Chair Update
Dear Members, Colleagues & Patients,
It is an incredible busy time in Primary Care with the run up to Christmas. Activity continues to remain at an unprecedented level across the NHS and especially in Primary Care.
We have once again collaborated with CLCH in providing GP back-up to the Rapid Response service starting this week.
We continue to be involved in conversations with all our partners across the NHS within the borough as well as across North Central London to help configure and deliver services for our patients. We are also planning meetings with PCNs to discuss the shape and direction of the Federation going forward.
The Federation Directors wish to thank the whole team that help with the running and delivery of all of our services.
Anuj
Dr Anuj Patel
Patients
In-house Phlebotomy: The patients’ View
In-house phlebotomy services, running as pilot since July, have been welcomed by patients. All available appointments have been taken up, with only a small percentage of no-shows. The pilot is due to be reviewed at the end of November and we trust that patients’ views will be considered to make the service permanent within PCNs.
Local surveys show that the overwhelming majority of patients prefer having their blood tests in their surgery. A smaller, familiar environment, closer to home for most – so faster and easier to get to and where waiting times can be shorter, rather than a distant impersonal hospital serving many – is particularly important for both the young and the elderly, also countering the fears of hospitals still prevalent while Covid-19 is present.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Hugh Ogus via: barnetpatientgroup@nhs.net or 020 8954 0657
Headlines
EAS Service Update
The second EAS Task and Finish group was held on the 17th of November at 1pm, with further positive discussions around the ongoing development of the service. If any PCN or practice colleagues have feedback or queries relating to the service or to the Task and Finish Group process, please email barnetfederatedgps.services@nhs.net.
Cricklewood
BFGPs are working closely with the new provider to ensure a smooth handover from the current caretaking arrangement, which is due to be completed on 1st December 2021. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff working at Cricklewood for their hard work and support during this transitional period.
Opportunity for GPs interested in working in the 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, please refer to the attached information. If you are interested in joining the Federation, please email: barnet.federation@nhs.net
Date for your diary
Wednesday 1st December 2021, 13:00 –13:45 –Menopause Update. Please see link below to join the event on the day:
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) Appointments Provision and how to Access them
From Monday 29th November there will no longer be Senior Clinician triage or review of patients requiring a face-to-face consultation; patients can be booked directly into a face-to-face appointment at the appropriate hub by the GP conducting the initial telephone or video consultation. This change will reduce the number of appointments needed for each patient being seen face-to-face and will therefore increase the capacity available for practices to book.
The ringfencing of 10 appointments per day for the Emergency Department out of core EAS provision is continuing into December. In order to reduce the impact of this on the number of practice-bookable appointments, we have reduced the number of appointments ringfenced for the Federation Call Centre to use.
This increase will be reflected in the PCN Allocation sheet in the EAS Data Pack that is currently being prepared and which will be shared ahead of the next Task and Finish Group meeting (date TBC).
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.
Training Information and Opportunities
Queen’s Nursing Institute – Award
The Queens nursing institute is a registered charity dedicated to improving the nursing care of people in the home and community. Every year the QNI invite community nurses to apply to become a Queen’s Nurse. The criterion for application is that you have to have a current NMC registration and have a minimum of five years’ experience of working in a community or primary care setting. I was encouraged to apply for this prestigious award by my other nursing colleagues and after an onerous application process and supporting testimonies from my line manager and clinical leads, I am honoured to have been awarded this prestigious award. This enables me to join a network of other nurses who are associated with this great institute. As a Queens’ nurse I believe high quality nursing should be available for everyone where and when they need it.
Patient Safety Training Materials Launched
New patient safety training materials have been published by Health Education England, NHS England and NHS Improvement, The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and eLearning for healthcare, elements of which are expected to be completed by NHS employees, even those in roles which are not patient facing. Completion of the training will help to ensure health and care services are as safe as possible for patients and service users. The training has been devised following the publication of the NHS Patient Safety Strategy which contains a patient safety syllabus.
The training materials can be found on the eLearning for healthcare hub
Community sector to deliver new mental health support services
A consortium of four not-for-profit organisations has been commissioned to deliver new mental health support services for adults in Barnet as part of the local community transformation programme.
The new support services will be available initially once staff are on board to practices in Barnet 3 primary care network and extended to other areas over the next two years.
Find more details on the Trust website: https://www.beh-mht.nhs.uk/news/nine-not-for-profits-to-deliver-new-mental-health-support-services/2839
Further details can be found in the attached document.
GP Assistant Cohort 2021
Barnet and Enfield Training Hub completed their GP Assistant Training course with 26 attendees across the 2 boroughs. Led by 2 Barnet GPs the GP Assistants attended 9 online training sessions as well as submitting Quality Improvement plans for their practices as part of the course. Their hard work, enthusiasm and engagement with the subject matter made the online course a success.
Customer & Conflict Management – Dealing with Difficult Conversations
This web based half day workshop has been developed to support front line staff and other health care professionals in General Practice to develop their skills and confidence to provide excellence in customer service and to better manage disputes and to help manage challenging conflict situations experienced in practice.
1st Dec: 9:30-13:00
3rd Dec: 9.30am – 13.00pm
7th Dec: 13:00pm – 16:30pm
For more information, please see attached additional document.
Personalised Care Training: Free online learning
With a challenging winter ahead and services working flat out to increase the number of diagnostic tests and elective treatments, as part of our effort to support the priorities of your ICS and clinical teams, the personalised care institute have several short free training programmes available.
The link to Courses available is here: Your learning options (personalisedcareinstitute.org.uk)
Please refer to the attached document for further information.
Winter Pressures – Systems solutions for GPs – 8 December 1-2pm
Please join us for a varied and interactive webinar presenting a range of emergency care services available for direct GP referral this winter.
Please click on the link to book your place: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/winter-pressures-systems-solutions-for-gps-tickets-211091228547
For further details regarding what the session focuses on and what the presenters include, please see the attached additional document.
New NCL Librarians
Caroline Green and Magda Vasileiou are qualified NHS librarians and have recently joined the NCL Training Hub. This is a HEE funded project to support the work of the Training Hubs and provide library and knowledge services to those working in Primary Care throughout NCL. We are interested in hearing any ideas about how we can best help you in the work that you do: anything that requires research evidence or information skills training is an area in which we can help, add value and save you time. This could be showing your team how to make the most of BMJ Best Practice or medical databases like Medline or finding the latest, high quality research evidence to inform a new pathway or support a business case or bid.
Please refer to the attached document for further information and if you have any questions, please contact Caroline Green on: caroline.green23@nhs.net
Research
Barnet Study Updates
PriDem
A PCN-based qualitative study on developing a successful PCN-based Dementia MDT model for patients in independent living. We have 3 confirmed PCN2 practices (Brunswick Park, East Barnet, and Oakleigh Road) with the view to confirm participation with more practices over the next few weeks. The study team have confirmed the appointment of a Clinical Dementia Expert who will begin supporting the PriDem study in 3 months.
INTERACT RCT
RCT aiming to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of an integrated approach to delivering CBT in reducing depressive symptoms. Currently being set-up to recruit at Millway Medical Practice and Wakeman’s Hill Surgery.
BRIGhTMIND
Recruitment is closing at the end of January 2022. There is still time to participate!
If you would like your practice to participate in any of the above studies, please contact Dr Joanna Yong on: barccg.barnetresearchnetwork@nhs.net or 020 7685 5909