LMC Update – 21 June 2024
GPAS Report -21 June 2024
Please find this weeks GPAS Report.
BMA Letter – Covid and Flu Vaccination Programme 20.06.2024
Noting the 27.06.2024 sign up deadline, Cambs LMC will now consider next steps, taking into consideration BMA’s published advice to practices and LMCs.
GPC Roadshow: 4 weeks to go!
A GPC England Roadshow, open to GPs, Practice Managers and Nurses from all constituent practice teams across the region.
This is your chance to hear from the BMA GPC England Officers on how we must Take Action to Save General Practice
Wednesday 17 July 2024.
2:00pm-4:00pm
Kingsgate Conference Centre, Peterborough, PE1 4YT.
- Understand the Ballot
- See the menu of options for collective action
- Collect GP BMA resources & campaign materials
- Join the BMA get 3 months FREE
- Network with colleagues
- Join in the Q&A
- We want to hear from you!
- See you there!
GPs Are On Your Side – BMA Patient Facing Campaign
We have also produced campaign infographics for you to attach to your emails, practice website and socials, as well as PPG and patient-facing resources – all of which are available to download from the BMA website or to be ordered directly BMA Reps Hub.
BMA.org.uk/GPsOnYourSide Public-facing campaign
We have produced campaign posters, presentation slides and infographics for you to attach to your emails, practice website and socials, as well as PPG and other patient-facing resources – all of which are available to download from the BMA website
The GPsOnYourSide Campaign page is ready for practices to share with patients and the public.
Campaign materials for GPs and practice teams
GP Survival Toolkit cards to fit inside GPs Are On Your Side lanyards, window stickers, posters, badges and leaflets are now able to be ordered directly from the BMA Reps Hub.
See the GP campaign page for more information about the ballot and how to order materials.
GPC England ballot for GP contractors / partners
Protect Your Patients, Protect Your Practice
Vote YES and use the BMA GP Practice Survival Toolkit
The ballot to Save General Practice is now open. We are holding this non-statutory ballot because general practice has been deliberately broken. Over 1,300 practices have been lost, and thousands more GPs with them. Funding for essential practice services has eroded to the tune of £660 million and successive sub-inflationary uplifts have threatened practices’ viability. With almost 2000 fewer FTE GPs compared with a decade ago, and an additional 6.4million patients it is no surprise that patient dissatisfaction has doubled in the past five years.
In the referendum earlier this year almost every single one of you said a firm NO to the new contract and you were ignored by the Government, who have refused to make any improvements or give general practice any more resources.
This ballot is open to all GP contractors and partners in England. If you’re not yet a member you can join the BMA now to ensure you have your vote. And what’s more, any new member joining from 17 June, will get their first 3 months of membership for free: www.bma.org.uk/join
What will the menu of actions look like?
We will be inviting GP Partners to work with their practice management team and, working in liaison with their LMC, determine the actions they will be willing to take. Each of these actions is outlined in the BMA GP Practice Survival Toolkit
It is for each practice to pick and choose as they see fit. You may decide to add to your choices over the days, weeks, and months ahead. This is a marathon, not a sprint.
BMA Membership Details
It is vital that you keep your BMA membership details up to date so you can vote in the non-statutory ballot for all GP contractors / partners in England that has just been announced.
Following the referendum BMA member services have refreshed the GP membership system.
To vote in the ballot, we need you to login to www.bma.org.ukto check your details are correct. We must have the right information for your vote to count, so please double check. If you have any issues updating your details, email gpcontract@bma.org.uk for further assistance. We need:
- Your personal details, including a valid email address
- Place of work details for all your roles
We must have the right information for your vote to count. Please double check!
In this first ballot, GP contractors / partner need to vote YES to send a message to Government that we are ready to stand up for a better service for our patients, and to protect our practices.
