CCG Key Messages 24 July
Key Messages
a) New COVID-19 Infection Prevention and Control Guidance for Primary Care and Community Settings
Yesterday updated guidance was received for General Practice. The guidance on wearing facemasks in healthcare settings has been widened to include primary care and community health settings. This is for clinical and non-clinical staff. We are aware that some practices in Calderdale have already adopted this approach and draw your attention to the detail contained within the update.
b) Flu Update
Press releases today have indicated that the eligible cohort for flu vaccinations has been increased. Further guidance is awaited to understand exactly what this means in terms of vaccination supplies and to fully understand the challenge ahead. The CCG and partners, including representatives from General Practice met this week to discuss flu planning for Calderdale. From the meeting we heard that plans are underway to respond to the challenge of delivering the flu programme this year. We are going to send further information out next week in order to understand the strength of the plans we have in place and whether there are things that can be done to support successful delivery of the flu vaccination programme in Calderdale in spite of the challenges. The Royal College of General Practice issued a Mass Vaccination Document this week that has been circulated to practice managers and is worth a read.
c) Business Rebates – Message from NHSE
GL Hearn are a private company who have been working with NHS England for some time now to look at challenging councils on the business rates they have been charging practices, there was an exercise done a few years back which went as far back as 2010. This exercise has been repeated and goes back to 2017, in many cases this has been successful and the councils have been made to issue refunds which will be paid directly back to practices as they pay the bills direct in most cases and then needs to be paid through to GL Hearn.
GL Hearn are in the process of writing to practices and a copy of the letter is attached above, we have been asked to assure you that this is a genuine exercise and the money that practices are getting back from local councils does need to be paid back directly to GL Hearn and the account in the letter as soon as funds have cleared. Draft letter attached.
d) Supply issues with ketotifen (Zaditen), metronidazole (Acea), oral contraceptives tablets and an update on H2-antagonists
Full details attached. If you have any queries please contact: DHSCmedicinesupplyteam@dhsc.gov.uk
e) Central Alerting System: Cannabis Oil Disguised As Confectionary
CEM_CMO_2020_029_.pdf
Following a series of arrests in West Yorkshire this week, it has been identified that a large quantity of NERDS ROPE sweets containing cannabis oil have been industrially manufactured.
Whilst a large amount of the contaminated product has been recovered, it is unknown at this time how much remains missing or how widely it has been distributed. Trading Standards and the National Poisons Information Service have been notified by PHE.
Primary Care services are alerted in the event of a person presenting with symptoms such as:
Loss of coordination
Hallucinations
Nausea/vomiting
Lethargy, collapse or loss of consciousness
Cardiovascular
It is not thought this issue extends beyond West Yorkshire, but it cannot be ruled out. Therefore, we are distributing this as a precautionary measure.
f) Pharmacy delivery of medicines – information provided from Ruth Buchan,
Chief Executive Officer, Community Pharmacy West Yorkshire
As you will be aware there are changes to the advice and support for shielded patients on the 31st July. One of these changes is that the NHS Pandemic Delivery Support service which funded community pharmacy to ensure that shielded patients could access their medicines and funded pharmacies when a delivery was needed will also end. Changes and the key messages to patients regarding pharmacy deliveries are listed - full details and background are attached
Shielding Support from August
· As the COVID-19 lockdown eases and people can now go outside more, HM Government’s shielding support package will end on Friday 31st July 2020. This will also bring the national pharmacy medicines delivery service to a close.
· This means that from 1st August 2020 community pharmacies will no longer receive any financial support from HM Government to help them to continue delivering medicines to patients’ homes, and many will no longer be able to do so.
Advice for Patients
· Some pharmacies may choose to continue to fund a delivery service themselves, but this might be restricted to certain patients. Your local pharmacy will tell you if it is doing this.
· The vast majority of pharmacies will need to stop providing free deliveries on cost grounds though.
· Instead, patients are being advised to:
o ask a friend or relative to collect their medicines for them;
o call NHS Volunteer Responders on 0808 196 3646 (8am to 8pm) to arrange support; or
o contact their pharmacy or their local council to find a local volunteer.
g) Coming Soon from PSCE: New online service for managing GP payments and claims
PSCE are launching later this year, a new online service for managing GP practice payment.
This new service will make it easier for you to manage payments claims and submit monthly payment schedules. This is a high level update providing you with an overview of the new service; they will be keeping you updated over the coming months. More details attached.
h) National career & core capabilities framework for nurses in primary care - draft for review *** Sent on behalf of Skills for Health***
is underway to develop a career & core capabilities framework for nurses in primary care, including mental health, learning disability, from HCA to Consultant level. It defines core capabilities for each level of practice. It is hoped that it will promote primary care as a career option for all nurses as well as inform patients, employers, colleagues, HEI/training providers, workforce planners & commissioners.
A draft is now available for review and feedback. Feedback is sought from all groups, consultation closes on 7th August.
Please click on the link below to review. Feel free to share with your networks.
i) Arrangements for Safeguarding Training - July to December 2020
Safeguarding & Quality Assurance Service full details attached of training opportunities and resources.
j) Update on COVID -19 in Calderdale
Calderdale has been ranked as 'area of concern' with the ninth highest coronavirus infection rate in the country according to the latest figures.
Over the course of the pandemic, Calderdale has been an area with relatively low cases of COVID-19 and sits in the lowest 25% of local authorities in England.
On Thursday 23 July the Government published its weekly figures on COVID-19 cases in each local authority area. Between July 9 and 15, there were 25.2 positive COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in Calderdale; the ninth highest rate in England for that week.
Further details of what we can do as individuals is contained in the attachment along with more detail regarding the position.
k) Ardens Training
Please find attached the poster advertising the first lot of Ardens training for clinicians and super users for practices across Calderdale and Huddersfield. There are 4 dates for S1 practices and 2 for EMIS practices, split into nurses/HCAs and GPs/ANPs/ACPs. We strongly recommend that all practices nominate someone to be their super user and ask that individual to attend all training sessions. This doesn't need to be a clinician.
They are managing the booking via Eventbrite and occasionally we have found that practice firewalls block the links within posters, so I have copied the links below to send out in the email. If any problems arise please ask practices to contact us at contact@myhealthhuddersfield.co.uk
EMIS practices:
Tuesday 25th August
12-1pm Nurses and HCAs
1.15-2.15pm GPs, ANPs, ACPs
Wednesday 16th September
12-1pm GPs, ANPs, ACPs
1.15-2.15pm Nurses and HCAs
S1 practices :
Wednesday 19th August
12-1pm Nurses and HCAs
1.15-2.15pm GPs, ANPs, ACPs
Thursday 10th September
12-1pm GPs, ANPs, ACPs
1.15-2.15pm Nurses and HCAs
Tuesday 22nd September
12-1pm GPs, ANPs, ACPs
1.15-2.15pm Nurses and HCAs
Tuesday 29th September
12-1pm Nurses and HCAs
1.15-2.15 GPs, ANPs, ACPS