Avon LMCs Newsletter on 05-06-24

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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 feels like a lot has happened since I last wrote a newsletter: a general election date announced the day before the UK LMC Conference, as well as having a lovely week off to attend my nephew’s wedding; the seventh multi-racial celebration in our family.

Call me naïve, but I am feeling a shade more optimistic about the possibility of a new government, which is hopefully more sympathetic to the plight of general practice, and the need to invest in the core contract.

Let’s not fall into the trap of calling the GP crisis an access issue, or a workforce issue, or a bureaucratic issue. It all comes down to one thing – funding. Our core contract has been starved in favour of the PCN DES and other small pots of money in the name of population health. As ARRS funding does not include GPs or practice nurses, practices can no longer afford to pay for locum GPs, who are struggling to find work. This appears to be less of an issue in the BNSSG area, but more pronounced in the northwest of the country. So, in effect, we have simultaneous access/capacity issues within practices, together with under-employment of GPs.

If you feel as passionately as I do about the investment required in general practice, then please sign up to the GPC England Roadshow on 20^th June..

“Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much”: Helen Keller

Dr Shaba Nabi
Chair Avon LMC

This virtual event offers an opportunity to understand the upcoming non-statutory ballot for action on the 2024/25 contract and will be delivered by none other than Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer, the Chair of GPC England. I feel privileged to be able to call Katie a friend as well as a colleague, and she is a remarkable public speaker.

Although the ballot is only open to GP Partners, this roadshow is open to all Contractors/Partners, Practice Managers, Salaried/Locum GPs, GP Registrars and Practice Nurses. You do not need to be a BMA member to attend this virtual roadshow.

Pleas use this link to sign up for this roadshow

Avon LMC will be hosting a webinar on Tuesday 25th June 1pm – 2pm when we will be joined by national primary care representatives of the CQC team, to help practices prepare for CQC inspections.
 
Please sign up using the link below:
 
https://forms.office.com/e/hi2UcjWySq

Question: We have been asked to complete fitness to fly requests for airlines when we do not have full access to the antenatal records. Our in-house midwife informs us they are “not allowed” to do so.

Answer:  Fitness to fly letters fall outside the GP contract and therefore, you are not obliged to write letters certifying that a patient is fit to fly. The challenge for GPs is to provide an honest letter without access to the antenatal notes, which compounds and increases the negligence risk for the GP. Fitness to fly assessments can be complex and may require specialist training, especially when there are underlying chronic health conditions. One also has to be mindful that the NHS Clinical Negligence Scheme for General Practice will not cover liabilities arising from the issuing of one of these certificates so any clinician issuing a certificate would need to check that their MDO covers this.
The LMC will attempt to raise this issue with the midwifery teams in BNSSG, but in the meantime, you have our full support to decline these requests.

The deadline for sign-up has been extended – initially to 6^th June, but possibly beyond this. The LMC agrees with concerns raised by some practices around the following areas:

• The tight deadline for sign-up (subsequently extended at the request of the LMC)
• The lack of inflationary uplift offered.
• A two-year contract

Whilst we acknowledge that many practices have already signed up to the LES contract, the LMC and GPCB are committed to discussing areas of concern with the ICB.

The GPC England has now drafted contractual guidance on the 2024/25 contract following the imposition on 1^st April and these documents will be available on the BMA website in the next week or so.

The outcomes of motions debated has now been published and can be found below. You can also read the excellent presentation delivered by Michael Harrison, the co-CEO of Beds and Herts LMC, which was shared at conference.

Conference News
Managing expectations – Presentation by Michael Harrison

Read the latest GPC England bulletin here.

As part of the new LMC we are updating our phone number which will go live on 17 June 2024.  The old number is not available so for any queries please email info@almc.co.uk and we will get back to you.

The new number is 0117 302 1472

• Tuesday 4 June: General Practice Bulletin 
•  Thursday 30 May: General Practice Bulletin

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– LATEST TRAINING AND EVENTS –

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Organised by Lily Dixon (First Contact Practitioner Education Lead) and Kerri Magnus (Education Development Lead) at the BNSSG Training Hub, this FREE online forum will deliver updates, identify challenges, and provide training on blood and infection sciences. Topics include:

1. Update changes on the ICE requesting pathways for clinicians
2. Support any REMEDY updates focused on blood and infection sciences 

• 12 June 2024 12:30 – 13:30
• For GPs and Primary Care clinical staff (staff nurses, AHPs, PAs, and pharmacy staff)
• Microsoft Teams  

To register please click on the flyer here.

This FREE forum represents an opportunity to share learning between BNSSG primary care and the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, to support development of attendees’ knowledge and skills.

This event will feature a talk from speaker Gemma Tebutt (Senior Pediatric Physiotherapist at Bristol
Royal Hospital for Children) on Infant MSK: Hips and Feet.

• 18th June 2024
• 12:45 – 13:45
• Microsoft Teams
• For all Primary care roles

To register please click on the flyer here

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