Avon LMCs Newsletter on 27-11-24

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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’s been another busy week for the LMC with attendance at the annual conference of England LMCs. We were definitely flying the flag for Avon – with eight representatives taking up an entire row, actively participating in the debate. I felt immense pride to be part of this wonderful team and reflected on the stamp we left nationally. We’ve come a long way!

I recently attended a social event and got chatting to a priest. He described the monthly supervision he receives, which allows him to offload some of the pastoral element of his role, which made me think about the (lack of) support for GPs.

We are regularly faced with patient trauma in our working lives, and we’re supposed to mop it up and absorb it like a sponge. We are subjected to repeated 10-minute soakings of human misery but what happens when the sponge is saturated? It starts leaking unless it is squeezed out to dry. We need to be squeezed out on a regular basis but instead we are left in the corner of the sink to fester. Psychotherapists have weekly debriefing sessions with a trained supervisor; we see no less pain than them, but we are left isolated and leaky.

I am incredibly thankful to be working with a great team of practice colleagues, who periodically squeeze me out and help make me a little less leaky, as well as receiving professional mentoring from a wonderful human being. It’s so vital for us to create a psychologically safe space at work, to facilitate the off-loading so desperately required within an emotionally challenging role.

“Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable” — Fred Rogers

Dr Shaba Nabi
Chair Avon LMC

Your Avon LMC representatives (and their contributions to conference) were as follows:

• Tanya Beer: Committee Member (proposed motion 12 on future proofing the salaried model contract)
• Pete Edwards: Committee Member (seconded motion 12, contributed to soapbox by highlighting the lack of evidence base for the ARRS roles and got rousing applause)
• Stuart Roney: GP Registrar Committee Member (contributed to soapbox and the importance of GP Registrars within LMCs – received lots of support)
• Jennie Wallace: Committee Member (written reflection on conference)
• Nafeesa Arshad: Board Director
• Lee Salkeld: Board Director
• Shaba Nabi: Chair (contributed to collective action themed debate to share the work being done in the Avon area)
• Rebecca Kemp: Manager

The full document for conference resolutions will be shared over the next few weeks, but highlights and reflections from Jennie Wallace can be seen below:

Please click here.

GP Collective Action FAQ
We are planning to consolidate these and publish on our website so we can add to them in an iterative fashion – watch this space!

Template letter to decline prescribing with private providers
Avon LMC has developed a patient template letter for you to use to decline shared care prescribing with private providers. This has been embedded in EMIS and can be found by searching the word “LMC” in documents. Principles for shared care prescribing can be found on the collective action web page found here (https://avonlmc.co.uk/collective-action-2/)

Question: We have had pushback from the dementia wellbeing services regarding initiation of medication. Please could you advise?

Answer: If a practice is signed up to the Dementia LES, this includes diagnosis and initiation of medications for dementia. If a patient is seen within a specialist clinic, and they have advised medication, in theory, they should be the ones starting it (bullet point 1 in prescribing template letter) However, I suspect most practices would comply with this request if they were participating in the LES.

However, this LES does not include prescribing of medications outside of anticholinesterase inhibitors and memantine, and the responsibility for prescribing for behavioural and psychiatric disorders of dementia lies with the provider recommending it. 

Avon LMC, One Care and the Training Hub exist to support general practice in BNSSG. These organisations have set up the GP Hub – this is a single point of access for practices when it is not clear which organisation is responsible for a query. Queries will be directed to the most appropriate organisation or answered in collaboration. Practices should continue to contact organisations separately when it is clear which organisation they need and require a single organisational response.

Wes Streeting recently wrote the following letter to General Practice concerning the budget implications:

Please click here.

If you have any questions or feedback about GP Collective Action, or anything else you wish to discuss, then please do join us for an hour for this virtual lunchtime drop-in.

To register your interest and receive an invite, please complete this registration form.

• 17th December 2024: Virtual LMC drop in, 13.00 – 14.00
• 14th January 2025: Virtual LMC drop in, 13.00 – 14.00
• 11th March 2025: Virtual LMC drop in, 13.00 – 14.00

November is National Diabetes Month, dedicated to increasing awareness and education on how diabetes affects the body and how it can be prevented. In 2024, prevention is the focus of National Diabetes Month. Many cases of diabetes, which is characterized by high levels of blood glucose, can be prevented and managed with certain lifestyle changes and medications. Understanding the risk factors for type 2 diabetes, such as age, weight, and race, may make those at risk more likely to modify their lifestyle in an attempt to avoid developing the condition.

• Tuesday 26 November General practice bulletin (mailchi.mp)
• Thursday 21 November General practice bulletin (mailchi.mp)

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– LATEST TRAINING AND EVENTS –

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THE NEW TO PRACTICE PROGRAMME CONTINUES WITH A NEW COHORT STARTING ON THURSDAY 9TH JANUARY 2025

The New to Practice Programme is a ONE YEAR programme for any nurse that is new to general practice (Registered Nurses and Nurse Associates), we also offer preceptorship for newly qualified nurses.  It includes:

•             Paid CPD time (amount dependant on contracted hours)
•             An overview of the GPN role (a 6-month taught programme, a 2-hour session every 2 weeks which can be attended in person or online).
•             Regular one-to-one meetings/ mentorship and/or supervised clinics with our Legacy   Nurses, Helen Russell, and Jenny Bowen to support nurses in their new role.
•             Peer support with other new to practice nurses.

For more information or to enrol on the programme please contact: Jenny Bowen and Helen Russell (Legacy Nurses) at legacy.nurses@almc.co.uk

Please see the poster.

• General Practice & Community Pharmacy Independent Prescribers Forum
  Thursday, 28th November from 13.00-13.30
  Sign-up Form

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

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