Dear %recipient.firstname%,
For many years GPs and the LMC have requested that hospital specialist provide legible and comprehensive information when making requests for GPs to prescribe following outpatient attendances. Unfortunately, hospital specialists have continued to provide inadequate...
Dear %recipient.firstname%,
When performing employment medicals GPs do not have to express an opinion about whether a patient is fit to carry out their occupation. We recently had discussions with District Councils about this in respect of taxi medicals. The LMC has been asked to produce a...
The Accessible Information Standard aims to ensure that people who have a disability, impairment or sensory loss are provided with information that they can easily read or understand with support so they can communicate effectively with services. Examples of the types of support that might be...
This newsletter includes articles on;
General Practice Forward View
Performance Matters - Prescribing to Vulnerable Adults
PCSE Contact Details
Out of Area Registrations
Global Sum Funding & Uplift
Revalidation Guidance for GPs
Electronic Discharge Summaries - ULHT Backlog
Learning Disabilities...
We all receive, deal with, and file, hundreds of blood test results every week. In the vast majority of cases this is a seamless and uncomplicated process. However, over recent months a number of cases have been discussed at performance panels where the main concern has been due to incorrectly...
There is not an actual small claims court. Low value claims are dealt with in the small claims track of the civil courts and they are commonly referred to as being in the 'small claims court'.
Cases in which your claim is worth £10,000 or less (or £1,000 or less for personal injury claim or...
Bankruptcy
Any individual who is able to give information about a bankrupt may be required to give evidence, for which no charge can be levied. The Court may also require such individuals to produce any documents in their possession or under their control relating to the bankrupt (S366,...
GP practices will find it easier to apply for the clinical pharmacists in general practice programme following the relaxation of criteria. Providers covering a population of 15,000 will be able to make an application for a whole time equivalent clinical pharmacist - previously this had been...
This newsletter includes articles on;
Practice Manager's conference
Recent LMC work
Requests from schools
Mental capacity assessments
Transitional care / Home First
Flu vaccinations
Firearms update
Dental problems
Safeguarding guidance
Requests for branded drugs
Winter indemnity schemes for...
Please see the email below and attached documents that has been sent to all practices in Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire:
'Dear Colleagues
I have now pulled information together to support practices in getting their GP Extraction Services (GPES) data / CQRS flu payments as...
Not getting adequate consent is the fourth most common cause for medical indemnity claims[1]. It also accounts for high proportion of the cases which are taken to the GMC and local Performance Groups.
When consent is not adequately obtained, and a claim arises, 75% of claims are settled...
From time to time NHS England will check that practices are complying with some of the changes to your core contract that have come in over recent years. Checks may include, reviewing your practice website, your e-declaration or telephone discussions with your practice.
Items checked...
The Lincolnshire LMC have been contacted by many practices over the past few days who have received an email from NHS England regarding their core hours.
In November 2017, NHS England issued guidance to commissioners regarding the definition of how practices meet the 'reasonable needs of...
The CQC published its State of Care report recently, which is an annual assessment of health and social care in England. The report found that 91 % of GP practices were rated good in 2018, with a further 5 % rated outstanding, despite increased pressure on services.
Once again, general practice...
Articles in this newsletter include;
International Recruitment
Call for Special Conference
Improving Communication between General Practice & ULHT
Performance Matters - Firearms held ny patients
Safeguarding Children Conference
Government e-petition to save general practice
BMA Survey of GP...
From time to time NHS Engalnd go through a process of validating the dispensing lists of practices.
NHS England will write to your practice with a list of patients that they think you should not be dispensing to. We would encourage practices to check whether you agree with the list the NHSE...
A Display Enery Certificate (DEC) is required for any building that exceeds 500m2 which is frequently visited by the public. A DEC will also be required where the total useful floor area of the building exceeds 250m2 which 'is occupied in whole or part by public authorities and frequently...
The duty of candour came into effect for GP practices on 1 April 2015. This is Regulation 20 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, which sets out fundamental standards.
It aims to ensure that providers are open and transparent with people who use...
This newsletter details the emergency special conference held on Saturday 30th January 2016 by the LMCs of the UK, to debate the state of general practice. It also details resources practices may wish to use.
Articles correct at date of newsletter.
The GDPR is a regulation that will come into force from 25th May 2018. Its intention is to strengthen data protection for individuals across the European Union. The GDPR strengthens the controls that organisations (data controllers) are required to have in place over the processing of personal...
GPs frequently see patients who are aged under 18 years of age without the parents being present. If the GP decides to treat these patients without parental knowledge or consent parents may complain about the doctor's actions. It is thus essential that all GPs understand the rules and guidelines...
GPs are increasingly being asked to act as occupation health physicians (OHP). Patients attend the sur-gery with a request from and employer to complete paperwork relating to the patient's ability to per-form various duties. Similarly, other organisations request that GPs complete forms or write...
