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WELCOME TO OUR MAY 2026 NEWSLETTER
This publication is sent to all Essex GP Practices via their Practice Managers. However, we encourage anyone who would like to receive this communication directly, to subscribe below.
2026 Practice Manager Conference
We would like to thank everyone who attended this year's event which was once again held at the Lion Inn, Boreham.
A special thanks go to all of our guest speakers as well as to our sponsors for their much valued support to help the day run smoothly.
We hope that you enjoyed the day as much as we did and we cannot wait to host the event once again in 2027.
LMC Portal Update
Thank you to all who have registered so far.
If you have not yet registered, you will find the links below. We kindly ask that you also share these with colleagues and encourage them to register.
Practice/PCN Manager Registration
A brief overview of the portal can be found in this short video: www.Essexlmc.org.uk/online-portal
QOF Target Questionnaire
The LMC continues to be aware of the difficulties that some practices experience in achieving the Childhood Vaccinations and Immunisations QOF targets due to not being able to exception report because of parental refusal or missing the schedule deadline due to new registrations.
Although there is no change again this year to allow exception reporting, the BMA urge us to continue to collect this information. We have collated information in each of the past three years which has seen 336 responding practices confirm a total loss of circa £1.6millon. This is a significant number and highlights the real concern that we have in this area.
Therefore, we continue to be keen to understand the extent of the problem in Essex and, if you are a practice affected by this, we would be grateful if you could complete our short questionnaire in order for us to collate this information again that will be shared with the BMA to further inform ongoing discussions with NHS England.
We ask for all practices where possible to supply this information to us.
Please note that the closing date is 30 June 2026.
Practice Manager Supporter Scheme
Support for Practice & PCN Managers in Essex: You’re Not Alone!
The Practice Manager Supporter Scheme (PMSS)
Offering free, confidential support for:
- Practice Managers
- PCN Managers
- Deputy & Assistant Managers
What You’ll Get:
- One-to-one support from experienced managers
- Peer-to-peer Personal Development Reviews (PDRs)
- Guidance tailored to your role
- A safe, confidential space to share
- Advice from people who understand your challenges
Your Supporters
A team of 5 Practice Managers and 1 PCN Manager, actively working across Essex, ready to support you wherever you’re based.
100% Confidential | 100% Free
Everything you share stays between you and your chosen supporter. No judgement. No pressure. Just practical support and encouragement when you need it most.
National Document Repository: Webinar Dates and Links
The Access and Store Digital Patient Documents Service is free to use and has features to help your practice remove the need to manage paper records at registration and deduction.
· Receive and view records sent from another practice
· Zoom into, rotate and free text search records stored in the service
· Store scanned paper Lloyd George records
· Upload electronic health records where GP2GP fails or in scenarios it can't work
· Upload records for patients that have left your practice and need to be made available to a new practice
· Reassign pages in a patient’s scanned paper notes where the wrong patient's information has been included
· View version history of scanned Lloyd George records
· Add and manage staff access restrictions for specific patient records
Full guidance is available here: Help and guidance - NHS England Digital
What this means for you:
· No more printing electronic records to paper
· Spend less time and money on printing
· Faster access to the patient records you need
This is a big step towards simpler, smarter, paperless record management.
Action: As you will start to receive less paper records and more records for review within the service from other practices we recommend you build the Access and Store Digital Patient Documents Service into your records management processes and check it at least once every two weeks.
Join NHS England's Patient Record Management team in June for one of their webinars where they will explain all the features and how to use them:
12pm - 1pm 9th June: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/ac61648d-dea2-4393-90e1-e97f1409db9d@37c354b2-85b0-47f5-b222-07b48d774ee3
12pm -1pm 25th June: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/e39956f7-506c-4695-b9ea-18f5a2cf6da0@37c354b2-85b0-47f5-b222-07b48d774ee3
Looking for help and guidance on the Access and Store Digital Patient Documents Service? https://digital.nhs.uk/services/access-and-store-digital-patient-documents/help-and-guidance
GP Practice Appointments Data
Our briefing documents synthesises the operational data and patient engagement metrics for General Practice (GP) services across Essex.
The data reveals a high-volume healthcare environment, with total appointments exceeding one million for the month. Key trends include a significant month-on-month increase in both total and GP-specific appointments, as well as a sharp rise in online consultations, which reached an all-time high for the year-long tracking period.
GP Practice Workforce Data
Our workforce data regularly reveals a critical divergence between patient demand and General Practitioner (GP) availability.
While the registered patient list size has seen consistent, significant growth since October 2022 - the primary care workforce is currently experiencing a decline.
Do you need help with PCSE cases?
Have you waited for more than 40 days for a response from PCSE for a case raised with them? Are you experiencing financial hardship as a result? Or, is there a risk to patient safety? If you have answered yes to any of these questions, then the LMC can help you.
Essex LMCs on Social Media
Please remember to follow us on Facebook and/or 'X', and connect with us on LinkedIn. Please click on any of the icons below to connect with us on your preferred platform(s).
