DDLMC WEEKLY UPDATE 26th NOVEMBER 2020
NATIONAL UPDATES
COVID-19 Vaccines. You will no doubt have seen the positive news about the results from the various Covid-19 vaccine trials and the potential for the Pfizer BioNTech and Oxford AstraZeneca vaccines to be licensed in the near future and become more widely available in 2021. The characteristics and mobility of the vaccines will impact on the delivery plans; for instance, in Derbyshire the Pfizer vaccine will initially be limited to CRH and UHDB due to its storage requirements (-70C), limited mobility and relatively large delivery batches (975). The Oxford vaccine can be stored for up to 6 months in “normal” vaccine fridges, is mobile and comes in packs of 80-100 and it is therefore more likely that general practice will be involved in the delivery of this vaccine, initially at the PCN sites that have already been identified, but potentially at a wider range of sites as availability increases. NHSEI have indicated that they will give practices 10 days’ notice of vaccine deliveries, and the NHS Enhanced Service contract should be sent to practices shortly; you will have 7 days to sign up to the enhanced service.
We will keep you informed of any developments.
Flu Vaccines. The announcement of the expansion of the flu vaccine programme to include the 50-64 year-old cohort on Friday last week, came out of the blue and I’m sure practices have been inundated with queries. The DHSC have produced an update on how to access the additional stocks of vaccines, although evidence suggests the supply is still patchy. Unfortunately, the updated DES has still not been forthcoming, and we are therefore assuming that this will be a single cohort, rather than being subdivided into individual year groups as was suggested in earlier iterations of the flu letter. We’d suggest you plan for a single 50-64 year old cohort until the DES is published. In addition, NHSE have confirmed that “If GP practices have sufficient stocks of vaccine and the capacity to vaccinate 50-64 year olds ahead of 1st December, as long as this is not to the detriment of other priority groups, NHSE/I will pay for the activity”.
LOCAL UPDATES
CCG Workforce Survey Monkey. We appreciate how busy practices are at the moment, but only 14 out of 112 practices reported that they were Amber on the CCG workforce survey last week (out of the 70 practices that did respond). Anecdotally, it feels to us that more practices are either Amber or possibly even Red and it is very difficult for the CCG to fight the corner for general practice without the data. The survey has been trimmed down so they have assured us that it shouldn’t take more than a few minutes and we would urge you to complete it, to help the CCG make the case for general practice in discussion with other system providers. Thank you.
Pharmacy Update. The latest LPC update (Attachment A) provides some useful updates on the roll out of general practice referrals into Community Pharmacist Consultation Service. This includes dates for a Midlands launch webinar event (same webinar run twice):
- Wednesday 2nd December 13:00 – 14:30
- Thursday 3rd December 19:00 – 20:30
The webinar is for all GP practices, community pharmacies, CCG and PCN colleagues:
Link to Join: Wednesday 2nd December 2020 13:00 – 14:30
Microsoft Teams
Join as producer or presenter when it's time for the live event.
Do not forward this invite to the attendees.
+44 113 486 0108 United Kingdom, Leeds (Toll)
Conference ID: 455 935 873#
Link to Join: Thursday 3rd December 2020 19:00 - 20:30
Microsoft Teams
Join as producer or presenter when it's time for the live event.
Do not forward this invite to the attendees.
+44 113 486 0108 United Kingdom, Leeds (Toll)
Conference ID: 148 771 64#
Long-term conditions update to GPs. The guidance has been updated (Attachment B). Any questions related to this update, please contact sally.longden@nhs.net.
Derbyshire Acne Guidelines. Following a number of referrals which didn’t meet the referral criteria, Tanya Bleiker, consultant dermatologist at UHDB, has asked us to remind GPs of the availability of the criteria on the DDCCG Meds Management Team website: http://www.derbyshiremedicinesmanagement.nhs.uk/assets/Clinical_Guidelines/Formulary_by_BNF_chapter_prescribing_guidelines/BNF_chapter_13/Managing_Acne_vulgaris.pdf. These are also available on the Derbyshire Pathfinder (F12 button).
CRH Videos. Hal Spencer has asked us to share: “CRH have produced a series of videos, as part of reassuring the public it remains safe to attend hospital for vital care and treatment. This is mainly for GP awareness, though if you meet patients that are anxious about attending (we know there are a lot) you could point them in the direction of the videos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFpv4D7sNKc&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpMO_gzelB8&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwlW_ZXon9A&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RLOoZ4Ti18&feature=youtu.be
NHS111 Direct Booking. Following a number of queries from practices we met with the CCG and DHU and JUCD have now produced an FAQs document, (Attachment C) which we hope practices will find useful.
GP TASK FORCE DERBYSHIRE
Reminder - Please join us for the launch of ‘GP Pause’! GP Pause is a new, innovative programme to support both GP Practices and GPs who are off for an extended period of time, for any reason. Most GPs will have a ‘Pause’ at some point in their career, either planned or unexpected and we want to ensure you have the tools to help you! So, join us - if are a GP or part of Practice Management. (See Attachment F)
We have a Keynote speaker: Dr Rachel Morris who is talking on ’How to design a life you’re going to love’
7:30pm on Thursday the 3rd of December 2020
Join our Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89971419038?pwd=dVBkdDNVVi9NNDFOU2JGb3pCd0Qzdz09
Meeting ID: 899 7141 9038
Passcode: 150346
Webinar 25th November. If anyone was unable to join us yesterday for the webinar in flu and covid-19 vaccines, post lockdown restrictions and my musings on the brilliance that is Derbyshire General Practice, the recording is here.