Thank you to Julie Sharman and Jane Betts - 23 June 2021
This month we are saying farewell to Mrs Jane Betts, our valued Director of Primary Care Strategy for North Central, North West and South West London. Jane, a health visitor by training, joined Londonwide LMCs from the NHS in 2010, where...Summer 2021 workforce survey closes on 24 June - 23 June 2021
With pandemic capacity issues placing such great strain on London general practice it is more important than ever for us to have broad and up-to-date evidence on the state of the workforce. Our latest workforce survey closes at midnight tomorrow, so if you are a GP partner or practice manager...Londonwide LMCs 2021 election nominations complete - 23 June 2021
Thank you to all those GPs who nominated themselves to stand for their LMC. All constituent GPs should soon receive details of whether their constituency is going to ballot or if the nominees are elected to the LMC unopposed. The latter will occur in cases where the nominees are equal...EasyJet asking for doctor’s letters for face mask exemptions - 23 June 2021
We are aware that EasyJet are asking passengers who believe themselves to be exempt from wearing face masks on public transport, are to bring a signed doctor’s letter or medical certificate. The airline’s guidance can be viewed here. There is no legal requirement for anybody to provide medical evidence...Update: Health Minister delays GPDfPR implementation until September - 23 June 2021
The Government has today announced to Parliament that the start of GP Data for Research and Planning (GPDfPR) will be delayed until later this year. The first collection by NHS Digital’s new patient data extraction system will be on 1 September. Health Minister Jo Churchill MP said this would allow...Data Security and Protection Toolkit deadline - 30 June 2021 - 22 June 2021
Practices need to demonstrate their compliance with the Department of Health and Social Care’s data security and information governance requirements by the end of June. This is achieved by submitting a self-assessment using the Data Security and Protection (DSP) Toolkit, an online tool that replaced the IG Toolkit in April 2018....Londonwide reaction to GPC motion of no-confidence in NHS England Executive - 11 June 2021
Earlier today GPC England considered and voted on a confidence motion, following the publication of letter BO497 on 13 May 2021. Londonwide Response Dr Michelle Drage, CEO of Londonwide LMCs, said: "On behalf of Londonwide LMCs and general practice across the Capital, I'm relieved that...DHSC consultation on proposals to reform regulation of healthcare professionals - 02 June 2021
The Department for Health and Social Care is currently consulting on proposals to reform the regulation of healthcare professionals. In general terms there are a number of positive proposals, particularly in relation to the proposed changes to the fitness to practise procedures. The consultation document covers four key areas: ...Revised data collection regime - 26 May 2021
The General Practice Extraction Service (GPES) is due to be replaced by General Practice Data for Planning and Research (GPDPR), which will eventually unify all data extractions pertaining to health and social care purposes including planning, policy development, public health, commissioning and research. In order to do this NHS Digital...Weekend e-consults and online access - 24 May 2021
We are aware that many practices are receiving online consultations submitted over weekends and triaging these is creating significant workload, often running into several sessions of GP time each week. Currently there is no requirement for practices to provide online consultations, although there is a commitment for them to become...Proof of vaccination status for travel - 19 May 2021
Patients wishing to prove their Covid vaccination status can do so in two ways, neither of which require the involvement of their GP. The first way is by downloading the NHS App, registering for an account and signing in, the second is by calling 119 and asking for a letter...NHS England face-to-face access letter - 19 May 2021
On the evening of Thursday 13 May NHS England wrote to GP practices instructing them to provide face-to-face appointments upon patient request and allow walk-in patients into practice premises for triage. Londonwide LMCs has joined other LMCs in reminding practices that they are only obliged to provide face-to-face appointments or...Londonwide LMCs response to NHS England Publication B0497, 14 May 2021 - 19 May 2021
Yesterday evening NHS England issued a letter, which instructs practices to open their receptions for walk in triage and provide in-person appointments unless there is a “good clinical reason” not to. According to the letter, this must commence on Monday morning, 17 May, giving practices just one working day...Face to face access letter and your contractual obligations, 17 May 2021 - 19 May 2021
Further to my message on Friday, I am sure you will now be all too aware of the letter issued by NHS England on Thursday evening, purporting to advise GP practices how to improve patient access to general practice services, as Government Covid-19 advice changed from Monday 17...Tips of the Month May 2021 - 19 May 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 this newsletter. Patients can prove their vaccination status for travel via the NHS App or...International Nurses Day 2021 - 19 May 2021
12 May was International Nurses Day, we celebrated it by getting people working with general practice nurses across London to ‘shine a light’ on their colleagues who had worked particularly hard during the pandemic. You can read the full article here. We also had two first-hand reflections written by...LMC elections 2021 nominations now open – make your voice heard and stand for election - 19 May 2021
Only LMCs represent every GP practice in their area and every person working within each one. Standing for your LMC means giving a voice to your colleagues and personally developing new skills, as our Board members explain in this brief video. The deadline for nominations is 5:00pm on Friday...UK LMC Conference 2021 round-up - 19 May 2021
The UK LMC Conference took place on 11 and 12 May, the motions debated and voted on at the conference can be read here, including which were carried, or carried in parts. A video archive of the day is available here: Day 1 morning Day 1 afternoon...
Guidance
We provide expert guidance for practices in our guidance section, as well as an archive of other materials you may find useful.
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