Face covering requirements in practices
NHS England confirmed on 15 July 2021 that Public Health England’s infection prevention and control (IPC) guidance still applies to patient-facing healthcare settings, ahead of the law around mask wearing coming to an end on Monday. From a practical point of view this means practice staff can rely on mask wearing being NHS policy, rather than an individual practice decision, when asking patients to wear a face covering.
We have produced a poster that practices may wish to put up in waiting rooms, reminding patients of the importance of wearing a mask, and designed to reflect the diversity of London’s population.
We have been campaigning on the issue of face masks since the Government announced they would be dropped as a legal requirement two weeks ago, alongside a wider piece of work pushing back against abuse of practice staff by people opposed to mask wearing and the Covid vaccination campaign. Dr Michelle Drage, our CEO, spoke to The Guardian on Wednesday and shared examples of abuse fed back to us by London practices. Dr Drage was also quoted in Pulse and GPOnline prior to yesterday’s announcement, calling for a firmer line from NHS England on mask wearing.
Download colour version – A4 PDF
Download black and white version – A4 PDF
The BMA have also produced a poster covering masks and other IPC measures. Download here.
Last updated : 07 Oct 2021The working life of a GP during the pandemic (20 Sep 2021)
Dr Tina Agrawal is a GP in Camden and Co-chair of Camden Local Medical Committee, here she shares how her working life has changed significantly since the start of the...Update: NHS England advise gradual return to normal Becton Dickinson container stock (17 Sep 2021)
On 29 November NHS England issued its latest update on the Becton Dickinson blood test container supply problem. Previously, NHS England advised that Becton Dickinson containers should only be ordered "little and often", with...UPDATE: Application to renew a firearm and/ or shotgun certificate, or registration as a firearms dealer (RFD) (09 Sep 2021)
In June we advised that in discussion with Londonwide LMCs, the Metropolitan Police produced guidance for GPs to refer to when approached for a factual medical report by a...Value. Care. Protect. (18 Aug 2021)
Our latest video explains how GPs and practice staff are under pressure and asks patients to be considerate when talking to practice team members.Tips of the Month August 2021 (18 Aug 2021)
We provide weekly tips based on common queries which come through to us from London GPs and practice teams. These are shared via social media and collated for...ARRS claw back in North Central London (18 Aug 2021)
In July primary care networks (PCNs) in North Central London received an unexpected demand from their combined CCG for the return of funding used to pay for staff employed under...Covid and flu enhanced services (18 Aug 2021)
The following documentation has either been published or updated over the previous month. Flu vaccination programme Enhanced Service Specifications: seasonal influenza vaccination programme 2021/22, includes separate childhood service...Anti-abuse campaign (18 Aug 2021)
Limitations placed on practices by infection prevention and control measures, combined with the release of pent-up demand for GP services and misinformation about the Covid vaccination campaign have resulted in...Workforce survey spring 2021 initial findings (18 Aug 2021)
408 people working across 322 GP practices responded to the survey, representing 29% of the practices in the Londonwide LMCs’ area. Half of responding practices have vacancies for any role,...Guidance
We provide expert guidance for practices in our guidance section, as well as an archive of other materials you may find useful.
GP Support
Contact our GP Support team if you need help or advice.
The team provide professional and pastoral support to GPs and practice teams on a broad range of issues.
follow us on...
