Primary Care Bulletin - 27 January 2022 (Issue 173)

Primary Care Bulletin - this week's round-up

27 January 2022

Dear colleagues,

Work continues in managing both the record-breaking vaccination programme and restoring routine services, which we know has been an extremely challenging juggling act.

This letter recognises that as we approach the end of January, we anticipate there will be lower demand for boosters given the high uptake levels to date. Therefore, for the period up until 31 March 2022, we are now asking that practices and Primary Care Networks (PCNs) focus on three key priority areas. These include: the continued delivery of general practice services, the management of symptomatic COVID-19 patients in the community, and the ongoing delivery of the COVID-19 vaccination programme.

We recognise that winter pressures and infection prevention and control measures continue to present daily challenges, which is why we value and support your professional clinical judgement to prioritise care and to balance these priorities.

We have a variety of general practice access routes campaign resources and a communications toolkit to support you in communicating to patients on how best to access services. You can also read how the Priory Medical Group utilised online patient triage and a range of consultation options to provide a better experience for both patients and staff.

Thank you for all that you continue to do to protect the nation against COVID-19, while continuing to support the most vulnerable patients including those with cancer and long-term conditions. Please do continue to make use of the resources and support available for you and your team’s health and wellbeing.

Infection Prevention and Control guidelines

As England fully returns to Plan A today (Thursday 27 January), the current infection prevention control guidelines remain in place across all healthcare settings, including the need for universal use of face masks for staff and face masks or coverings for all patients and visitors (unless exempt) and physical distancing of at least one metre. Communications resources to support NHS providers are available here.

This is my (Ed’s) last primary care bulletin. It has been a pleasure to work with you all in primary care and I wish you all the very best for the future. Keep up the brilliant work.

Nikki and Ed

Dr Nikki Kanani
GP and Medical Director for Primary Care,
Deputy SRO, COVID-19 Vaccination Deployment Programme
NHS England and NHS Improvement

Ed Waller
Director for Primary Care, NHS England and NHS Improvement

COVID-19 updates

Myocarditis and pericarditis after COVID-19 vaccination: clinical management guidance for healthcare professional

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), in partnership with the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), has produced this clinical guidance to support the detection and management of clinical cases of myocarditis and pericarditis associated with coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination. This is a rare condition following vaccination and is usually mild or stable and most patients typically recover fully without medical treatment.

Engaging with underserved communities and priority groups about COVID-19 vaccination

These resources will support engagement with priority groups and underserved communities to help answer their concerns and boost uptake of COVID-19 vaccine:

Fact cards featuring trusted health professionals for use in presentations, websites, and digital messaging channels to help counter misinformation.
NHS letter from Dr Nikki Kanani, available in 24 translations, and graphic cards encouraging people without an NHS number to access COVID-19 testing, treatment and vaccination without charge and, if they wish, register with a GP.
Community pharmacy toolkit for the running and promotion of walk-in vaccination clinics for people without an NHS number, carers, cohort 6 and others.

Vaccination pledge to Black communities

A pledge to support people in Black African and Black African Caribbean communities to take up their COVID-19 vaccinations has been backed by 65 prominent health and community leaders.

In an open letter, published by the Caribbean and African Health Network (CAHN), they back COVID-19 vaccination as safe and offer to be available for open and honest discussions about it, promising that questions will be met with respect and compassion. Teams can support the pledge and download social media assets to use in their engagement with Black communities via the COVID-19 Vaccine Equalities Connect and Exchange Hub.

COVID-19: mandatory vaccinations for staff in GP practices

This guidance from the BMA focuses on the implications of the new legal requirement for healthcare workers in GP practices to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

COVID-19 Vaccination Programme – workspace

General practice

How can GPs effectively care for patients with long-term conditions in the current climate?

UCLPartners has built a suite of comprehensive search tools for EMIS and SystmOne that help primary care to safely prioritise care for patients with long term conditions at the same time as responding to the COVID surge and the vaccination programme.

Update on ‘Learning from Lives and Deaths - People with a Learning Disability and Autistic People’ (LeDeR)

LeDeR reviews help local systems to improve services for people with a learning disability. These now include reviews of deaths of people who have a clinical diagnosis of autism who died on or after 1 January 2022. You can report a death at www.LeDeR.nhs.uk.

Primary care records are key to understanding the person who has died and will always be needed to look at whether services can be improved, learning from the death of an individual. Find further information about LeDeR here.

GP practices should always notify LeDeR about the death of any patient registered with the practice who has a learning disability or who is autistic, via this online form.

Your opportunity to inform staff training in general practice

You are invited to take part in a survey as part of our work with Health Education England on training needs to support general practice staff working with remote triage, care navigation (directing patients to the right person at the right time), online, telephone and video consultations. We would like to hear from those working in general practice on what types of training would help you work with these digital tools more confidently. Your input will be crucial in designing effective training for staff. The survey closes 23 February.

