6 November 2020

Dear colleagues,

Earlier this week NHS Chief Executive Sir Simon Stevens announced that the health service in England will return to its highest level of emergency preparedness, Incident Level 4 from 5 November. Details of what this means for general practice, and details of the COVID vaccination programme, will be shared next week.

In recognition of the work you are doing, MP Jo Churchill, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Prevention, Public Health and Primary Care has written letters thanking general practice and community pharmacy staff for your work during the pandemic.

Nikki and Ed

COVID-19 updates and guidance

Prescribing and dispensing medications during restrictions

Some patients may be anxious about access to their medications and appliances during the lockdown, however we kindly ask all prescribers and those dispensing medicines and appliances to be mindful of the need not to over-prescribe (through extending the normal length of prescriptions to patients) or pull forward scripts, as this can create issues with supplies further down the line. Please reinforce this message with patients if necessary and reassure them that they will still be able to access their medicines and appliances during the lockdown.

National guidance on Long COVID

Last month NHS England and NHS Improvement launched its five-point plan to support people with Long COVID. NICE, SIGN and RCGP have now published the scope for the forthcoming guideline on the long-term effects of COVID-19.

Guidance to assist local healthcare systems to establish post-COVID assessment clinics has been published on our website. The clinics will be available to patients diagnosed with long COVID, whether they were hospitalised or not, enabling physical, cognitive and psychological assessments of those experiencing enduring symptoms. In addition, guidance is available for the Your COVID Recovery platform, a digital, interactive and tailored recovery programme which has been developed by experts to provide rehabilitation support for patients to manage their recovery at home.

Suspension of the need for signatures on prescriptions, dental and ophthalmic forms

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has approved a temporary measure in England to help limit the transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19) by suspending the need for patients to sign prescription, dental and ophthalmic forms for a period of 5 months to 31 March 2021. This is to avoid cross contamination and help minimise the handling of paperwork when collecting medicines or receiving dental and eye care. Patients will still be required to either pay the relevant charge or prove their eligibility for an exemption from charges. Further details and processes to follow is set out on the DHSC website.

General practice 

Directed Enhanced Service Specification (DES) for flu updated

An updated Directed Enhanced Service Specification (DES) for the seasonal flu and pneumococcal vaccination programme 2020/21 has been published. This version (version 3) replaces the version published in September, and has been updated in part 2 to reflect the arrangements for practices accessing, administering and claiming payment for administering centrally supplied flu vaccines in line with the process laid out by the Department of Health and Social Care.

Guidance to support care homes to order medications through proxy access

New step-by-step guidance from the NHS and LGA explains what a care home, GP practice and pharmacy needs to do to set-up care staff with proxy access to a resident’s GP online account so they can quickly, safely and securely order resident’s medications online. The guidance, linked to TPP and EMIS GP practice systems, also covers the necessary security and governance requirements.

Next Generation GP London is now open for applications

Next Gen GP is a fully funded virtual programme which aims to energise, empower and engage trainees and new GPs, by hearing stories from amazing leaders across the NHS. Feedback across the country over the last 3 years has been phenomenal, and over 1500 people have now been part of Next Gen. The London programme consists of 6 evening Zoom events over 6 months, and applicants are advised to submit their expressions of interest by Friday 13 November.

General practice - latest updates

Community pharmacy

Home delivery of medicines service commissioned

During the national restrictions people who are clinically extremely vulnerable are advised by the Government not to go to a community pharmacy. Therefore a letter has been sent to community pharmacy providers to confirm that the Community Pharmacy Home Delivery Service and the Dispensing Doctor Home Delivery Service will be commissioned in accordance with the Home delivery of medicines and appliances during the COVID-19 outbreak: service specifications and guidance for all patients on the Shielded Patient List in England from 5 November 2020 until 3 December 2020. This means that all pharmacies and dispensing doctors in England will again be required to ensure patients on the Shielded Patient List receive their medicines at home.

Primary care

GatewayC online cancer education webinars

GatewayC is an online cancer education platform developed by GPs, specialists and people affected by cancer aiming to assist primary care professionals to detect cancer at an early stage and effectively support patients living with cancer. GatewayC currently offers 16 free online courses which are suitable for all primary care professionals across England. In light of COVID-19, GatewayC is also piloting a series of free educational webinars to help support you during the pandemic. You can sign up to future GatewayC webinars and watch recordings of previous sessions online.

Library and Knowledge specialist give health professionals the gift of time

A new report commissioned by Health Education England (HEE) outlined the value of NHS Library and Knowledge Services having both a direct and indirect effect on the care patients receive. Librarians and knowledge specialists make the gathering of information as easy as possible for healthcare professionals, relieving the burden of sourcing and synthesising evidence while enabling NHS organisations to meet their statutory obligations to get evidence into practice across the service.  

Meet the team

NHS England and NHS Improvement has appointed new clinical roles to support the delivery of primary care.

Dr Ursula Montgomery is a GP and the newly appointed Senior Clinical Advisor for Primary Care Provider Transformation. Prior to joining NHS England and NHS Improvement, she was Clinical Chair of East Leicestershire and Rutland Clinical Commissioning Group and has held a range of positions within healthcare including Associate Medical Director at University Hospitals of Leicester, a GP partner in Leicestershire and chair of Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland Integrated Community Board.

Dr Kiren Collison is a GP in Oxfordshire and has taken up the role of interim Deputy Medical Director to work alongside Nikki Kanani and Raj Patel. Kiren is also the Clinical Chair of Oxfordshire CCG, Co-Chair of her ICS Primary Care Board and board member of NHS Clinical Commissioners.

Dr Sonali Kinra joins the team as an interim Clinical Associate. Sonali has been a GP Partner, a sessional GP and continues to practise as a portfolio GP in North Central London. She has also held multiple leadership roles across commissioning and provider organisations, while championing the cause of improved equity and engagement across patients and workforce.

Dates for your diary

REACT Mental Health Conversation training. These short remote live training sessions for managers, supervisors and those with caring responsibilities for NHS people will train colleagues to identify people in their teams or community who may be struggling with their mental health, initiate a supportive wellbeing conversation, confidently hold the conversation using active listening skills, and signpost them to appropriate support. Book a session.

Monday 9 November, 11.30am - 12.30pm. Integrated Care webinar series: The future of place – planning recovery in partnership

Wednesday 11 November, 9am - 8pm. NHS Confederation: PCN Network virtual conference

Wednesday 11 November, 12.30pm. Supporting CVD Prevention in Primary Care

Thursday 12 November, 12pm – 1pm. The UCLPartners Frameworks: High Risk Conditions for CVD – How to do things differently at scale. In this session UCLPartners will give an overview of how the frameworks provide practical support to primary care to optimise management of the high-risk cardiovascular conditions including AF, blood pressure, cholesterol and T2 diabetes.

Thursday 12 November, 6pm - 7pm. Community pharmacy webinar with Keith Ridge and Ed Waller. To attend please ensure you register by 12pm on 12 November.

NHS Volunteer Responder programme update webinars

Fortnightly webinars are being held to provide regular updates on the NHS Volunteer Responder programme.

• Thursday 12 November, 10.30 - 11.30am - Join Microsoft Teams Meeting
• Thursday 26 November, 10.30 - 11.30am - Join Microsoft Teams Meeting
• Thursday 10 December, 10.30 - 11.30am - Join Microsoft Teams Meeting