Barnet Federated GPs News – August 2022

Chair Update

Dear Colleagues , Members & Patients

I hope you are all well and have been able to enjoy at least some of the summer.

Our focus in the last month has been working alongside your PCN CDs to work up and submit their plans for the EA DES service starting from 1st October.

The Federation have also been asked to support the borough for a year with 111, Sunday and Bank Holiday cover which is not covered by the EA DES. I am also pleased to confirm that we have been awarded an extension on the SMI contract which we have been running for the past year as well as continuing to deliver our community anticoagulation service which our patients really appreciate. We will of continue to deliver the current EAS and EHS (where commissioned) until the end of September.

I know you have all been eagerly awaiting our Annual General Meeting (AGM) next month! I can confirm that this will be held on Thursday 15th September 1- 2pm and we welcome everyone to come along. I hope this is chance to reflect on our achievements in the previous year, as well as gaining approval of the financial accounts from our members. Most importantly we want to receive feedback from YOU our membership and patient representatives on what you need from your Federation in the months and years ahead. So if you have any questions, suggestions of support or at scale working or any topics you would like addressed at the meeting, please let us know by emailing barnet.federation@nhs.net   Just a reminder if you have an imminent CQC visit please also email barnet.federation@nhs.net  to see how we can help you.

Have a great rest of the summer and see you at our AGM!

Dr Ahmer Farooqi  

Headlines

EAS Service Offer Update

• We are working with the ICB and Barnet PCNs to support the mobilisation of the new service model.
• We have a calculator for service planning purposes, which we are working to collate across the PCNs and work through the operational considerations and service mobilisation plans.
• The Federation will work with the PCNs from now to complete the necessary planning, rotas, EMIS administration, and setting up the hubs prior to the service going live in October.
• We will be working on the basis of providing access to the Federation instance of EMIS Community

BFG Recruiting for BFG EAS service

BFGs will be onboarding new sessional GPs into the EAS service. If you would like to find out more about the onboarding process as well as sessions and how to book them or would like to join the Federation, please email: barnet.federation@nhs.net

Extended Hour Service (EHS)

• The current contract remains extended to 30 September 2022. This continues to be in line with the DES changes effective from 1 October 2022.
• This offer will be superseded by the new Enhanced Access from October.

Anticoagulation

• The service is busy and operates well with an effective mix of clinical pharmacists delivering the service.
• The service continues to receive consistently excellent patient feedback, with 98% of patients reporting that they were satisfied with the service between April and July 2022.

In Hours Practice Support

• Having begun offering to arrange GP sessions in response to ad hoc practice requests during COVID, the service has now grown to provide upwards of 100 hours of GP capacity to practices each month.

Date for your diary

Wednesday 7th September 2022 at 13.00 on the Clinical Aspects of CQC

Click here to join the meeting  

For further practice support, training information and research updates please see below

Support For Our Practices

Welcome to our vacancy board – Do you have a vacancy or looking for a role in Barnet?

Advertising job opportunities via the Federation website!

Practices and professionals seeking job opportunities in Barnet can advertise through our website on our Pan Barnet Noticeboard: https://barnetfederatedgps.org.uk/pan-barnet-recruitment/

Salaried GP

Ongoing recruitment for Salaried GPs to work primarily in EAS and other Federation services. If you are interested and would like to be considered, please refer to the attached Job Description for more details, or email barnet.federation@nhs.net.  

Extended Access Service (EAS) Service Offer & Appointments Provision

EAS Service Update

• The EAS service continues to see high demand and utilisation. Please see here “EAS Dashboard” for a summary of July 2022 activity and utilisation data.
• Due to an IT systems failure, NHS 111 has not been able to book appointments in EAS. To prevent waste and increase utilisation, 75% of appointments were switched to practice bookable.
• They were allocated to the PCNs according to list size, in the same way as other routine practice bookable GP slots are allocated in EAS.
• Based on the most recent information from 111, we anticipate that this will be an ongoing problem in the short term, which they are working to resolve. We will continue to take the same approach while this issue persists.

EAS Appointments release days & how to Access them

Appointments are released at the following times:
• Monday-Friday – 10.00 & 15.00 (on the day of the appointment)
• Saturday – 8:00am (on Thursday)
• Sunday – 8:00am (on Friday)
Alternatively, patients can book directly through the appointment booking line – 02039486809 – which is available Monday-Friday 18.30-20.00 and Saturday-Sunday 08.00-20.00.
When booking into this service, please provide updated contact numbers for the patient. This will ensure that the GP can successfully contact the patient to conduct the telephone or video consultation.

Please see attached the EAS appointments booking updated process for step-by-step guidance or for more information on bookings appointments, please email: barnetfederatedgps.services@nhs.net

Phlebotomy

• To standardise process across PCNs, an improved reporting and payment process has been mobilised.
• Templates have been redesigned to reduce workload and make it easier for the PCNs to submit the data while at the same time making Federation reporting simpler.
• The Federation have carried out an in-depth analysis of the service which has been brought to the attention of the ICB and is currently being considered with regard to the continued commissioning of the service. Further updates will follow.
• Paediatric bleeds remain part of the service and are already incorporated into the existing target.

