Avon LMCs Newsletter on 11-06-25

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The ALMC Newsletter

Welcome to our weekly newsletter, sharing the latest news and topics of interest for practices.

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– LATEST NEWS –

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It was great to see so many of you at the pan-BNSSG One Care forum yesterday, to discuss access and continuity of care. GP access has become weaponised by successive governments, desperate to become “the one” who fixes the front door to healthcare. In reality, we should be much more concerned with continuity of care for patients, whether that’s through a named GP, a micro-team of GPs, or a proactive multi-disciplinary approach.

I won’t be as bold as to sign off with my own quote, but I often say that the majority of urgent care is due to the failure of planned care. This view was crystallised following our access model changes a couple of years ago, when we started operating a clinician led front-door total triage model. What became apparent is how important GP continuity is compared with the need for same day appointments.

I was reminded of the magic of continuity just the other day. I was about to consult with a patient in her mid-thirties, and when I filtered on my consultations, I was reminded of the difficulties she had faced whilst still at school. When I joked about feeling old because I had known her since she was a teenager, she looked up, held eye contact with me, and said “I know” with an unspoken bond of connection.

“Wherever the art of Medicine is loved, there is also a love of Humanity.” -Hippocrates.

Shaba Nabi 
Chair Avon LMC

There were so many inspirational speakers talking passionately about how they have transformed their access models to incorporate front door digital access and decision-making tools, whilst preserving continuity of care. Continuity comes in all shapes and sizes, within a variety of demographics, so there is no one size fits all.

We heard from Dr Jake Lee sharing his insights from Horfield Health Centre, who operate a personalised list system. What struck me was the equity of this system and dispelled the premise of a GP “getting the patients they deserve.” (a mantra often trotted out by me in my younger days!)

Dr Hyunkee Kim’s passion is to reverse the inequity of care existing amongst deprived populations, where the people who are in most need of continuity of care, are receiving it the least. He set up a micro team structure in East Trees Health Centre, together with an innovative tool to measure continuity in deprived practices. His take home message of “Access is Continuity” resonated with me.

Dr India Wheeler from Charlotte Keel Medical Practice continues to advance this continuity work in deprived populations and is working closely within her Deep End network to ensure work is progressed in this under-researched area.

The tabletop discussions led by GPs and practice managers was a good way to understand how different practices manage the same issues of a supply and demand mismatch, and it was so heartening to hear these stories shared with such generosity. If, like me, you are interested in learning more about some of these digital tools, you can read about them on the One Care digital Team Net site.

From 23 June 2025, Tirzepatide must be implemented in primary care. Tirzepatide represents a new therapy for weight management, but requires structured implementation, appropriate monitoring, and clarity around responsibilities. GPs should engage in prescribing where clinically appropriate and safely resourced to do so.

GPC England has produced a Focus on: Tirzepatide (Mounjaro) for weight management in General Practice document, which explains how Tirzepatide is used, commissioning arrangements (responsibility for funding lies with ICBs), and responding to information requests from private providers. 

The guidance also includes a template letter for practices to respond to requests for medical information following a private consultation. This updated template letter has been updated in EMIS, so thank you to the One Care digital team for facilitating this.

There is also patient facing guidance which can be found on the MHRA website which you may wish to share with patients. The BNSSG ICB Medicines Optimisation Team is also planning to develop patient communications to share within the system.

Question: It is very frustrating that schools are unable to make referrals for children with suspected ADHD to the “Right to Choose” providers. Is this something the LMC or ICB can influence?

Answer: The legislation governing Right to Choose providers permits only GPs, GDPs and optometrists to refer to them. Avon LMC has highlighted this to the GPC England executive team who will raise it with NHS England.

The outcomes of the 2025 UK LMC Conference have now been published and can be found here.

Did you know that as a registered Umbrella Body with the DBS, we offer a fast, dependable service designed specifically for GP Practices? 

Our goal is convenience and speed. With our user-friendly online portal, your Practice can easily submit and manage multiple DBS applications directly from the dashboard. 

No more paper forms, postage costs, signatures, or manual errors—just a quicker, simpler, and more cost-effective alternative to traditional DBS paperwork. 

Registration is free and straightforward. Cantium Business Solutions securely hosts the online system on our behalf, and you’ll have the continued reassurance of accredited LMC staff ready to assist you every step of the way, ensuring a smooth, efficient process and complete peace of mind. 

Make sure all your staff remain CQC compliant with up-to-date DBS checks.  Click here for more information.

We have arranged for Avon LMC to continue to hold a contract with UHBW Occupational Health and are aware that some practices will be due to renew shortly. This service is primarily used to support needle stick injuries.

Should you wish to use the service via Avon LMC’s contract, please let us know, and we can arrange the access fee and relevant invoicing to be set up. As soon as we have the appropriate financial information, we will be able to provide practices with the cost implications. Avon LMC wishes to provide access to the services while ensuring that practices do not pay more than is necessary.

Because more than one provider is offering the service through UHBW, we ask that you make it known whose contract you are accessing the service under in case both companies have you listed. Should you appear on both lists and have not identified which contract provider you are using, UHBW may contact you to confirm whose contract you are accessing the services under. This could affect the amount the contract holder charges you.

• 1st July 2025: Virtual LMC drop in, 13.00 – 14.00
• 9th September 2025: Virtual LMC drop in, 13.00 – 14.00
• 4th November 2025: Virtual LMC drop in, 13.00 – 14.00

BRIG meeting Thursday the 26nd of June at 1pm. 
Please come and join us to discuss anything respiratory related.
Poster attached.

Loneliness Awareness Week, hosted by Marmalade Trust, is a week dedicated to raising awareness of loneliness. It’s all about creating supportive communities by having open, honest conversations. Loneliness is a natural human emotion – we are hardwired to need social connections. By talking about it, we can support ourselves and others. ?

The campaign centres on a powerful message which resonates with many. We’ve trended on Twitter, reached 271.5 million people in one week with the campaign, and each year we’ve seen tens of thousands of organisations, charities and individuals get involved, including the Royal Family, the Prime Minister, Mayor of London, NHS trusts, and all Government departments.?

Whilst we’re seeing an increase in discussion on the subject, stigma remains and some key misconceptions still need to be challenged. Ask anyone to picture a lonely person and most will imagine an older person living on their own.  As such, we often rebuke and dismiss feelings of loneliness because ‘that doesn’t apply to me’.?

By identifying and acknowledging all the times that we have personally felt and experienced loneliness, we can start to change our viewpoint, accept it and understand how to take action to manage the feeling (and our social connections) in the future.

Dear all,
 
From 1 April 2025, there will be some changes to how you can access Buying Group information. The Buying Group has recently set up a new online portal for members to view their discounts, previous usage and request quotes. They have also launched ‘The Marketplace’ which is a one stop shop for office supplies, furniture, workwear, medical consumables and equipment.
 
Their website is also changing so your previous website logins will no longer work. This means everyone will need to complete this form to set up login details for the new portal: https://buying.plexusportal.co.uk/Register.
 
Please note that the email to set up your password is automated so may end up in your junk/spam folder so check there and mark the email as not junk/safe sender so any future notifications go direct to your inbox.
 
The Buying Group is managed by Plexus Support Services Ltd and their contact details are below if you have any questions:
 
Tel: 0115 979 6910
Email: info@plexussupport.co.uk  
Website: https://www.plexussupport.co.uk

• Tuesday 10 June General practice bulletin
• Thursday 05 June General practice bulletin

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– LATEST TRAINING AND EVENTS –

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Please see here for full event details.
For further information please contact Bnssg.training.hub@nhs.net

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