Primary Care Bulletin - this week's round-up

10 March 2022

Dear colleagues,

Public Health advice for health professionals: people returning from Ukraine

The situation in Ukraine remains at the forefront of all our minds and the NHS is starting to see citizens returning from Ukraine, as well as refugees, many of whose first port of call with the NHS will be primary care.

The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities has updated its guidance to help health professionals assess and address the health needs of people coming from Ukraine.

The key messages are:

• Screen all new entrants, including children, for tuberculosis (TB).
• (Due to low prevalence) look for hepatitis B risk factors that may indicate a need for screening.
• Consider screening for hepatitis C (considerably higher prevalence than the UK).
• There is a risk of typhoid infection.
• Consider nutritional and metabolic concerns.
• Work with a professional interpreter where language barriers are present.
• Consider the impacts of culture, religion and gender on health.
• Assess for mental health (and trauma) conditions.
• Support individuals and ensure that all patients, especially children, are up-to-date with the UK immunisation schedule, including making the offer of Covid vaccination (primary course, boosters, or completion of initial course if begun overseas)
• Refer pregnant women to antenatal care.

Newly arrived individuals will need help on how to access the NHS, and this will include GP registration as the principle route for accessing services.

We remind that individuals may struggle to provide proof of ID, address or confirmation of immigration status and their registration requests should be managed sensitively. None of these documents are required for registration and the inability of any individual to provide them is no reason to refuse registration.

National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) resilience request 

UK organisations are being urged to bolster their cyber security resilience in response to the malicious cyber incidents in and around Ukraine. 

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has issued guidance for organisations to take during periods when the cyber threat is heightened.

In the light of heightened tensions and the NCSC guidance, all primary care contractors must maintain a business continuity plan which should include loss of access to relevant IT services, including telephony, to maintain the delivery of essential services. We ask all contractors to review and update these, if they have not done so in the last 12 months, to reflect the increased reliance on digital technology.  

For GP contractors these arrangements should follow the significant guidance on cyber security measures and Business Continuity included in the GP IT Operating Model. GPs need to work with CCGs and their GP IT delivery partner(s) to actively manage the removal, replacement or mitigation of any unsupported systems in the managed estate.

For Pharmacy contractors, PSNC have also published advice on cybersecurity and business continuity.

Social Prescribing Day 2022

Today is Social Prescribing Day - an annual celebration of social prescribing and Social Prescribing Link Workers (SPLWs). GPs report that around 20% of all their appointments are about wider social needs like poor housing, debt, stress and loneliness, rather than specific medical issues. Social prescribing provides a pathway for GPs to refer people to access the support they need, using a holistic approach to their health and wellbeing, and connecting patients to local community support and services.

SPLWs are being rolled out across the country via PCNs and are part of the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS). PCNs and CCGs can find all the latest recruitment support, training and guidance for SPLWs via our social prescribing webpages.

We are currently looking for SPLWs, amongst other MDT roles, to take part in a photoshoot for future primary care campaigns and case studies. SPLWs; care navigators; dieticians; podiatrists; occupational therapists; first contact physiotherapists; paramedics; care coordinators; health and wellbeing coaches; physician associates; nursing associates; and mental health practitioners are encouraged to get in touch ASAP.

The photoshoot will be held at the end of March in London; however, reasonable travel expenses will be covered if you are interested but live outside of the area. Please email nhs@23red.com for an application form and submit it by 12pm on Monday 14 March 2022 if you would like to take part.

Nikki and Ali

COVID-19 updates

A reminder - healthcare staff who test positive for COVID-19

Healthcare staff who have tested positive for COVID-19 should not attend work until they have had two negative LFD test results taken 24 hours apart. The first test should not be taken before day 5 after their initial positive test. Guidance is available on the UKHSA website.

Vaccination as a condition of deployment

The Government has announced that it will bring forward the regulations to revoke vaccination as a condition of deployment following its consultation, which closed on 16 February 2022. The revocation of the regulations will come into force on 15 March. The full consultation document is available to read online.