MMR uptake communications and marketing campaign

Between 1 February - 14 March 2022, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), supported by NHS England and NHS Improvement and the UKHSA, is running a new campaign to encourage parents of eligible children aged 1-5 years that haven’t had their MMR vaccination to come forward.

The objective is to increase the number of people getting children they care for vaccinated from Measles, Mumps and Rubella and boost parents’ confidence that getting their children vaccinated is the right thing to do.

While this is a national campaign and there will be variations per GP practice, we expect the number of individuals this campaign targets to be low per individual practice and any contact with the practice to be spread out. Therefore, we don’t expect any significant additional pressure for each practice.

General practice - latest updates

Community pharmacy

Community pharmacy Local Enhanced Service Specification – phase 3 coronavirus vaccination

Read the latest information on how NHS England and NHS Improvement will commission phase 3 COVID-19 vaccination services from community pharmacy.

NHS Digital Weight Management Programme: Community Pharmacy Referral

As part of the 2021/22 Pharmacy Quality Scheme, community pharmacy staff can refer patients (who meet the criteria) into the NHS Digital Weight Management programme (or Local Authority-funded tier 2 weight management services). The NHS Digital Weight Management Programme offers free online access to 12-week behavioural and lifestyle plans. With different levels of support and a choice of providers, it is designed to help people manage their weight and improve their wellbeing.

Resources for health professionals on the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme can be found here. The NHS Digital Weight Management Programme has also produced further resources to support pharmacy teams referring patients into their programme.

Dentistry

£50 million funding injection for Dental Services

Infection prevention control measures were eased in November 2021 and since the start of this year, the NHS has required dental practices to operate at 85% of their pre-pandemic contracted activity. To support recovery, funding will secure up to 350,000 additional dental appointments for people suffering from oral pain, disease, and infection to get the care they need, as services drive back to pre-pandemic levels. Locally, the funds can increase care capacity amongst local dentists already operating to help patients suffering from oral ill-health.

Dentists involved in the scheme will be paid more than a third on top of their normal sessional fee for delivering this care outside of core hours, such as early morning and weekend work. The one-off funding is available until the end of the current financial year.

Further information is included in the latest NHS dentistry and oral health update.

Primary care

Practical next steps for ICSs

Dr Claire Fuller, GP and Chief Executive of Surrey Heartlands, has been asked by Amanda Pritchard (NHS CEO) to lead a wide-ranging national stocktake of how primary care can best be supported within the emergent Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) to meet the health needs of people in their local areas – focusing on practical next steps ICSs can take as they assume a statutory footing from July.

We are eager to hear about how to seize this opportunity to ensure integrated primary care is at the heart of ICSs. We need your help to identify pockets of fantastic best practice already happening across the country and on social media (#FullerStocktake). This video offers further information.

Shifting prescribing trends for psychotropic medication in people with a learning disability and autistic people

In December 2021, NHS Digital released the fifth report detailing the Health and Care of People with a Learning Disability. This shows a shifting pattern of psychotropic prescribing for people with a learning disability and autistic people, often without a confirmed mental health diagnosis. This is a significant achievement for everyone involved in the care of people with a learning disability and autistic people.

Join the STOMP-STAMP community of practice and link with colleagues to develop, showcase or begin your STOMP-STAMP work. This collaborative platform contains free resources and provides open forum chats as well as private workspace areas for wider collaboration and sharing of ideas and experiences.

Musculoskeletal research applications

The Nuffield Foundation, in partnership with Versus Arthritis, has launched a new funding opportunity to improve the social and economic well-being of people living musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions.

Applicants will develop research proposals that can help identify, develop and enhance non-clinical policy and practice interventions which might benefit people at greater risk of developing musculoskeletal conditions or aim to reduce the negative consequences and improve the quality of life for those who have them. Relevant areas of focus include ethnic, gender and income inequalities that increase the risk of poorer outcomes and support for mental health.

Applicants must submit an outline proposal by 14 March 2022.

Upcoming events and webinars

January – March 2022 (multiple dates). CPCS workshops with RPS & RCGP

January – February (multiple dates). Daily vaccine confidence sessions hosted by clinical professionals

NHS Pension Response – additional seminar dates for February 2022:

Pensions Tax (staff aged 50+, multi-regional)

Pensions and Flexible Working (staff aged 50+, multi-regional)

2 February, 9am – 12pm. Digital Health Innovation Collaborative – free online eve

2 February, 1pm – 2pm. Long COVID research outcome measures

2 February, 1.30pm – 2.30pm. Social Prescribing Link Worker (SPLW) Series: Supporting your well-being, the support offer

3 February, 1.30pm – 3pm. Bridging the uptake gap in areas of multiple deprivation

3 February, 5pm – 6pm. General Practice webinar