Primary Care Bulletin - 30 June 2022 (Issue 195)

Primary Care Bulletin - this week's round-up

30 June 2022

Dear colleagues,

This week is World Wellbeing Week, and we’re urging everyone to take a moment to reflect on their own individual and team wellbeing. It’s so easy to just keep going and to put work first, but if the past few years have taught us anything it’s that we must be kind to ourselves and each other.

A range of wellbeing support, including free and confidential coaching, is available to all staff in primary care. The Looking After You coaching has supported thousands of colleagues since it launched in April 2020 and is the proud recipient of the HSJ Workforce Initiative of the Year Award 2021. We know from feedback that it works; providing a safe space to speak to an experienced coach about whatever is on your mind. A range of coaching offers are available – individual wellbeing sessions (including a service for colleagues from ethnic diverse backgrounds), as well as team coaching and career coaching.

We have also extended our wellbeing survey to assess the current wellbeing of the primary care workforce, to 7 July 2022. The survey will ask you to reflect on your personal wellbeing as well as the functioning of your team and your experiences of working remotely.

Please do take advantage of the further support also available and look after yourselves as you continue to look after others.

Nikki and Ursula

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

Dr Ursula Montgomery
GP and Interim Director for Primary Care NHS England and NHS Improvement

Looking after you: coaching for the primary care workforce >>

Key updates including COVID-19

Children aged 5-11 years can now obtain a recovery letter for travel showing evidence of a positive COVID-19 NHS PCR test within 180 days

An NHS COVID Pass recovery letter for travel that shows proof of a positive COVID-19 NHS PCR test in the past 180 days is now available for children aged 5 to 11. This new option is in addition to the NHS COVID Pass letter for travel which has been available since April for children who have received a full primary course of a COVID-19 vaccination.

The letters can be requested by parents or legal guardians via the NHS website or by calling 119, and the child will receive one or both letters depending on their eligibility. The letter is not available via GP practices. The letter will be posted to the address on the child’s NHS record. Further details can be found on the GOV.UK guidance pages.

Data processing arrangements following COVID-19 COPI expiry

Existing vaccination data flows and any additional information to support immunisation processes will continue beyond the COVID-19 Control of Patient Information (COPI) arrangements that expire today (30 June).

The essential processing of such data is covered through the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and Common Law Duty of Confidentiality in relation to direct care.

We hope this provides sufficient clarity and assurance as we progress and evolve vital vaccination services. More information is available to read on the NHS Digital website.

Requests for medical records from the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme

On behalf of the Secretary of State, the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) is contacting healthcare providers to request patient medical records to support claims for a Vaccine Damage Payment. The Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme aims to ease the financial burden on those individuals where, on very rare occasions, vaccination has caused severe disablement.

As part of the application process, patients provide the NHSBSA with consent to request medical records from their healthcare providers. The Department of Health and Social Care ask that when healthcare providers receive a request from NHSBSA for an individual’s medical records that you respond within 28 days or sooner, so that claims can be assessed and settled as quickly as possible.

We realise this may place an administrative burden on providers, however, this can be a very distressing time for claimants. For more information, contact nhsbsa.vdpsenquiries@nhs.net.

Supply issues with blood collection winged set safety with holder

NHS Supply Chain has issued an Important Customer Notice (ICN) relating to ongoing supply issues with blood collection winged set safety with holder 21G and 23G products from multiple suppliers. This is anticipated to be resolved between September and November 2022. NHS England is working with the National Supply Disruption Response team at DHSC, as well as the manufacturers and other partners to help manage the issue.

Some of the affected product codes are currently unavailable to order via the online catalogue, whilst other product codes are available to order via demand management.

Alternative products have also been identified and are detailed in the ICN. Please note that due to the clinical nature of these alternative products we advise you to consult your own clinical experts to ensure suitability for your organisation's use of these products. Any staff performing venepuncture should have the necessary training and be familiar with the products. The major manufacturers have advised that if customers require additional training or advice, their teams will be available to provide support. Any issues with supply should be escalated through business as usual routes.

General practice

Accreditation programme now available for general practice managers
We’re pleased to announce that The Institute of General Practice Management (IGPM) has launched its formal accreditation programme for managers in primary care, with 10 managers already having received the accreditation. Anyone with a managerial role in general practice can apply for accreditation, with full details of eligibility available on the IGPM website. Associates must apply to be assessed by an accreditation panel in order to obtain the level of Member of the Institute of General Practice Management (MIGPM).

This is welcomed news for managers, with the IGPM established by practice managers to ensure that there is a professional body to represent and support them. Practice managers can join The IGPM online.

New fit note legislation enacted – additional resources now available
From 1 July, new legislation comes into force which allows nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists, and physiotherapists to legally certify fit notes, in addition to doctors.

To support this, the government has published guidance to help individuals and employers identify the knowledge, skills and experience required to certify fit notes. A new training package is also available and should be completed before taking up this task - this is freely accessible for all healthcare professionals, including doctors. GP IT systems are expected to be updated by the start of September. However, GPs should check with individual suppliers as they are operating on different timescales.

