Avon LMCs Newsletter on 18-06-25

The ALMC Newsletter

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

– LATEST NEWS –

Chair’s Blog

Last week, I was involved with another communication skills session involving actors, and I was struck by the overlap between our two jobs. We are both playing a role for the public; one to entertain and the other to heal. But it was only through the analysis and dissection of these consultations, that it dawned upon me, that we are also analysing and interpreting the text of people’s lives, just as an actor would try to understand a character. Values and opinions are not random, but arise from a collection of lived-in experiences, and without understanding these, we cannot come close to understanding the disease.

Yesterday we had our monthly joint meeting with One Care, and an exciting aspect of this was the plan for both organisations to host GP Training commencing this February. These training posts have already been established within the ICB, so I know how much value they can bring.

“When we plant a tree, we are not just planting a seed: we are nurturing hope for the future.”
— Chinese Proverb

Shaba Nabi
Chair Avon LMC

North Somerset Board Director Election outcome

Dr Tanya Beer, a GP Partner in Tyntesfield Medical Group, has been voted in as the new North Somerset Board Director, starting July 2025, for a term of three years. Tanya brings with her enormous experience as a GP working on both sides of the England/Wales border, as well as playing a role on the agenda committee for the UK LMC Conference.

We would like to extend our gratitude to Dr Mike Jenkins, a GP Partner at Mendip Vale Medical Group, who has been an active North Somerset Board member for the last four years. Mike has supported Avon LMC with his extensive experience of the urgent care interface, as well as working with Marcus Lee, our marketing and communications officer, on website development. We are delighted that Mike will continue his role on the LMC Committee, representing his PCN.

Freedom of Information Request to practices concerning Transgender Care

A number of practices have received FOI requests concerning Transgender Care and Avon LMC has supported them with their responses. These requests may take slightly different formats, so it is important to address the question being asked of the practice.

If you require any further support with these requests, do not hesitate to contact us at info@almc.co.uk.

You asked, We said

Question: We are looking after a family where the parents are divorced and have joint custody of the child, so both parents have responsibility for arranging GP appointments. There is an expectation from the parents that the practice will communicate the schedule of these appointments to both parents, but we are wondering if this is our role.

Answer: Thank you for your query about a divorced couple with joint parental responsibility for their children. This is not an uncommon scenario to navigate, and it would be advisable for the practice to articulate a clear and mutually acceptable contract around the health needs for children, so the rules of engagement and responsibility are clear. This should not involve a practice acting as a “go between” between two parents.

There is some useful information on the Wessex LMC website:
https://www.wessexlmcs.com/guidance/medical-records/#Parental%20Responsibility

GPC England update to LMCs

This can be found here.

Dates for your Diary

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

dt/IPV vaccine update

When the dt/IPV vaccine (diphtheria, tetanus, and inactivated polio vaccine) is administered as part of a travel consultation, no IOS fee can be claimed, as it is considered covered within the global sum.

However, opportunistic vaccinations, such as those given to update a patient’s routine immunisation schedule outside of a travel health consultation, are eligible for claims.

This issue has been raised with the SW Screening and Immunisation team, as the current coding does not differentiate between vaccines administered during a travel consultation and those given opportunistically. The SW team has confirmed that the national team is aware of this issue and is exploring solutions, although no timeframe has been provided.

In the meantime, they advise that practices record dt/IPV administered in travel health clinics as non-GMS, which will prevent the data from being extracted incorrectly.

The ALMC Director of Nursing will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as they become available.

The New Southwest Primary Care Infection Prevention Network

Calling all professionals passionate about infection prevention across GP Practices and PCNs in Southwest!

Please find the poster here.

Learning Disabilities Week 2025

Learning Disability Week 2025: this year’s theme is “Do You See Me”, which aims to ensure that people with a learning disability are seen, heard, included, and valued in all aspects of life.

Organised annually by Mencap, Learning Disability Week is a time to raise awareness, challenge stigma, and celebrate the contributions of people with learning disabilities. It’s also a chance to reflect on how we, as communities and housing providers, can do more to support inclusion and independence.

Infant feeding survey – for staff and volunteers in BNSSG

Better Breastfeeding who are working on behalf of BNSSG ICB to co-produce an infant feeding strategy for the area. As part of this, surveys are being conducted targeting anyone who works in BNSSG in a role where they support parents with feeding their babies, including GPs, GP trainees and allied health professionals working in primary care, amongst many other multidisciplinary professions. The survey can be accessed by clicking the link, and there is an additional survey for parents to complete if they’ve received support in feeding their babies in the last 3 years. You are welcome to complete both surveys. Thank you very much for sharing your experiences.

A further detailed explanation is below:

Infant feeding survey – for staff and volunteers in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG)

Better Breastfeeding is working on behalf of BNSSG ICB to coproduce an infant feeding strategy for this area. We are conducting a survey through which staff and volunteers can tell us about your experience of providing infant feeding support in BNSSG and about what you would like to see in an infant feeding strategy. I’m writing to ask if you can help us by completing the survey if you are in a relevant role, and by promoting the survey to any staff you work with and through your communication channels.

Who is the survey for?
The survey is for anyone who works in BNSSG – either as a professional or volunteer – in a role where they support mothers to feed their babies. This includes midwives, health visitors, community early years practitioners, peer supporters, breastfeeding counsellors, lactation consultants, maternity support workers, obstetricians, paediatricians, neonatologists, GPs, nurses, dieticians, pharmacists, children’s centre staff, speech and language therapists, dentists, urgent care staff – and anyone else whose role involves talking to mothers about baby feeding. It includes people working in the public or voluntary sectors or in private practice.

More information about the survey
We estimate that the survey will take 17 minutes to complete. It will be open for responses until Sunday 22nd June. The survey is anonymous. Your full response will only be seen by Better Breastfeeding researchers. Summary data and quotes may be shared with partner organisations or published in reports, but not in a way that could identify you.

How can I help?
If you are in a relevant role, please complete the survey yourself.

Please share the survey as widely as you can to relevant staff and volunteers. For example, you could forward this email to:
– colleagues in your organisation
– staff working in a similar role to you across BNSSG
– the person in your organisation who is responsible for any internal communications in case they can share the survey through a staff newsletter or intranet
– managers who could cascade the information to their teams.

Separate survey of mothers
We have a separate survey for mothers who have given birth in BNSSG (or who gave birth elsewhere and accessed infant feeding support in BNSSG) in the last 3 years. We’d welcome any support you can offer with promoting this to mothers and have produced a toolkit of materials to help with this which includes a printable poster and social media graphics.

If you have yourself given birth in BNSSG in the last 3 years and would like to share your experience as a mother, please do that through the mothers’ survey. You are welcome to complete both the staff and mothers’ surveys if you wish.