Avon LMCs Newsletter on 08-07-26

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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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Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Severn Deanery GP Trainee Leadership Conference, where I spent time with what will soon become the next generation of GP partners, leaders and advocates for our profession. It was an encouraging reminder that, despite the challenges facing general practice, there remains a huge amount of enthusiasm, talent and commitment amongst those entering the profession.

One of the highlights for me was the opportunity to explain the role of Local Medical Committees and the unique statutory functions that Avon LMC performs on behalf of every GP practice across our area. I was also pleased to highlight the close and constructive partnership we have developed with One Care, demonstrating how collaboration between organisations can deliver real benefits for practices while maintaining the independence of the LMC voice.

The conference also provided an opportunity to speak with resident doctors who have recently resolved a pay-battle with the Government. Their successful campaign for an improved pay settlement serves as a timely reminder that meaningful change rarely happens by accident. It reinforced the importance of collective action, of having the confidence to say “no” when proposals are unfair or unsustainable, and of standing together in pursuit of better funding and working conditions.

Scroll to the bottom to find this week’s dad joke.

Lee Salkeld
Chair: Avon LMC

If you are a Bristol or North Somerset GP, this is your last chance to vote for your LMC area Board Director as the vote closes this Friday 10 July.

The voting link has gone out to practice managers but please contact info@almc.co.uk  if you have not received this.

Here is a reminder of the self-nominated candidates: here

 The BMA has announced that Dr Clare Bannon has been elected (uncontested) as the new Chair for GPC England. Dr Bannon is a GP Partner in Barnsley, as well as being the Chair for her local LMC. She has held roles as both a Policy Lead and as a Deputy Chair for GPC England, since joining the committee in 2021.

Avon LMC wishes Dr Bannon all the best and is hoping for success in securing better funding into general practice.

For July, the BMA is asking practices to:

1. Review existing shared care arrangements to ensure they are safe, appropriately commissioned, and are supported by up-to-date protocols
2. Decline any shared care arrangements for new patients that are not supported by a locally commissioned, formal agreement, adequate resourcing, and clear responsibilities.

Our local collective approach to this will be discussed at the next LMC Committee meeting on 13 July and we will be sharing more information about this in the coming weeks.

Question: I would be grateful for clarification on current expectations regarding tirzepatide prescribing in relation to QOF indicator OB005. While the 2026/27 QOF guidance now references pharmacological management of obesity, it remains unclear how this should be interpreted operationally for practices where there is no commissioned local service or pathway in place

Answer:

Thank you for your email regarding the responsibility of GP practices in relation to the weight management QOF indicator for 2026/27.

Both QOF and enhanced services sit outside the core GP contract and are therefore voluntary for practices.
Some practices may have been participating in the Tirzepatide Weight Management LES. This LES was ceased at the end of last month, and the activity is being incorporated into QOF. The ICB has advised that its modelling suggests this change should be broadly income-neutral for most practices during the first year. However, individual practices should undertake their own financial assessment based on their registered population and local circumstances.

Where a practice is not currently participating in the Tirzepatide LES, or where its own modelling indicates that transferring this activity into QOF would result in a reduction in income, the practice remains entitled not to participate in the relevant QOF indicator. In doing so, the practice would forgo the associated QOF income. 

This information about conducting a practice wound care audit has been disseminated to practice nurses and will now commence on 27 July.

We are grateful to  Londonwide LMCs for producing some excellent practice guidance for the NHSE list validation exercise.

We would like to apologise for cancelling the July drop-in date due to competing priorities.

Our next virtual drop-in will now be on 22 September.

• One Care is asking all practices to complete a short survey each week, for an initial period of 12 weeks, so that it can better understand the scale and risk associated with practice waiting lists across BNSSG.
  
  Please complete this form each Wednesday from 1 July 2026 onwards. If you do not have a waiting list for routine appointments, we would still be grateful if you could complete the form. One Care will process the information provided but only share more widely in a format aggregated to locality level.
  
  Practice level data will be treated confidentially. If you have any questions about this form or the process, please contact Bonnie Curran, Urgent Care Programme Manager, at bonnie.curran@onecare.org.uk. Thank you in advance for your co-operation and support.
  
  

This can be found here

Thursday 2 July General practice bulletin

Tuesday 7 July General practice bulletin.

Please see a new Tier 1 booking links attachment – this includes Tier 1 Webinar dates through to end of September 2026.

Dates and links can be found here 

 

Date: Thursday 24^th September 2026
     Time: 12:30 – 16:30
     Venue: Mercure Bristol North the Grange Hotel
 
Succession Planning, Workforce Retention & Developing Your Team, delivered in collaboration with the Practice Managers Association (PMA), is the latest offer from the BNSSG Practice & PCN Management Development (PPMD) programme.
 
Designed for non-clinical managers working in primary care, this practical half-day workshop will explore succession planning, talent development, staff retention, coaching, mentoring and workforce wellbeing, helping practices to build resilient and engaged teams.
 
Please see workshop flyer for further details and registration information, or contact Louise Carthy, Project Lead, at L.Carthy@nhs.net.

 

Last few remaining tickets available for the BNSSG GPN/GPNA Conference on 23rd July 2026, 9.00-16.30 at Shaftesbury Park, Frenchay.

It’s going to be a great event with lots of reps joining us along with some great teaching sessions, and of course the opportunity to meet and chat to other colleagues within the BNSSG area! The first session led by Dr Miriam Akhtar is going to be fabulous, giving you a change to stop and reflect on working in fast paced environments and acknowledging the skills that you have, whilst building resilience! Helen and I attended the workshop last year and it was a real boost to our working lives! Please book using this link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bnssg-general-practice-nurse-and-nursing-associate-conference-tickets-1992348152958?aff=oddtdtcreator
 
 Flyer can be found here

I’m afraid for the calendar.
Its days are numbered.

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– LATEST TRAINING AND EVENTS –

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