WELCOME TO OUR AUGUST 2023 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. 

COVID Autumn/Winter 2023/24 vaccination delivery programme

Please note that the COVID vaccination programme is being brought forward to September 11, for completion by the end of October. 

Commissioned providers will now be eligible to claim:

• An additional acceleration payment of £10 (in addition to the IoS fee) for each COVID-19 vaccination administered to care home residents between Monday 11 September and Sunday 22 October 2023 inclusive; and
• A separate one-off additional payment of £200 for each completed care home by 23.59hrs on Sunday 22 October 2023 that is confirmed to the commissioner by the submission of a live time survey no later than 23.59hrs on Sunday 29 October 2023.

To support the acceleration of COVID-19 vaccinations to other eligible cohorts:

• An additional £5 acceleration payment (in addition to the IoS fee) will be made available for each COVID-19 vaccination administered to eligible people between 11 September and 31 October 2023 (excluding care home residents, housebound people, and any health and care worker vaccinations commissioned under the NHS Standard Contract).

Accelerated Access to Medical Records Imposition

GPC England have asked LMCs to share a survey with practices regarding your feelings of safety, concerns of workload/liability, and general preparedness around the 1st November accelerated access to patient records contractual imposition.

Please, if possible, can you complete the survey (there are only two questions) in the link below.  

QOF Target Questionnaire Reminder

The LMC continues to be aware of the difficulties that some practices experience in achieving the Childhood Vaccinations and Immunisations QOF targets because of not being able to exception report for parental refusals or missing the schedule deadline due to new registrations.

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 such information that will be shared with GPC to further inform ongoing discussions with NHS England.

We ask for all affected practices, where possible, to supply this information to us through our questionnaire.

GP Practice Workforce Data

Using data from NHS Digital, we now provide workforce data for Essex GP Practices, and male/female GP ratio documents, both commencing from November 2022. 

Appointments in General Practice

Through NHS Digital, we are able to obtain data on appointments that have taken place in general practice across Essex. The data that we can extrapolate is useful for us to see how many appointments have been offered in a month, and how many patients were seen face to face for example.

We now produce appointment data flyers that can be displayed in your practice. Please see below for more information.

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 Twitter, and connect with us on LinkedIn to keep up-to-date with our latest news.

Please click on any of the icons below to connect with us on your preferred platform(s).