Important Message to all GPs in England on changes to the GP contract for 2017/18, from the Chair of the GPC, Dr Chaand Nagpaul
'Dear Colleague,
I am writing to let you know that the BMA GPs committee (GPC) England has concluded negotiations and reached agreement with NHS Employers on changes...
This guidance came into force on the 1 June 2016 and applies to all doctors who carry out both surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures including those who may be responsible for supervising others.
The GMC defines a cosmetic procedure as ''any intervention, procedure or treatment carried...
Patients frequently attend practices with hand written prescription requests which were issued to them in outpatient clinics. These requests are often illegible, and rarely have enough information for us to safely prescribe. To this end practices have to delay prescribing to get clarity.
The...
GPs are often requested to give hepatitis B immunisation covering three broad areas;
for travel
for occupational health
lifestyle risk or medical conditions
Travel
Hepatitis B immunisation for travel is not remunerated by the NHS as part of additional services. However, the regulations do not...
Visiting patients at home is a part of the GMS contract.
The GMS contract states;
7.6.1 In the case of a patient whose medical condition is such that in the reasonable opinion of the Contractor attendance on the patient is required and it would be inappropriate for the patient to attend at a...
It is well documented that interruptions during consultations are upsetting to both doctors and patients. About 10% of GP consultations are interrupted for one reason or another. When surveyed, patients felt that over 50% of these interruptions were unnecessary, and 20% felt that the...
Please follow the Link above to view the February edition of the Lincolnshire Sustainability and Transformation Plan newsletter.
If you would like additional information on any of the items covered in this newsletter please contact Lincolnshire Health and Care using the details below.
Office :...
Membership entitles you to discounts on products and services provided by the Buying Group's suppliers. Membership is free and there is no obligation on practices to use all the suppliers. However, practices can save thousands of pounds a year just by switching to Buying Group suppliers. To view...
Members of the LMC Buying Group can access discounts with any of the suppliers on the attached list. To access these discounts, you can either login to the Buying Group website and request a quote or if you contact the supplier directly, you need to make sure you mention your practice is a...
This newsletter includes articles on;
General Practice Crisis Meetings
Private Administration of Men B Vaccinations
Performance Matters - Sepsis
GMS Contract Changes 2016/17
Publication of GP Earnings
DNA-CPR Countywide Policy
Zika Guidance for Primary Care
Improving Communications between...
NHS England's Five Year Forward View set out a number of NMCs (New Models of Care) that NHS England believes represent ways to provide integrated care to patients, and which are being trialled at 50 'Vanguard' sites across England.
MCPs (Multi-speciality Community Providers) are one of these...
Medication Reviews
Medication and prescribing errors can cause significant patient harm, and thus can lead to complaints and referral to the Practitioner Performance Team (PPT) or GMC. When these complaints are investigated, the PPT will look at the index case, and also at the records of...
What is the Mental Capacity Act 2005?
The MCA is an Act of Parliament which provides a framework by which people who may not be able to make choices about their own welfare, can be assessed, and cared for safely.
How do we decide if a patient has capacity?
If a patient is believed to not have...
Practices should recently have received a letter from NHS Digital informing them that the codes for the 'type 2' opt-out have been retired and should no longer be used. A 'type 2' opt-out prevented a patient's confidential personal information from leaving NHS Digital for purposes beyond their...
The CQC has issued revised guidance on DBS checks. The new guidance states that;
There is no requirement for a service that directly employs its own staff to repeat DBS checks within a set period. For example, there is no blanket rule such as re-checking all employees every three years....
Legislation
Under the terms of their primary medical services contracts, GP practices cannot refuse an application to join its list of NHS patients on the grounds of race, gender, social class, age, religion, sexual orientation, appearance, disability or medical condition.
Other than that,...
CQC seeks views on next phase of regulation
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is consulting on a further set of proposals which will help shape the next phase of regulation for health and social care across the country.
The proposals include:
Changes to the regulation of primary medical...
Practice In Touch
Practice In Touch is the Lincolnshire LMC newsletter. The newsletter is sent out on a regular basis to all GPs & practices in the county.
If you do not currently receive a copy of our newsletter & would like to subscribe, please email rosa.larner-peet@lpft.nhs.uk to be added...
This data collection will enable the NHS to better articulate general practice workload, understand appointment activity and utilisation and demonstrate the use of general practice across the week, including by healthcare professional and by mode of appointment.
This information to be collected...
This newsletter includes articles on;
Marketing Lincolnshire General Practice - BMJ Careers Fair
Performance Matters - Back Pain in Older Patients
Department of Works & Pensions (DWP) Consent
Patient Registration for GP Practices
CQC Registration
Doctors Health
Intranasal Influenza...
