational diabetes flowchart developed by the Royal College of General Practitioners.

Downloadable Post-Vaccine Waiting Room Animations and Posters

All vaccination sites can now download short animations and posters to display in waiting room areas. Animations are available in 16 different languages (Arabic to follow) and each can be downloaded and shared across communities too. If your site is unable to play animation on a loop then you can display the posters which include a QR code linked to the videos on YouTube for the public to access.  The animations are subtitled and can be played on mute as well. It is for sites to decide which language(s) to play in the waiting area.

The messages in the aminations are vital to encourage people to continue observing the ‘hands, face, space’ guidelines even after receiving both doses.

Reporting COVID-19 lateral flow test results - AI trial

NHS Digital are trialling new artificial intelligence (AI) software to read test results of lateral flow devices, which will make reporting results quicker, easier to understand and more accurate. As a reminder, it is really important and a statutory duty that primary care staff testing with LFDs report their test results online – whether negative, positive or invalid.

Primary care staff reporting their LFD results on the NHS Digital platform will be able to take part in this trial from the end of next week, which includes taking a picture of their test at the end of the normal process to report results. Doing so is entirely optional and staff will continue to be able to submit test results as usual, however taking part in the trial can help improve the overall reporting process.

To help, primary care staff can just:  

1. take their lateral flow test as usual
2. report their result online at GOV.UK as usual
3. when they report it: use a smartphone or tablet and follow the prompts to take a photo of the lateral flow device (LFD) to upload with your result
4. give NHSD feedback on the process using this survey 

COVID-19 Vaccinations NHS Staff Indemnity – FAQs

There has been a collective partnership effort over the past few months in response to the ongoing pandemic. As vaccinations become more readily available, work has been underway to assist those working on the front line, ensuring that appropriate indemnity arrangements are in place to aid the nationwide rollout. Please refer to the FAQs on NHS Resolution website and remind yourself of the arrangements relating to general practice.

Primary care benefits from national volunteer pool

GPs in Rochdale are successfully drawing down Steward Volunteers from the national pool of NHS Volunteer Responders (NHSVR) to support their vaccination sites.

Dawn O’Brien, HMR Primary Care Academy Manager from Rochdale Health Alliance, has found the programme a “brilliant” support as it makes organising shifts easier. She requests between 12-30 volunteers a day across various sites and knowing they all have the right ID checks, will turn up with their own high-viz vest and have their expenses covered by NHSVR has made the process quicker and given her reassurance.

All vaccination sites can access this national pool of Steward Volunteers. Primary care sites can access these volunteers by making a request via their Lead Employer and volunteers will be provided free of charge to local sites. Find out more here.

Reminder to use Long COVID SNOMED CT codes

An initial set of SNOMED CT codes to support the management of the long term effects of COVID-19 were recently made available. Knowledge about Long COVID is currently limited and evolving; therefore, it is important that we increase the use of these codes where appropriate so that further insight can be gained.   

The codes correspond to diagnostic categories, referral and signposting, assessment instruments and outcome measures, and community care and self care options. Please note that the codes begin ‘post-COVID’ as opposed to ‘Long COVID’, when searching for them. Further guidance on the management of the long-term effects of COVID-19 is available from both NICE and NHS England and NHS Improvement.

COVID-19 Vaccination Programme – workspace

General practice

Including PCN information on GP practice websites

As an increasing range of care is being delivered by practices working together in networks, including the COVID-19 vaccination programme, and it is useful to patients to know which network their practice is part of. Therefore, we advise GP practices to include information on their websites and other patient facing communications about which primary care network (PCN) they are part of and the details of the practices that make up the PCN. 

Human Papillomavirus home testing kits trialled in London

More than 31,000 women will be offered kits to carry out smear tests in the privacy and convenience of their own homes in a trial.

The swab tests will be posted or given out by a GP to increase take-up of screening for HPV. They will go to women aged 25-64 years who are 15 months overdue for a check and live in Barnet, Camden, Islington, Newham and Tower Hamlets.