COVID-19 Vaccination Programme – workspace

General practice

CASE STUDY: Yorkshire based GP partnership going above and beyond to provide care to at risk groups in their communities

In our latest primary care networks case study, we explore how GPs within the Airedale, Wharfdale and Craven (AWC) Modality partnership are providing care to their most vulnerable across North and West Yorkshire, by working together, bringing care to the centre of these communities.

General Practice Appointments Data (GPAD) collection from April 2022

Three new categories of information will be added to the publication of General Practice appointment data from the end of April. In addition to the current data on appointments, NHS Digital will be adding national categories, duration of the appointments as recorded on clinical systems and a slightly broader definition of roles.

Practices are asked to access their GPAD dashboard to check their data as soon as possible. The dashboard team can be contacted via the details in the link above for any queries you may have.

Ordering DWP forms

The Department for Work and Pensions has a new contract for printing forms Med 3 and MATB1 used in practices. From 21 February, if you need more Med 3 and MAT1B pads these should be ordered from HH Global. Further information, including how to order can be found on GOV.UK.

General practice - latest updates

Optometry

NHS General Ophthalmic Services GOS 4 pre-authorisation information

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) has published an article to help ophthalmic contractors with GOS 4 pre-authorisation requests to repair or replace a patient’s glasses. The article covers: what is a GOS 4 voucher, how to check your patient qualifies and how to get pre-authorisation from the NHSBSA. To read the article in full, visit Under the Lens: Pre-authorising your GOS 4 vouchers.

Community pharmacy

Community pharmacy service to support patients with stop smoking journey after hospital discharge starts today

In-patients who start a stop smoking attempt whilst in hospital, can now be referred to the new NHS Community Pharmacy Smoking Cessation Service to continue their stop smoking journey, once they are discharged.

From today, following a referral from their hospital, people will be able to choose the community pharmacy they wish to be referred to, provided it has registered to provide the Advanced Service.

The service will be rolled out in community pharmacies across the country from 10 March 2022, supporting the implementation of the NHS Long Term Plan commitment that by March 2024, everyone admitted to hospital will be offered NHS funded tobacco treatment services.

Read our case study about the first pilot area in Oldham which went live in November 2020 and this blog from Professor Sanjay Agrawal, National Speciality Advisor for Tobacco Dependency at NHS England and NHS Improvement.

National resource to support practice referrals to NHS Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (CPCS)

A national provider, Primary Care Commissioning (PCC), has been commissioned from March to June 2022 to support practices to implement the CPCS referral pathway. 

PCC will complement existing resource already in place in regional teams to deliver a joined up offer to practice staff with reviewing and redesigning their current processes to ensure effectiveness and improved utilisation of the service. We encourage all practices to utilise this opportunity. You can find a list of regional CPCS team contacts online.

NHS CPCS contracting arrangements will change on 1 April 2022

The national provision of CPCS IT solutions will end on 31 March 2022. From 1 April 2022, pharmacy contractors are responsible for securing a new contractual agreement with an assured IT supplier of their choosing. 

Please refer to the NHS CPCS IT Buyers Guide for more information.

Medicines Delivery Service - update

Following the bulletin on 24 February advising contractors of the cessation of the  Medicines Delivery Service from pharmacies and dispensing doctors, contractors are reminded that no medicine deliveries should be made as part of the Medicines Delivery Service after 5 March.

Contractors should note that claims must be submitted no later than 5 April to be remunerated for any deliveries made on or before the 5 March 2022. The payment for the essential element of the medicine delivery service will continue until the end of March.

Primary care

BLOG AND FILM: Helping Fishermen to stay Seafit

Dr Bola Owolabi, Director – Healthcare Inequalities Improvement, recently visited Cromer to see the work of The Fishermen Mission’s SeaFit Programme which takes health services to the quayside in partnership with the NHS and other health providers. The programme has helped to increase access to healthcare for fishermen and their families in coastal areas around England. A new blog and short film about Bola’s visit are now live to read and view.

