COVID-19 Primary Care bulletin

26 March 2020

COVID-19: today's round-up for primary care

Dear primary care colleagues,

A template letter which was previously circulated to GP practices regarding vulnerable patients has been resent today. If you continue have any concerns, please email england.covid-highestrisk@nhs.net.

Last night, Keith Ridge, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, and I (Ed) hosted a webinar where over 1,000 community pharmacists and pharmacy technicians joined. The recording is now available online.

You may have seen the Kings College London launched a new App this week which tracks symptoms related to COVID-19, allowing anyone to self-report daily.

Working with the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and the General Practitioners Committee (GPC) of the British Medical Association (BMA), we have written to a number of GPs to let them know how they can help support the GP workforce including letting people know how they can ask to be temporarily registered on the England Performers List. If you haven’t heard from NHS England and NHS Improvement or from the General Medical Council but want to volunteer, please email the team at nhsi.medicalgp.returners@nhs.net. If you wish to rejoin the GP workforce, please complete the relevant form and return to england.erplists@nhs.net.

Our latest letter explains our ongoing work with NHSX to accelerate the deployment of online and video consultation across GP practices. This will support practices to triage patient contacts remotely and also to provide remote care for people during COVID-19. There are now procurement mechanisms in place for any commissioners or practices that don’t have online consultation or video consultation products, and implementation support is being mobilised to help practices make changes. NHSX has published a blog focussed on video consultation particularly.

Whilst we are all working tirelessly to support our patients, a way of saying thank you from the public took place at 8pm tonight. Using #ClapForOurCarers on Twitter, the initiative encouraged people to give NHS staff and carers a round applause from their gardens, front doors, balconies and windows. Landmarks across the country lit up blue during the salute, including the Wembley Arch, the Principality Stadium, the Royal Albert Hall and Lincoln Cathedral. A number of media outlets, celebrities and influential voices on social media also took part.

A heartfelt thank you to you all too as we know that this continues to be challenging but are working hard with our partners to support you in every way we can during this time. NHS Employers have pulled together a range of support to help you and your teams stay physically and mentally well.

Nikki and Ed

Additional information

There are a range of resources available for primary care staff on dedicated national and regional workspaces on FutureNHS. These have been collated into one list to help primary care colleagues identify which workspaces are most relevant to them; including ‘community services and aging well’, ‘Covid-19 workforce planning’ and ‘digital primary care’

Supporting staff to stay safe and well at work is a critical immediate priority, including through expansion of testing, and supply of PPE. An issue of protective kit commenced on 9 March 2020. If any general practice has concerns around the kit, please contact our National Supply Disruption line on 0800 915 9964 or email supplydisruptionservice@nhsbsa.nhs.uk  who will be available to help, Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm.

We are publishing this regular bulletin on our website. Please do encourage colleagues across primary care to sign up to receive the bulletin.

Dates for your diary

• Establishing a total triage model using eConsult and how to set up virtual hubs webinar, 30 March 2020 at 11.30am: In response to COVID-19 all practices should move to a total triage model and utilise remote consultations wherever possible (online, phone and video) to protect patients and staff and minimise the risk of infection. Total triage means that every patient contacting the practice is first triaged before making an appointment. This one hour webinar will look at practical steps general practice should take to establish a total triage model using eConsult and how to set up and utilise virtual hubs. The webinar will be run by Dr Minal Bakhai, with guest speakers from eConsult and eHub Hurley.
   
• Our next general practice webinar is taking place on Thursday 2 April 2020. Join us from 5pm. We will share a link to the webinar as soon as we can.

Nikki and Ed's Link of the Day

Primary Care Pathways