September newsletter now available

Londonwide LMCs Newsletter

September 2015 Newsletter

Health Select Committee's new inquiry into Primary Care - our response

Londonwide LMCs' response to the Commons Parliamentary Health Select Committee's new inquiry into primary care is now available.

Don’t let your NMC registration lapse – information for nurses and practice managers

From November, anyone who allows their Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) registration to lapse will need to make an application for readmission in order to regain access to the register. This could take between two and six weeks.

Retired Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) indicators update

Practices have highlighted concerns in relation to the request from the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) to extract data related to retired QOF indicators. The BMA’s General Practitioners Committee (GPC) Executive team has taken up the profession’s legitimate concerns with NHS England and NHS Employers.

Updated Subject Access Requests (SARs) guidance from the BMA

The BMA has issued updated ‘Focus on’ guidance on Subject Access Requests for insurance purposes following input from the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Warning for practices that use a PBX telephone system

There are reports that some businesses have recently been victims of PBX fraud where a fraudster hacked into their phone lines and made premium rate calls at a significant cost to the practice.

Speakers' Corner

Jeremy Hunt has pledged to recruit 5000 extra GPs by 2020. Dr Joe Rosenthal from the Department of Primary Care and Population Health at UCL Medical School writes about what is needed to make general practice the positive career choice for medical students.

Guidance Updates

•	Sessional GP Subcommittee Newsletter - top tips for locum pay and pensions and the benefits of joining a sessional GP group

Londonwide Diary

September

24	Business Health Check
28	London Improvement Grant application deadline

October

7	Handling complaints
10	Reflective practice for GPs
13	Parliamentary Health Oral Questions
13	Infection control
13	Allergy Academy - Anti-IgE study day
13	Allergy Academy - Immunotherapy in allergic disease
14	Allergy Academy - Asthma in practice
16	Deadline for return of September FFT data

Also this month...

Responsible Oxygen Prescribing

The London Respiratory Network has asked us to re-circulate a copy of the London Clinical Oxygen Network (LCON) key messages for responsible oxygen use in adults from 2012. Their advice is to continue to discuss any home oxygen prescription with the specialist respiratory team.

Broadband vouchers

The Government’s superfast broadband connection vouchers worth up to £3000 are available to small and medium sized businesses until March 2016.

Life in general practice today – the Commonwealth Fund would like your views

From 28 September Dr Gordon Moore, a professor at Harvard Medical School, will be in the country to conduct a small number of personal interviews of GPs to develop a more fine-grained view of life in general practice today.

Buying Group updates

Increased savings on magazine subscription packages with DLT Magazines

Up to 70% off on magazine subscriptions and a further 10% off for LMC Buying Group practices using the promotional code LMCBG.

Egg-free flu vaccine Optaflu now available

MASTA, one of the Buying Group’s approved flu vaccine suppliers for the 2015-16 season, is now carrying stocks of the egg-free flu vaccine Optaflu.

Media round-up
	Londonwide LMCs and CEO Dr Michelle Drage were quoted in The Observer, on 13 September, in a front page news article based on the information submitted to the Parliamentary Health Select Committee warning that overloaded London GPs cannot cope. Read it here. The Observer’s sister paper, The Guardian, carried the Parliamentary Health Select Committee story on its website and it was also picked up by BBC London evening news on Sunday 13 September. GP Online quotes Londonwide LMCs and Dr Michelle Drage in their article published on 15 September stating ‘Londonwide LMC leaders warned ministers that GPs cannot continue under soaring workload demands and mounting pressure unless key problems are addressed’. Read it here. Dr Michelle Drage appeared on Victoria Derbyshire on BBC2, speaking about the new NHS occupational health scheme. See it here. Again, based on the information submitted to the Parliamentary Health Select Committee, Pulse quoted both Londonwide LMCs and Dr Michelle Drage. The article, entitled ‘London GPs tell MPs cuts in mental health services are hitting them hard’, was published on 14 September 2015. Read it here. Pulse released its Power 50 list which includes those who, voted for by their peers, were deemed to have made the greatest contribution to general practice in the past year. Dr Michelle Drage was voted in at number 19, while there was a special mention for Dr Tony Grewal as a 'Local Hero'.

Got a story? Email us at comms@lmc.org.uk. Deadline for next month's submissions is 12 June.	Have you downloaded your resources from our GP Resilience website?

Last updated : 17 Sep 2015

Darzi report one year on - 'Primary care stretched to breaking point and still waiting for resources' (21 Oct 2015)

Dr Michelle Drage comments on the implementation of the Better Health for London (Darzi) report, to coincide with the one-year anniversary of its publication and the London: One Year On...

October 2015 newsletter now available (15 Oct 2015)

Londonwide LMCs Newsletter

Tamiflu in nursing and care homes (14 Oct 2015)

In January the GPC sought legal advice on Public Health England’s (PHE) instructions to prescribe Tamiflu for the prophylaxis of influenza in nursing and care homes where there have been...

Improving well-being and health for dementia patients workshop (14 Oct 2015)

WHELD Research Programme (Improving Wellbeing and Health in Dementia) have organised an Royal College of General Practitioners accredited workshop for GPs in London. It will discuss anti-psychotic medication and no-pharmacological...

Clinical Commissioning Group Outcomes Indicator Set - participation voluntary (14 Oct 2015)

Advice has been sought from the BMA General Practitioners Committee’s IT Subcommittee on the Clinical Commissioning Group Outcomes Indicator Set (CCG OIS) for 2013/14 and 2014/15. Practices have been asked to sign...

Year-end deadline for agreement of GP Systems of Choice and GP IT services (14 Oct 2015)

NHS England has published an agreement for signature by practices and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) setting out the provision of GP Systems of Choice (GPSoC) and GP IT services. The...

Death in service benefits for locum GPs - are you covered? (14 Oct 2015)

You may already be aware that there are persistent current inequities regarding the entitlement to ‘death in service’ benefit for freelance/ locum GPs compared to their principal or salaried GP...

Healthwatch ask General Practice Committee for transparency on additional charges (14 Oct 2015)

The General Practitioners Committee (GPC) recently met with Healthwatch England to discuss charges that GPs can make for work not covered by their contract. Whilst the patient group understands the...

New London Ambulance Service proposals to introduce non-emergency transport (14 Oct 2015)

London Ambulance Service (LAS) have consulted with us about a new service which they are implementing to help them manage the need for emergency ambulances more efficiently. A letter outlining...

Meningococcal B for infants – FAQs update (14 Oct 2015)

NHS Employers have updated their vaccs and imms FAQs in relation to meningococcal B for infants to explain the eligible age cohort (2 – 13 months), as well as a catch-up...

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