Improving staff retention: A guide for line managers and employers
Supporting NHS colleagues to stay and stay well is more vital than ever. Improving staff retention: A guide for line managers and employers is an updated resource from our National Retention Programme and NHS Employers, which aims to support line managers, employers and leaders to retain talented and skilled staff. The guide incorporates learning from COVID-19, supports the ambitions in the NHS People Promise and equips line managers and employers to have regular conversations with colleagues to discuss how they could support them to stay. Read more in this blog by acting chief people officer, Em Wilkinson-Brice.

An update on the National Training and Development Programme for Practice and Primary Care Network (PCN) Managers
Thank you to everyone who participated in the survey and workshops which gathered views to develop a national training and development offer. Over 400 surveys were completed and our workshops were well attended. The survey has now closed, however, you can still give your feedback by emailing scwcsu.primarycareworkforce@nhs.net.

Those who have completed the survey or joined a workshop will receive an invitation directly for a webinar on 22 March to share key themes gathered. We will have further news and updates to share soon on this programme.

Primary Care Network Appointments Data Dashboard starts live testing

We are very pleased to launch a new appointments dashboard to support Primary Care Networks to improve their understanding of appointments activity.

The dashboard is both undergoing final testing while simultaneously being made available to PCN leads. Access will be made available via NHS smartcard after successfully submitting an online access request form.

Once your application has been processed the dashboard team will contact you directly with the onboarding details and will let you know which week you can access your dashboard starting from 10 March.

More information is available for PCN clinical leads including how to access the dashboard.

Help develop new digital productivity playbooks – deadline 31 March

Tell us about your challenges in workforce management and administration or where digital technologies have solved these issues, to help develop new digital playbooks. Your involvement could include developing case studies, ‘deep dive’ workshops, and user testing of playbooks.

‘Trust’ in healthcare services

The independent NHS Race and Health Observatory have launched a survey to assess the levels of ‘trust’ that different communities have in their primary care services. The survey takes less than 5 minutes and will look at how trust impacts the public’s interactions with primary care services, including general practitioners (GPs), community nurses and community pharmacists. It will explore whether perceptions of trust make a difference when it comes to having the ability to access services, along with experiences of using services and health outcomes. Compete the survey online.

Do you refer to NHS Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) services?

We need your help to develop a set of Quality Markers to improve experience of care within SDEC services. If you are interested in joining a focus group to discuss your experience of referral, or if you have any insight from your patients or unpaid carers on SDEC services, please contact england.peadmin@nhs.net and we will get back to you.

For information on this Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) project is available online.

Upcoming events and webinars

Various dates, March. Getting ready for patients to have access to their future data. For GPs / operational staff and primary care commissioners.

10 March, 6pm – 8pm. Independent Prescribing for Pharmacists – invitation for Community Pharmacy. We are keen to work collaboratively with employers to ensure that future prescriber training offers are aligned to workforce need.

11 March, from 11am. NHS Charities Together online remembrance event

15 March, 10 – 11.30am. Personal health budget community of practice. This session will focus on step six of the implementation framework - monitoring, review and evaluation.

15 March, 1pm – 2.30pm. FeNO Learning Collaborative

16 March, 1.30 – 2.30pm. Volunteer befriending, creating connection

21 March, 3.30 – 5.15pm. Community Mental Health: Roadmap for Transformation and ARRS

22 March, 11am – 12pm. An introduction to working with people and communities

22 March, 5pm – 6pm. Dermatology Transformation webinar

23  March, 1pm – 2pm. Vulnerable migrants: meeting  health, wellbeing and safeguarding needs

23  March, 7pm – 8pm. New Pathway for Uncontrolled Asthma

24 March, 10am – 11am. New guidance on working with people and communities

24 March, 10am – 11am. Implementing shared decision making: Putting NICE guidance into practice

Link of the week

In-person exhibition: Women at the heart of general practice #IWD2022