BMA GP Contract guidance
We have now published our 2024/25 contract guidance documents, to help you consider how best to approach the contract changes. These documents cover the following areas:
- Dispensing and prescribing
- GP data sharing and controllership
- Limited Liability Partnerships and the GMS contract
- Medical Associate Professions in General Practice
- 2024 Premises Cost Directions
- Use of enhanced access appointments
- Vaccinations and Immunisations
- Proformas and referral forms
- Spending and the PCN DES capacity and access payment funding
PCN DES 2024/25 GPC England Guidance on the Capacity and Access Improvement Payment (CAIP)
There are three separate and discrete elements to the CAIP within the 24/25 PCN DES:
- Faster care navigation, assessment, and response
- Better digital telephony
- Simpler online requests
GPC England guidance is that practices should defer signing declarations of completion for “better digital telephony” and “simpler online requests” until further GPC England guidance in early 2025.
Read our Focus on guidance
GPC England recommends PCNs do not confirm compliance with the on-line platform CAIP element at this time, because unless the workload associated with a practice’s on-line platform can be controlled, it will not be possible for practices to effectively implement the BMA Safe Working Guidance.
GPC England recommends PCNs do not confirm compliance with better digital telephony CAIP element at this time as NHS England has signalled its intention to issue a contract variation notice from October 2024 to make the sharing of the eight call data metrics they have identified contractual.
Other National Updates
Contraceptive services
Contraceptive services, formerly an Additional Service funded by an identified 2.4% of Global Sum, have been included as an Essential Service under the Primary Medical Services (GMS/PMS) Contract, since 2020. This includes the treatment of and prescribing for patients for contraceptive services, with the specific exclusion of the “fitting and implanting of intrauterine devices and implants”.
In addition, Para 14(2)1 of the GMS/PMS contract includes a reference to “drugs” including contraceptive as substances and “appliances” as including contraceptive appliances.
GPC England’s advice is therefore that the prescription and administration of contraceptive injections (such as Depo Provera, Sayana Press, and Noristerat) does form part of Essential Services. Reimbursement is available through the Personally Admitted drugs provisions in the Statement of Financial Entitlements and indemnity is available via CNSGP.
Seasonal Flu Immunisation Programme QIVr vaccine
Sanofi has advised that the Recombinant Quadrivalent Influenza vaccine [QIVr] will, due to a supply issue, not be available for the flu vaccination programme for the 2024/25 season.
The original JCVI recommendation was to use QIVr for adults aged 65 years and over, and also adults aged 16 to 64 who are in eligible groups.
In the light of this change, NHS England has advised the following (see table 1 in this link).
As QIVr is only licensed for those aged 18 and over, this does not affect the immunisation programme for younger patients. For practices who have ordered QIVr, and who are participating in the 2024/25 immunisation programme, the primary alternative is QIV-HD [high dose quadrivalent influenza vaccine] which is licensed in the UK for those 60 and over. Otherwise, practices may seek to order additional supplies of aQIV [Adjuvanted Quadrivalent Influenza Vaccine] for those aged 65 and over, and QIVc [Cell-based Quadrivalent Influenza Vaccine] for those under 65 years.
NHSE has updated the list of influenza vaccines marketed in the UK
GP Appointment data – April 2024
The latest appointment data shows that that around 30.5 million standard appointments were booked in April 2024, with an average of 1.45 million appointments per working day. Over the past year, approximately 359.6 million standard (non-Covid-19 vaccination) appointments were booked. When comparing to pre-pandemic levels, this is around 57.3 million more appointments than between May 2019 to April 2020.
In terms of access, the proportion of appointments booked to take place the same day has increased slightly from the previous month: 44.6% of appointments in April 2024 were booked to take place on the same day, compared to 43.9% in March 2024. Face-to-face appointments remained the same as the previous month, around 65%. See more data showing the pressures in general practice
NHS Education Funding Agreement 2024/27
NHSE has published a new NHS Funding Agreement. Unlike the previous education contract, this new version includes GP-specific elements in schedule 1. The contract creates a formal mechanism for training practices to receive payment from NHSE.
GPC England has had the opportunity to review and comment on the funding agreement during its development and is content with the final version.
All of the funding agreement documentation can be accessed on the NHS England website. If they haven’t already done so, NHS England commissioners will be contacting training practices shortly about bringing you onto the new agreement.