GPN national update: monthly webinar
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) GPN forum encourage all nurses working in general practice to join this webinar on Friday 1 July from 1pm – 2pm. This is an opportunity to share best practice and for your voice to be heard by the national team at a webinar jointly run by NHS England, and the RCN. Please note this is a Microsoft Teams Live event; save this link in your diary and join on Friday 1 July at 1pm.

New online eating disorder learning available for GPs and primary care clinicians

To support GPs and primary clinicians in understanding and supporting people of all ages with an eating disorder, HEE has worked in partnership with experts by experience, NHS England and the charity Beat to launch two short 30-40 minute online eating disorder learning sessions.

Trainee Nurse Associates – apprenticeship programme
Health Education England has announced a national cohort offer of 100 Trainee Nurse Associate places for general practice to start in October 2022 with The Open University. These places are open to any new or existing staff within your Primary Care Network or general practice. This is a fantastic opportunity to increase your workforce. Please forward your expressions of interest to the Health Education England National Nursing and Midwifery Team at nationalnursingandmidwiferyteam@hee.nhs.uk by no later than Friday 29 July 2022.

General practice - latest updates

Community pharmacy

Support the development of the new Booking and Referral Standard
NHS Digital would like to speak to staff working in community pharmacies about the new Booking and Referral Standard (BaRS) to ensure it supports the needs of you and your patients. BaRS is an interoperability standard for healthcare IT systems which enables booking and/or referral information to be sent to or from care providers quickly, safely and in a format that is useful to clinicians. If you would like to take part or have any questions, please contact bookingandreferralstandard@nhs.net.

Quarterly New Medicines Service Data (NMS) returns not required for Q1 2022/23
Due to the pandemic, contractors were not required to submit their completed NMS summary data to NHSBSA in 2021/22. NHS England has been reviewing this data requirement and will advise in due course arrangements for later quarters in 22/23.

Dentistry

Latest dentistry and oral health update
The latest Dentistry and Oral Health update is now available to read online, including dental contractual delivery arrangements for the remainder of 2022/2023.

Primary care

Freedom to speak up guidance and support scheme
A new pack of Freedom to Speak Up (FTSU) resources have been produced to support further understanding about healthy speaking up cultures and value the employee voice as a vital driver of learning and improvement. The FTSU guidance and the FTSU reflection and planning tool can be used alongside refreshed national FTSU policy.

All primary care organisations providing NHS services are asked to adopt the updated national FTSU policy by the end of January 2024. NHS England will work with Integrated Care Systems and primary care organisations to provide further support to you next year when applying the new FTSU guidance and establishing or refining your Guardian arrangements.

The enhanced Speaking Up support scheme also provides a range of support for past and present NHS workers who have experienced challenges in moving forward with their professional or personal lives following a formal speak up process. Applications to join the scheme are open until Friday 19 August 2022. If you have any queries please contact the Speaking Up team.

Health Inequalities Programme – sickle cell disease
A new free e-learning module has been created for NHS staff. The first session of the health inequalities programme focuses on sickle cell disease. This session is an ideal resource for healthcare professionals looking for information and advice on how they can help to close the healthcare inequities gap among patients of the disease. This follows the launch of a new campaign #CanYouTellItsSickleCell, to help recognise the signs and symptoms related to the condition.

New Actionable Insights tool launched to tackle healthcare inequalities
A new ‘Actionable Insights’ tool has been added to NHS Foundry, as a partner tool to the Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Dashboard. The tool uses statistical techniques to present data into clear sentences. It is hoped that the new tool will make the data available to help NHS systems to reduce healthcare inequalities easier to interpret. New maps, generated by the new tool, also highlight where patients are most negatively impacted enabling teams to prioritise and target action. A recording has been developed to support its use and is available on the Equalities and Health Inequalities Future NHS platform. You must be a member of this platform to access the recording.

New flexible working toolkits
Two flexible working toolkits have been produced with Timewise and the NHS Staff Council. The guide for individuals will help prepare staff for positive conversations to make requests about flexible working and the line manager guide offers support in helping managers to put structures and processes in place to support a flexible workplace for all.

Survey: help us to understand the benefits of the NHS Service Finder
Using NHS Service Finder is a quick and easy way to search for NHS Services and removes the need for outdated paper directories or individual local knowledge. To help us understand the benefits of this service we need to know more about how healthcare professionals are currently looking for services, and how much time it would typically take. Please help us by completing our survey which will be open until mid-July.

Clinical staff invited to join the Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Network
Clinicians leading on Health Inequalities, particularly health inequalities leads from Primary Care Networks, are invited to join the Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Network. Hosted by the National Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Programme (HiQiP), the network offers members the opportunity to champion a quality improvement approach to reducing healthcare inequalities. Meetings usually take place monthly on the third Tuesday, 10am - 11.30am. Please email england.healthinequalities@nhs.net to register your interest.