SMI Physical Health Checks

• The Federation is pleased to announce the continuation of SMI physical health checks, based on a successful pilot delivered in the previous financial year.
• While the pilot delivered 175 health checks per month across Barnet, the target has increased to provide 250 health checks per month from July 2022 to March 2023.
• The reporting and payment process for SMI’s has been aligned into a simpler, easier to use format. This workstream will support communication of performance and payment by PCN.
• We continue to incorporate links into the voluntary sector and other mental health service providers to provide targeted support. We are currently working closely with Community Barnet to shape patient and practice engagement plans to further enhance service utilisation. 

Training Information and Opportunities

For all Barnet Training Hub events and training opportunities, please visit: https://www.barnetcepn.org.uk/

Prescribing Clerk Programme Cohort 2022

Barnet Training Hub has completed a 3rd Prescribing Clerk Programme for our non clinical workforce.

The programme was well attended by 29 colleagues including our Pharmacy Technicians Apprentices from across Barnet PCNs. 6 sessions were delivered on line led by Dr Joanna Yong and Femeeda Padhani with support from our Pharmacy Colleagues. For further details, please click here. 

We hope to run the programme again early next year – please do get in touch if you want to be added to the waiting list.

Referral Guide: follow up from Pan Barnet meeting 3rd August 2022

As discussed in this month’s Pan Barnet meeting, please click here  for a Referral Reference Guide for Barnet, created by Dr Natasha Qayyum, ST2 GP trainee on the Barnet Training Scheme. We thought it would be helpful for you to have a copy of the current version to circulate to your team, as well as any new starters you may have in your practice. It is an excellent and detailed overview of the referral process in Barnet – we hope this is helpful.

Just a reminder that if you missed the meeting, you are able to catch up here: Pan Barnet Shared Learning Events | Barnet PCT Hub (barnetcepn.org.uk)

New Nurse and Pharmacy Leads for Barnet Training Hub

We are pleased to announce the new appointments of:-

Tanya Brazza as Practice Nurse advisor for Barnet and Bhavik Hirani as General Practice Pharmacy Lead for Barnet

Both have been part of Barnet Primary care for a number of years and we look forward to working with them in their new roles.

New Training: NCL CKD Refresher & Pathway Launch

Date and time: Tuesday 27th September, 13:00 – 14:00 (Online)
Audience: Anyone working in Primary Care

Following the recent update of the NCL CKD Pathway, all primary healthcare professionals are invited to join a webinar  introducing the pathway and providing case study examples. There will also be an introductory session on supportive care for patients with end stage kidney disease.

The session will be chaired by Sarah Morgan, LTC Clinical Lead Camden Directorate. Speakers will include:
• Sarah Milne, Nephrology Lead Nurse, Royal Free
• David Wheeler, Consultant Nephrologist, Royal Free
• Aine Burns, Consultant Nephrologist, Royal Free

To book: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ncl-ckd-refresher-pathway-launch-tickets-403968309087

Polio Refresher Vaccinator Training

Date and Time: Multiple dates across September 2022 (Online)

Audience: Healthcare professionals who have already completed immunisation training as nationally recommended OR for those who, on attending this webinar, will have completed their training.
These webinars will provide a background on the necessity of the Polio booster campaign and Refresher vaccinator training for the upcoming season.
Please view document with further details on dates in August and September 2022, including direct Microsoft Teams webinar links.

NCL GP Telederm Response Quality Survey

The Knowledge Services team at NCL Training Hub would like to circulate the below survey to NCL GP’s.

This survey aims to help the NCL Training Hub’s Knowledge Specialists to better understand the information needs of GP’s and how they may be of the best assistance. 

Survey on General Practitioner use of Library and Knowledge Services

Webinar on Childhood Immunisations: Finances Q and A Drop in session

22 September , 1-2pm

Following on from the topics covered in the Childhood Immunisations: Finances webinars two weeks prior, this Q&A session will provide practice staff from across NCL with an opportunity to ask questions to the Immunisation Improvement Project Managers and their NCL peers on the topic of Finances in relation to Childhood Immunisations.

To book: Imms Finances Drop in Q and A session

Training: Men’s Health – Cancer Awareness

Wednesday 14 September, 1pm-2pm (online)

Audience:  Anyone working in Primary Care

The fifth in this year’s King’s Health Partners Primary Care Webinar series is titled ‘Men’s Health – cancer awareness’.

Presenters include Mr Rajesh Nair, Consultant Urological Surgeon, and Dr Aida Santaolalla, Lead of Molecular Cancer Epidemiology.

For more information and to register visit the Eventbrite page.

All those registered will receive a link to the recording of the webinar once it has been uploaded onto the KHP Learning Hub.

Letter for GPN’s on behalf of Jane Clegg Regional Chief Nurse for London

Please see the letter for all GPNs from Jane Clegg, Regional Chief Nurse for London thanking you for your ongoing dedication to supporting the public health of our London population, and to acknowledge the additional pressure of the polio vaccination programme.