Avon LMCs Newsletter on 16-07-25

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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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As temperatures begin to cool, it’s a welcome relief for many. However, heatwaves are likely to become a recurring and intensifying trend in the years ahead, and their impact on both patients and staff cannot be underestimated. During recent hot spells, many practices struggled to maintain safe and comfortable indoor environments so it’s vital that we proactively plan ahead. Fans, air coolers and hydration stations should be considered as part of ongoing resilience planning for both clinical and non-clinical staff.

The NHS 10 Year Health Plan was published recently, and in keeping with most aspirational government documents, sounds more like a Santa’s wish list than an operational plan. The proposal to develop two new neighbourhood contracts for general practice may appear to promote integrated neighbourhood working. However, there is a significant risk of core GMS/PMS funding being eroded as funds are diverted to these new contracts. This could be the beginning of the end for the partnership model—not through direct abolition, but by starving it of relevance and resource. The erosion of independent contractor status may come not with a bang, but with a quiet restructuring of priorities.

Tomorrow, GPC England meets to debate what these shifts mean for the future of our profession. We will be pushing for clarity on what safeguards will be in place for practice-level funding and how national leaders intend to support, and not bypass, GP partnerships.

In the meantime, thank you—as always—for what you do, day in and day out, especially in challenging conditions.

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent—it is the one most responsive to change.” — Charles Darwin

Shaba Nabi 
Chair: Avon LMC

The BMA Resident Doctors Committee has announced strike dates from 7am on 25th July to 7am 30th July.

Here is a useful summary.
The three main elements of the 10 Year Health Plan are as follows:

• Hospital – > Community
  • Neighbourhood Health Centres operating six days per week
  • Integration of primary care services, physiotherapy, mental health, community services
  • Shifting hospital out-patients into community with shift of resource
• Analogue – > Digital
  • NHS app as gateway for appointments, results, self-referrals
  • Single Patient Record by 2028
  • AI for triage and remote care
• Sickness – > Prevention
  • Legislation for food/smoking
  • Weight loss drugs at scale
  • Genomic screening

You can watch the video featuring the Chair of GPC England sharing her thoughts about the NHS 10 Year Health Plan here.

It was brought to our attention that ADHD 360 has changed their referral process so referrers must submit an on-line form to complete a patient referral. This goes against the LMC position of using an EMIS generated self-populated referral form for all referrals, to reduce workload and bureaucracy within general practice.

We have written to this provider, and you can see this letter here.

Question: Could you let us know where we stand as a partnership if one of our salaried GPs works in a private clinic outside of the practice contract? We are concerned about being in breach of regulation 24 of the contract.

Answer: Regulation 24 of the GP contract only applies to the contractor – ie: the holder of the GMS/PMS contract, and not salaried GPs (or other salaried clinicians). However, there needs to be an internal practice policy to mitigate any conflicts of interest which would be:

• Not advertising the private clinic within the practice
• Not signposting practice patients to the clinic
• Private work being undertaken outside practice contracted hours

In addition, the BMA Salaried GP Handbook on section 14 of p178 states:
Practitioners may undertake private practice or other work, provided that it does not conflict with their Job Plan, and save by mutual agreement, is not undertaken during the contracted hours.

We would advise you to create a clear policy for all clinicians who may wish to provide essential GP services within a private setting to ensure that conflicts of interests are managed in a robust and transparent way.

This can be found here.

• 2nd 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 24th of July at 1pm. 
Please come and join us to discuss anything respiratory related.

Poster attached.

TGeneral Practice is under huge pressures with increasing demand for appointments, an ever-growing number of patients to support on hospital waiting lists, continual loss of GPs and ongoing funding cuts. This has had effects on GP wellbeing and rates of burnout and desire to leave clinical practice are increasing as a result. We want to support the GP workforce in BNSSG at this difficult time. To help support you, the BNSSG Training Hub and NHS England are expanding a successful pilot recently implemented in Devon to better utilise GP appraisals to support GPs.

Please find out more from here.

A social care worker’s job is to give practical and emotional support to a wide range of people. They work with individuals, families, and communities to assist them in improving their well-being so they can live a better quality of life. They may be employed in a home environment, nursing homes, or community centers. They can provide their services under the supervision of a case manager or social worker. Oftentimes they can partner with other health or social care professionals.

Some services that social care workers may look after are household tasks such as cooking, cleaning, or preparing meals. They assist with personal care like washing, dressing, and using the toilet. They may also offer short-term support to help people live independently, especially after an illness or injury. They can aid in organizing physical, social, and leisure activities, which are called daycare services. In some instances, they step in to do respite care, which allows an unpaid carer to take a break for an agreed amount of time. They can assist in looking after an individual’s health issues, or give them opportunities to socialize with other people.

Social care can change lives. It enables people to carry out tasks they otherwise won’t be able to do. Individuals are given the opportunity to live with dignity and as much independence as they can. Everyone is entitled to live life to the fullest and social care can enable them to do so. The need to serve others is considered more of a calling than a career to those involved in this profession. They deserve our appreciation not just for a month but all year round.

• Tuesday 15 July General practice bulletin
• Friday 11 July General practice bulletin
• Thursday 10 July General practice bulletin

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