It is the first time home smear tests have been trialled in England and is being rolled out through 166 GP practices. For more information contact your regional NHS England and Improvement Public Health Commissioning team.

General practice – latest updates

Dentistry

Today’s issue of the Your NHS dentistry and oral health update is available to read online.

Primary care

New webinars on working with people and communities in PCNs

Our webinar series for colleagues working in primary care networks continues in March. Building inclusive primary care networks in partnership with people and communities will help PCNs provide inclusive services for people and communities from the most marginalised groups, who experience the greatest health inequalities. Three of these webinars are aimed at those new to engagement or who want some practical advice and ideas to enhance their current engagement activity. The fourth is offered as part of launching the new Inclusion Health self-assessment tool for PCNs which provides tips, advice and resources to support engagement with Inclusion Health communities.

For more details and to book a place, please visit booking link. 

New Health Anchors Learning Network launched

NHS England and NHS Improvement, in partnership with The Health Foundation, have launched a new Health Anchors Learning Network (HALN).

Anchor institutions are large public sector organisations that have significant assets, spending power or influence and can consciously work in partnership to benefit local communities. The network will help NHS organisations to maximise their ‘anchor’ role to improve the wellbeing of the populations they serve in its role as an employer, purchaser and property owner.

You can join the network by signing up to the HALN newsletter and register to attend the free launch event on 25 March at www.haln.org.uk.

Health and wellbeing resources

Looking after the health and wellbeing of our NHS people is vital, to allow them to continue to help their patients, colleagues and loved ones. We’ve developed a range of options to support staff health and wellbeing. The offer has been accessed over 700,000 times by people from across the NHS and has something to suit everyone, including:

• Support now – access to helplines, a text line and various wellbeing apps.
• Support offers – access wellbeing support such as counselling and coaching, as well as support with bereavement, substance misuse, gambling and financial wellbeing.
• Support for all leaders – access coaching, mentoring and leadership support circles.
• Support for exec leaders – access 1:1 psychological support, mentoring, chief executive common rooms and stories from other leaders.

Training for frontline staff supporting children's mental health

NHS frontline staff and volunteers that come into contact with children and young people can access a new psychological first aid training course developed by Public Health England (PHE).

The free online course will help staff develop skills and confidence in providing psychological support to children and young people during crises situations such as COVID-19. The training focuses on helping them feel safe, connected, and supported, and prevent problems from occurring or worsening.

Dates for your diary

Monday 1 March, 1pm – 2.30pm. Interoperable medicines standards and EPS webinar

Monday 1 March, 5pm – 6.15pm. Ophthalmology playbook webinar

Wednesday 3 March, 1pm – 2pm. The IGPM progress update: Recognition, representation and membership

Wednesday 3 March, 1pm – 3pm. Wellbeing and the Primary Care Workforce: a collaborative event

Wednesday 3 March, 2.30pm – 5.45pm. Action for Change: Health inequalities: leading for equality

Friday 5 March, 12pm – 1.15pm. The opportunities for systems to improve patient outcomes using digital and data

Monday 8 March, 7.30am – 4pm. International Women's Day 2021 Celebration with Prerana Issar, NHS Chief People Officer and Samantha Allen, Chair of the NHS Confederation's Health & Care Women Leaders Network

Tuesday 16 March, 9am – 5pm. NHS and the armed forces conference

Wednesday 17 March, 3.30pm – 5pm. Inclusion Health Self- Assessment tool live demonstration

Thursday 18 March, 1.00 – 2.00pm. Learning from Co-production – using better engagement to address health inequalities

Wednesday 24 March, 10am - 11am. Connecting with our local community to deliver the COVID vaccine programme

Thursday 25 March, 10.30 am – 11.30 am. Building and developing trusted connections with communities

Link of the day

Covid vaccines and pregnancy