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Primary Care Bulletin - today's round-up
12 January 2021
Dear colleagues,
Yesterday we published a letter setting out clear instructions on offering second dose vaccinations to ensure maximum optimisation of the COVID-19 vaccination programme. We need to vaccinate as many people as quickly as possible, including our frontline health and care workforce, therefore all vaccination sites must with immediate effect, ensure all second dose appointments that have not already been rescheduled must be rearranged, with recipients to be booked in for a second dose in the 12th week.
The Department of Health and Social Care also published the strategy for the COVID-19 vaccine deployment, outlining how the Government has a supply of vaccines and how it is planning to deploy them.
We know that there has been some concern about the national booking service and the letters that have gone out to patients. We have produced an updated communications pack which includes some text that you may wish to adapt for your organisation and letter templates to support in managing common queries from patients, which can be adapted for other communication channels.
There are also additional resources for GPs on the COVID-19 Vaccination Booking Service and Vaccination Centres here.
We will continue to work with the media and other NHS organisations to ensure that clear communications are available to patients on how to get a vaccine. This graphic can be used which highlights the three ways patients can get their vaccine.
General Practice webinar
The next General Practice webinar is on Thursday 14 January 2021. Please register before 3pm on the day – if you have registered previously for a GP webinar, you don’t need to again.
Kiren and Ali
Dr Kiren Collison
GP and Deputy Medical Director for Primary Care, NHS England and NHS Improvement
Ali Sparke
Interim Director for Primary Care Covid Response, NHS England and NHS Improvement
COVID-19 updates and guidance
COVID-19 deployment queries – contact information
Supplies: For queries about vaccine supply, ordering and delivery support, and supply of consumables and PPE, contact Unipart at CS@nhsvaccinesupport.com / 0800 678 1650, open 7am to 7pm, Monday-Sunday.
IT and hardware: For queries about IT issues, including IT hardware, 4G connectivity (for equipment provided by NHSE), Pinncle, Foundry, Data and other IT services issues, contact the Covid Vaccination Help Desk on vaccineservicedesk@england.nhs.uk / 0300 200 1000, open 6am to 10pm every day, including Bank Holidays.
For all other queries, contact your Regional Vaccination Operation Centre (RVOC) in the first instance:
- North East & Yorkshire england.ney-vacc-cell@nhs.net
- North West covid-19.MVNW@nhs.net
- Midlands england.midscovid19voc@nhs.net
- East of England england.eoe-vacprg@nhs.net
- London england.london-covid19voc@nhs.net
- South East Programme england.se-covid19-vacc@nhs.net
- South East RVOC england.servoc@nhs.net
- South West england.swcovid19-voc@nhs.net
They may escalate an issue to the National Covid Vaccination Operation Centre at england.covidvaccs@nhs.net.
Establishment of COVID virtual wards using pulse oximetry
Given current pressures, all local areas should pursue immediate national roll out of a COVID ‘virtual ward’ model for earlier safe and supported discharge if this model is not in place already. A clinical and operational model has been developed based on emerging good practice. Lower risk patients may be appropriate for earlier discharge onto COVID Oximetry@home. Moderate risk patients requiring more support (e.g. regular monitoring, dexamethasone, potentially home oxygen) may be appropriate for earlier discharge onto a COVID virtual ward. Implementation should be led by local ICS and implemented by the most appropriate local providers whether acute (most likely) or community.
NHS England and Improvement has purchased a limited supply of pulse oximeters which are available to CCGs and Trusts free of charge. To request oximeters or for further information please contact england.home@nhs.net
A webinar for acute trust medical and nursing directors, as well as CCG and ICS colleagues with more information on the COVID virtual ward model will take place on Wednesday 13 January 3pm - 4pm. A recording will be made available for those unable to attend.
Orders of lateral flow tests of 100 and above
To ensure that the correct quantities of lateral flow test boxes are delivered to primary care contractors, and that there are enough tests for all contractors in primary care to distribute among their patient-facing staff, any contractors who have placed an order of over 100 test boxes on the Primary Care Support England (PCSE) portal have been contacted to confirm their order by PCSE and NHSEI regional colleagues.
In this communication contractors were asked to confirm the number of patient-facing staff working in their organisation and therefore the correct number of boxes of tests they wish to receive. It is important that contractors monitor the relevant inboxes for such a communication and confirm their orders as soon as possible, to avoid any delays to deliveries.
