Avon LMCs Newsletter on 25-09-24

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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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We held our LMC virtual drop-in yesterday which is an opportunity for the membership to discuss any ongoing LMC activities, including GP Collective Action. Thank you for those of you who attended and offered us some very useful feedback. It wasn’t as well attended as I had expected which may be related to people experiencing difficulties with the teams link which was shared within the newsletter. We are very sorry if you were affected by this, and we are committed to rectifying this for future virtual drop-in sessions. We will also send out an email reminder to practice managers the day before the next one, to act as a reminder.

I bumped into Alison Wint last week at the gym. Some of you may remember her as a longstanding and well-respected GP in the area, who was the Cancer Lead for the CCG. I was updating her with all the latest GP news, and she is happy for me to share her response to me:
“Shaba, General Practice is like your mother. It’s always there for you to pick up the pieces, no matter how bad you may treat it.”

Ignoring the obvious gender bias in this statement, I reflected on what a brilliant analogy this was to highlight the continuity of general practice in everyone’s life. And just like that mother, who puts everyone else first before herself, general practice will burn out unless it starts saying “No.”

“When you say “yes” to others, make sure you are not saying “no” to yourself” – Paulo Coelho

Dr Shaba Nabi
Chair Avon LMC

We are aiming to update you as much as possible about GP Collective Action. We will be sharing information via email to all practice managers, as well as hosting it on a members only area of the website.

The first of these updates has gone out to practice managers with this week’s newsletter.

To reassure those of you asking if practices have to individually serve notice to the system – this has already been done on your behalf by the LMC. We have also drafted a general patient communication letter which is to be ratified and will be sent to you in our next newsletter. We will also be developing specific patient communications for each individual collective action for you to use.

We are hosting all our information on GP Collective Action on a member’s only area of the website using the following link Collective Action – Avon LMC as well as emailing updates to practice managers.

An amended LMC constitution was ratified at the last AGM on 16/09/24. The main changes are as follows:

• Practice Manager elected to committee rather than appointed
• One Practice Manager elected from each of the three BNSSG constituencies
• Board Director nominations come from membership pool for that constituency (and not just Committee)
• Chair to be voted in by entire membership and not just Committee

Please click here for LMC constitution.

Question: Which Roles Need a Standard or Enhanced DBS?

Answer: The rule of thumb is that all clinicians, nurses, HCA’s, phlebotomists etc need an “enhanced check” plus anyone else who may be in a one-to-one situation with a child or vulnerable adult – so not usually admin staff or receptionists but probably the Practice Manager/Deputy etc – a “standard check” would suffice for these roles.

From August 2019, DBS became more stringent with their acceptance of standard and enhanced checks which we must ensure are accurate if we don’t want to lose our registration as an LMC. If forms are received by DBS for processing and deemed by them to be of an incorrect category, they will cancel the application and the process needs to be started again, which may incur a cost. We must ask practices to check the eligibility for a check but also whether this needs to be standard or enhanced.

Please don’t ask for an enhanced check if the role does not require this e.g. administrative work only.  If a receptionist is also to train and act as a chaperone, then the job title will need to show as Receptionist/Chaperone to ensure that an enhanced check is not rejected.

Please check your staff role requirements on the government website before applying. There is also as eligibility guide here that you may find helpful.

We receive DBS requests in particular around doctors who may have more than one job role and/or more than one employer. Staff who work for more than one employer or will likely move around e.g. locums, may be interested in subscribing to the DBS Transportable / update service DBS

Read the latest GPC England bulletin here.

Please find the guidance here.

We have a new email address for DBS queries.  Please email us on dbs@almc.co.uk

Are you making the most of your Buying Group membership?

When was the last time you reviewed how much your practice is spending on the products and services you regularly buy?

The cost of living crisis continues to bite and GP practices will be looking for ways to reduce running costs.

This is where your free membership to the LMC Buying Group can really come in handy as it offers practices access to discounts on a wide range of products and services. They can help you save money on the following areas:

• Medical consumables and equipment
• Stationery, Office equipment and furniture
• Workwear
• Insurance
• Confidential information shredding
• Energy
• Recovery Oxygen
• Telecoms
• Test and Calibration
• Online Training
• DBS Checks Processing

The Buying Group suppliers won’t just offer you a great price one week and then ramp up the price the next so you can be assured that if you order from their suppliers, you’ll get a great price every time you shop meaning you don’t have to ‘shop around’ to find the best deal every month anymore.

If you’re not sure whether you’re a member and/or have access to the Buying Group website (this is where you can view the pricing/discounts and get quotes) then contact the Buying Group team on 0115 979 6910 or info@lmcbuyinggroups.co.uk. They can also help you with any questions you might have about your membership or the suppliers.

• 12th November 2024: Virtual LMC drop in, 13.00 – 14.00
• 22nd November 2024: England LMC Conference – London, all day
• 14th January 2025: Virtual LMC drop in, 13.00 – 14.00
• 11th March 2025: Virtual LMC drop in, 13.00 – 14.00

• Tuesday 24 September General practice bulletin (mailchi.mp)
• Thursday 19 September General practice bulletin (mailchi.mp)

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– LATEST TRAINING AND EVENTS –

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• 25 September / End of Life Teaching Day with Weston Hospice
  Sign Up Form
• 26 September / Introduction to Personalised Care AARS Role and Health Coaching
  Sign Up Form

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

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