May 2023

Published On 25th October 2023

BEST Events – Held @ Shaw Lane Sports Club, Barnsley

For further information the BEST Portal Website can be accessed at http://best.barnsleyccg.nhs.uk/

Medicines Management

Shared care and Amber-G guidelines can be found at the following link: http://best.barnsleyccg.nhs.uk/clinical-support/medicines/shared-care-guidelines/ An overview of Shared Care guidelines, including the Principles of Shared Care is available to read here.

Prescribers (including secondary care clinicians) are encouraged to report any problems they experience with shared care or other medicines related issue, particularly where guidelines are not being complied with, to the following email address: BarnsleyAPCReport@nhs.net.

With secondary care opening up activity and undertaking remote consultations, it has been reported that there has been increased pressure in primary care to undertake things they wouldn’t normally. Due to this, the APC reporting has been temporarily expanded to capture any issues and these can be fed into the APC. The hospitals need this information so that issues can be addressed.

Practices can now report any interface issues they have, as much as possible, via Barnsley LMC, which will then be submitted to the hospitals.

A list of Prescribing Guidelines is available to view here.

The Barnsley Area Joint Formulary is available to view here.

Medicines Management monthly Newsletters are available to view here.

Workload Shift

Barnsley LMC would like to remind all practices it is important that we receive examples of any workload shift. Please provide examples of workload shift to barnsley.lmc@nhs.net in order that these can be taken to the meeting with Secondary Care.

PCCAD

Practices have recently been asked to complete a weekly questionnaire to report their workload, locally called PCCAD (Primary Care Capacity and Demand), which is similar to OPEL reporting used in secondary care. This is not a contractual requirement but is voluntary, and as an LMC we have been clear this either requires funding, as an additional admin burden, or there must be clear supportive outcomes when a practice reports it is under pressure. If practices choose to complete this we would urge that this is done accurately as the ICB is collating data to devise an action plan. Currently there is no policy or support of package in place based on the outcome of our reporting. It is therefore vital that the questions are completed accurately to prevent a detrimental/negative impact in general practice.

We know General practice is struggling, yet the few reports that have been returned would suggest otherwise. Accurate returns will allow us to continue to demand positive solutions for practices under ongoing pressure.

Oliver McGowan Training on Learning Disability and Autism

All GP practices in England must ensure their staff receive training in learning disability and autism, including how to interact appropriately with people with a learning disability and autistic people. This requirement was introduced by the Health and Care Act 2022 in July last year. The government’s preferred training programme is the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism. However, the Act does not specify a training package or course for staff. The ‘Oliver McGowan mandatory training‘ is, in fact, not mandatory. The CQC cannot tell practices specifically how to meet their legal requirements in relation to training, and while NHS England and ICBs may share the government’s training programme preference and encourage uptake, it is ultimately for practices to determine how their staff are trained to meet their legal requirements. Further information is available here.

Safe Working in General Practice

The BMA’s England GP committee (GPCE) has generated the following guide Safe working in general practice (bma.org.uk) to enable practices to prioritise safe patient care, within the present bounds of the GMS contract.

GPCE Concerns About New Health Data Deal for Large Multinational Firm

Responding to news reports that NHS England has awarded Palantir a new deal to transition existing NHS projects into a new federated data platform (potentially worth over £400m), David Wrigley, deputy chair and digital lead of GPC England, said: “GPs have long raised concerns about the appropriate use of patient data, and today’s decision by the Government to give £25m to a huge US-based multinational company, to do further work on a large NHS patient data project, only exacerbates these concerns.” We have called for NHSE and DHSC to urgently discuss with us how they plan to use confidential patient data within this data platform and what role Palantir will play. Read our full statement here

NHS Long Term Workforce Plan

NHS England has published the NHS long term workforce plan. It sets out clear proposals for government and the practical steps to ensure the NHS has the number of staff it needs across the country with the tools they need to deliver the best care possible. The certainty of confirmed funding allows actions locally, regionally, and nationally.

Some of the key highlights for primary care from the plan include:

Further expanding the number of GP training places available and building on the success of the additional roles reimbursement scheme (ARRS) with the aim of increasing the number of non-GP direct patient care staff and primary care nurses.
Pharmacists will benefit from an expansion of training places and of clinical role, and consideration of a pharmacist degree apprenticeship. For pharmacy technicians, there will be growth and apprenticeships will be part of this, and an expansion of clinical role.
The number of training places available for dentists, dental therapists, and hygienists will be expanded. The plan commits to building on investment made in 2022/23 for postgraduate dental specialty training, focused on areas currently underserved by existing provision, which will improve access to specialist dental services in future.

Online Access to GP Health Record

Information and guidance to support giving patients online access to their GP health record has been updated. Practice staff can access resources including:

There is also guidance for those working in secondary, community and mental health services who send correspondence to general practice.

Service To Confirm GP Registration Status

From July some patients transferring GP practice will receive confirmation that their registration has been successful via Notify a Patient service. This aims to reduce administration by reducing the number of calls or visits from patients to confirm their registration status and is set to be rolled out for the majority of registrations by the end of the year. Confirmation is sent via NHS App, email, SMS or post. With messaging being handled centrally, practices may wish to consider how they manage the confirmations they currently send. For more information or to be involved in testing the service, contact england.register-gp-surgery.support@nhs.net.