Each organisation should order one box for each patient-facing member of staff, for example if there are 10 patient-facing members of staff delivering NHS services within an organisation, the order should be for only 10 boxes of test kits – as one box contains 25 tests and it is enough for a member of staff to test for 12 weeks. Contractors who have not yet placed their order, should log onto the portal and complete their order as soon as possible, and by COP Sunday 17 January to start to receive deliveries from the following week.
COVID-19 vaccination sites feedback form
As more local vaccination sites come onboard, it is important that we continue to learn and share lessons. We’re asking existing vaccination sites to share their lessons of becoming a site so that others can improve their experience. Complete this quick online form with your top tips or things you have learnt which you can share with others.
Free COVID PPE scheme extended until June 2021
As the largest vaccination programme in the UK’s history begins, the government is extending the provision of free COVID-19 PPE for all health, social care and public sector workers, until at least the end of June. This will ensure frontline and wider public service workers can continue to access rigorously tested and high-quality PPE. Primary care providers should continue to access COVID-19 PPE via DHSC PPE portal. The scheme will be reviewed in April 2021 to determine PPE provision beyond June 2021.
Map of vaccination sites
This map shows the vaccination sites that are open across the country, meaning 96% of the population is within 10 miles of a vaccine service. You can also see the hospital hubs and local vaccination services that are already up and running.
General practice
Further release of primary care capacity
In our letter published 7 January, we confirmed the approach to release primary care capacity to support COVID vaccination and the ongoing pandemic response. Practices are reminded that the cervical screening indicators in QOF will continue to be paid on a performance basis and are not subject to the extended income protection arrangements.
Community pharmacy
Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) statement
The PSNC have released a statement about on how the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and NHS Improvement and the community pharmacy bodies have agreed to work together on plans to ensure that community pharmacies are used to maximum effect in the COVID-19 vaccination programme.
COVID-19 testing kits available from community pharmacy pilot sites in Bradford
NHS Test and Trace, working with NHSEI and the LPC, is making Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) swab tests available at selected community pharmacies in Bradford through a four-week pilot which started on 4 January. The pilot aims to improve ease and access to COVID-19 testing by making test kits available at community pharmacies for eligible symptomatic individuals. It is also testing the operational feasibility of providing this service nationally. The test must be collected from the pharmacy by a representative without symptoms on behalf of a symptomatic patient. The test will be self-administered and then posted off via Royal Mail priority postbox. Click here to see pharmacies taking part.
Primary care
Closing Thursday: Snapshot Wellbeing Survey of the Primary Care Workforce
This short survey will be used to assess the current wellbeing of the primary care workforce. The survey will ask you to reflect on your personal wellbeing as well as the functioning of your team.
Dates for your diary
Wednesday 13 January, 12.30pm - 1.30pm. NHS Confederation - PCN vaccine planning tool webinar
Wednesday 13 January, 2pm - 3.30pm. Common Challenges and Proven Solutions for Teledermatology: (Part 2/3)
Thursday 14 January, 5pm - 6pm. General Practice webinar with Dr Kiren Collison and Ali Sparke, including a vaccination programme update from Dr Nikki Kanani and Ed Waller. Please ensure you register to attend by 3pm on 14 January. You do not have to register again if you have booked for our previous GP webinars.
January webinars on working with people and communities in PCNs
Our webinar series for colleagues working in primary care networks continues this month, helping PCNs to provide inclusive services for people and communities from the most marginalised groups, who experience the greatest health inequalities. They include:
- Wednesday 13 January, 12pm - 1pm. ‘A masterclass on conducting telephone surveys’
- Tuesday 19 January, 4pm - 5.30pm. ‘Inclusion health self-assessment tool for PCNs’
- Tuesday 26 January, 12pm - 1pm. ‘A masterclass on surveys’
- Thursday 28 January, 10.30am - 11.30am. ‘Building and developing trusted connections with communities’
- Thursday 28 January, 4pm - 5pm. ‘Connecting with Inclusion Health Communities’
Thursday 21 January 2021, 11am - 12pm. NHS Reset: Ensuring a greener future for respiratory care. The NHS Confederation’s webinar in partnership with the Primary Care Respiratory Society will explore how we can make respiratory care greener and kinder to the environment whilst still focusing on the complete patient journey from prevention of disease and diagnosis, through to routine chronic care including the acute situation with a #NoWasteNoHarm approach.
Link of the day
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