Avon LMCs Newsletter on 28-05-25

The ALMC Newsletter

Welcome to our weekly newsletter, sharing the latest news and topics of interest for practices.

– LATEST NEWS –

Chair’s Blog

I had a lovely bank holiday weekend in sunny Southend-on-Sea, spending time connecting with family, which was long overdue. A few of my family members were sharing their struggles with GP access, which made me feel sad and powerless.

We all know that GPs are a finite resource, not due to workforce shortages, but due to our core practice funding. We simultaneously have issues with both GP access and GP underemployment; a problem which would have been unthinkable ten years ago. Bristol and its surrounding areas are still able to offer some work, but the extent of the GP unemployment crisis in other areas was highlighted at the last UK LMC Conference, by the Chair of the Sessional Committee.

Last week’s GPC England meeting was one of the most interesting I had ever attended. We had presentations about GP funding and the future of partnerships, which led to stimulating discussions. What it reinforced to me was that data is power, and if we wish to articulate our workload, we have to capture it in some way. The afternoon was spent in policy groups, and as the policy lead for Prescribing, I am drafting a BMA document on weight management in General Practice, specifically for the roll-out of Tirzepatide, so watch this space!

Finally, it is one of my favourite times of the year tomorrow, when we recruit actors to help facilitate consultation skills for GPs in training. There is a reason why there is such an emphasis on good communication skills, as it is literally your “get out of jail free” card for managing risk and adverse events.

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel – Maya Angelou

Shaba Nabi
Chair Avon LMC

Voting open for North Somerset Board Director Election

GPs working within a North Somerset practice have the opportunity to vote in the election for a Board Director representing their area. All practice managers have received the voting form and have been asked to disseminate it to all the GPs in their practice.

If you are a North Somerset practice manager and have not received the voting form, or if you are a GP and your practice manager is away, please email info@almc.co.uk and we will send you a voting form.

LMC Virtual drop-in 3rd June 13.00 – 14.00

Join us for our next virtual drop-in to discuss the following areas:

Collective/Commissioning action: what next?
A&G DES
DDRB recommendation

If you have any specific areas you wish to see covered, please email us at info@almc.co.uk.
All practice staff members are welcome to attend, so please register here

You asked, We said

Question: We have just seen the action plan written by the Primary Care Women’s Health Society, instructing practices to undertake a search on all women who are taking an oral progesterone for HRT purposes, and checking their notes to see if they are receiving weight management medication privately. This represents a significant amount of unfunded work, and we would like an LMC steer on this.

Answer: Avon LMC has already issued newsletter guidance on interfacing with private providers, as well as sharing a template letter within EMIS to pushback on requests for information. We are in the process of amending this template letter to reflect the requirement for private providers to be aware of the drug interactions of GLP-1 analogues and hormonal medication and will share this when it has been uploaded to EMIS.

Practices are not contractually obligated to follow the action plan shared by the PCWHS, but we would advise acting on any information which may place patient safety at risk, such as an obvious contraindication to a medication prescribed privately. Practices should also ensure medication reviews for contraception and HRT include this counselling and may wish to consider sending out a bulk text to all women of childbearing age, reminding them of the interaction between hormonal treatments and some weight loss medications.

The BMA will also be sharing a document and template letter for this in due course.

DDRB announcement

You may have heard that the government has accepted the pay recommendations from the DDRB of 4%, as well as the 3.6% pay uplift for agenda for change staff. The BMA has shared a statement that this is inadequate, especially for GP Partnerships, who are facing increased expenses following budget pressures.

Model Integrated Board Blueprint – a summary for LMCs

The LMC support network has written this helpful summary for this:
Please read here.

Dates for your Diary

3rd June 2025: Virtual LMC drop in, 13.00 – 14.00
1st July 2025: Virtual LMC drop in, 13.00 – 14.00
9th September 2025: Virtual LMC drop in, 13.00 – 14.00
4th November 2025: Virtual LMC drop in, 13.00 – 14.00

National Epilepsy Week

National Epilepsy Week is a collaborative effort by UK epilepsy charities, including Epilepsy Action and the Epilepsy Society, to highlight the realities of living with epilepsy. The campaign aims to:

Increase public understanding of epilepsy and its various forms.
Dispel myths and reduce stigma associated with the condition.
Promote safety and first aid knowledge for seizure response.
Encourage fundraising for research and support services.

Each year, the campaign focuses on specific themes to address different aspects of epilepsy, such as mental health, employment challenges, and the importance of accurate diagnosis.

OneCare’s latest Bulletin