At the LMC we receive many queries regarding Out of Area Registrations. We have listed below, the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions;
Can existing registered NHS patients who move out of area be registered as out of area patients without home visits?
Existing registered...
A recent safeguarding Serious Case Review (SCR Family V, published on the Lincolnshire LSCB website) highlighted the importance of knowing who has parental responsibility for a child. In this case, a man had repeatedly taken a child to multiple medical appointments, and the child had received...
During the last few months we have had a number of practices find themselves in serious difficulties due to having no partnership agreement in place or their partnership agreement not being up to date.
We cannot stress strongly enough to all GPs & Practice Managers of the need to have an up to...
Practices spend a significant amount of time and resource trying to answer questions which patients raise regarding hospital appointments. To reduce this burden the LMC has created a poster for practices to use in waiting rooms and consulting rooms to educate patients about the best way to have...
The LMC has developed a range of resources to assist practices in preparing for their CQC Inspection.
CQC Walkthrough
We are also pleased to offer a CQC Walkthrough to practices, this involves a member of the LMC visiting your practice to help you & your practice prepare for your CQC...
GPC has been made aware that telephone systems used by practices may be vulnerable to fraudsters hacking into them and making premium rate calls. In one instance £2500 - £5000 of calls were placed over one weekend.
This is known as PBX/dial-through fraud, which occurs when hackers target...
Concerns have been raised about calls for GPs to review urgently the care of patients whose risk calculation may have been incorrect, and management plan may have been affected. The concern is that, by prioritising this work, the overall primary health care of our patients may be harmed by...
We have had many queries from practices where parents are requesting private administration of the Men B vaccine. Please be aware that, GPs cannot administer vaccines on a private basis to patients on their own practice lists, with the exception of travel vaccinations.
It is not appropriate for...
From 1 April 2015, it is a contractual requirement for practices to publish on their practice website by the end of the financial year (i.e. 31 March 2016), the mean earnings for all GPs in their practice relating to the previous financial year (i.e. 2014/15).
All earnings reported are pre-tax,...
NHS Digital have published the annual QOF in England report today. The area of greatest change has been the recording of patients with depression, which increased by 0.9% to 9.9%. 537.5 points was the average achievement score for practices out of 559 points, with 12.5% of practices achieving...
Healthwatch Lincolnshire has received a number of complaints from patients about being removed from GP practice lists. Healthwatch Lincolnshire has done some research and has found that some of the removals were done for inappropriate reasons, and that some practices have removed more patients...
Schools frequently request information from GPs regarding a child’s health conditions, their absence from school, or to certify that they were ill when sitting an exam. Parents often are put under pressure from schools to get this information from practices, even though they themselves would be...
The scheme is aimed at doctors who are seriously considering leaving or have left general practice due to personal reasons (caring responsibilities or personal illness), approaching retirement or requiring greater flexibility. The scheme supports both the retained GP and the practice employing...
Collaborative arrangements
The NHS Act obliges NHS bodies to provide advice to statutory bodies in relation to social services, education and public health functions. Thus NHS England and CCGs, as NHS bodies, have to enable the Local Authority to carry out is safeguarding duties. This is...
All staff who come into contact with children and young people have a responsibility to safeguard and promote their welfare and should know what to do if they have concerns about safeguarding issues, including child protection.
The intercollegiate document 'Safeguarding children and young...
The LMC Buying Group has made the decision to work with all four remaining flu vaccine companies for the 2019/20 season to ensure they are in a position to help members no matter which supplier you decide to use next year. GSK and Pfizer will not be producing flu vaccines for the UK market for...
The BMA has published a range of new documents on STPs, which include:
A comprehensive analysis of the STP process so far, taking a closer look at the ten key themes coming out of the plans
A summary of the contents of each individual plan
Glossary of terms used
A list of questions to ask local...
Sir Bruce Keogh speaking at the NHS England Board in July on the state of general practice.
Transcript from the July NHS England Board:-
Malcolm Grant: Great, thank you very much, Arvind. Let me invite questions and comments to Arvind from the board. Bruce?
Bruce Keogh: 'Thanks very much,...
Patients presenting with possible dental problems
This guidance informs GPs of their obligations to patients either requesting emergency dental treatment or asking for an NHS prescription for drugs recommended by private or NHS dentists. It is aimed at all GP’s including out of hours...
The GPC recently met with NHS England to discuss various issues including the current Capita/PCSE issues. This is a review of that meeting:
We continue to highlight the significant issues that have been raised with us through LMCs. NHS England is aware of most of them already and is dealing...
This alert comes from Andrew Green, GPC representative for East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire:
Please be aware that following quality assurance issues a range of generics are being withdrawn across Europe.
It is very difficult to know whether this will have an impact on GPs as that will depend on...
