Avon LMCs Newsletter on 30-04-25

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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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It’s been another eventful week, starting with an all-day regional Southwest LMCs meeting last Thursday in Taunton. This is an opportunity for LMC leads from Avon, Gloucestershire, Somerset, BSW, Devon and Cornwall to ask questions, share resources, and develop regional LMC position statements. This group is likely to serve an important function with respect to any future ICB mergers in the region, and this was discussed at length.

We also had a face-to-face LMC Committee meeting on 28th April which was so well attended, we will need to use a bigger space than the LMC office next time! Despite many working a busy Monday (me included) your committee representatives still managed to attend an evening meeting, incentivised by the lure of pizza and networking. Some important decisions were made around the governance of the Board structure, as well as interface discussions.

Finally, I’ve been in full-on reflective mode today as it is exactly forty years since my father died, and I feel compelled to share his story. After serving as a Quartermaster in the Pakistani army for some years, in 1965 he seized the opportunity to move to the UK, seeking a better education for his eight children. (I was the accident that happened a few years later!) Faced with racial discrimination within the job market, he was unable to utilise his accountancy and managerial skills and worked as a bus conductor on the 251-bus route from Southend to London. Despite working long hours to financially support a large family, he still made time for community work, helping develop the first mosque and Muslim burial ground in the city. The irony is that on the day he died, aged only 59, he was out collecting funeral donations for a Muslim colleague, but ended up being buried before him. I was only sixteen when he died, but my dad has always been my moral compass, and I am so happy to share the wisdom he taught me.

“It’s far better to do the right thing, than the easiest thing, and it will help you sleep better at night.” and “Education holds the key to everything in life.”– Ghulam Nabi

Shaba Nabi
Chair Avon LMC

Areas of discussion/decision were as follows:

• Annual Staff Pay Review
• Board Terms and Conditions: unanimous agreement to change to a fixed term contract, linked with the election term, to reduce the risk of HR/legal challenge
• Pending North Somerset Board election
• Interface positions and collective action
• Future Commissioning Action priorities:
  • Prostate Cancer Shared Care Prescribing
  • PSA surveillance post discharge from hospital
  • Complex wound care

If you have any further questions about this meeting, feel free to connect with your LMC Committee PCN representative.

The North Somerset Board Director role is coming up for election, and the window is now open for expressions of interest. If you are a GP working in North Somerset and would like to be part of the work the LMC does on behalf of BNSSG, please complete the EOI by 16th May 2025, which can be found here. 

The role is an elected post for five hours per week, with a three-year fixed-term employment contract. The successful post holder must attend a weekly Board Meeting on a Tuesday afternoon. If you require any further information, don’t hesitate to contact Rebecca on rebecca@almc.co.uk

Question: We tried to refer someone to the sleep apnoea service, but the referral was rejected because we did not request the bloods required before assessment. Is this non-contracted work as it is not a prior approval referral?

Answer: Thank you for your important question about GPs being mandated to work up patients prior to referral. This is a grey area because there is a balance between good clinical practice and the duties of a doctor under GMP, and the transfer of workload from secondary to primary care. 

In the case of an OSA referral, Remedy states that the TATT ICE profile bloods should be requested if someone has had fatigue for more than four months:

https://remedy.bnssg.icb.nhs.uk/adults/sleep-medicine/obstructive-sleep-apnoea-osa

We think this is reasonable and falls into good clinical practice to exclude any other cause for fatigue. 

We are happy to share that the BMA has adapted Avon LMC guidance on Shared Care Prescribing and this can be found here.

• 3rd June 2025: Virtual LMC drop in, 13.00 – 14.00 (instead of 6th May as previously circulated)
• 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

This MS Awareness Week (Monday 28 April – Sunday 4 May) the UK’s biggest MS charities are encouraging people to have MS conversations.  

MS conversations are happening all the time and they want to show that opening up about MS can be empowering. Whether it’s a difficult conversation with family member who’s just been diagnosed or taking the step to ask an employer for support, finding the right words might be hard.

That’s why they’re once again teaming up with other MS charities to share one unified message – talking about MS can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be.

• Tuesday 29 April General practice bulletin
• Thursday 24 April General practice bulletin

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– LATEST TRAINING AND EVENTS –

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This is the 1 hour interactive webinar for non-patient facing staff.

We have included some 6pm – 7pm slots, following feedback that these times may suit some services. 
Staff can book their space via the booking links in the attached PDF.
Currently available to NHS organisations to book. We will review bookings and feedback if the sessions are under booked.

Kind Regards,
The Oliver McGowan Training Team

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

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