Last Open Meeting

Sandwell LMC held it’s last open meeting jointly with SWB CCG on 16th November. The focus of the session was PCCF and New Models of Care. I hope those that attended found it useful. If you were unable to attend and would like to receive a copy of the slides, or have any suggestions for future open meeting topics, please contact admin@sandwelllmc.com


Funding for Clinical Pharmacists

The second wave of funding for Clinical Pharmacists in General Practice has been agreed and general practices and primary care provider organisations will be able to submit applications from 9th January 2017 through an online portal.

The General Practice Forward View has committed to over £100m of investment to support an extra 1,500 clinical practices to work in General Practice by 2020/21. For the Midlands and East region this equates to 444 clinical pharmacists. The first cohort of successful participating providers will be announced in March 2017.

Providers participating in the programme will receive funding for three years to recruit and establish clinical pharmacists in their general practices. Further details of the programme can be found on the NHS England website.


Election Outcome: Board

Sandwell LMC Members were elected in October. The following GPs were successfully recruited to the Board;
Dr Raymond Sullivan, Dr Basil Andreou, Dr Binod Choudhary, Dr Arun Saini, Dr Kamlesh Rana, and Dr Devanna Mannivasigam.

Election Outcome: Officers

Sandwell LMC Members officers were elected in November.
Chair – Dr Raymond Sullivan
Vice Chair—Dr Binod Choudhary
Medical Secretary—Dr Basil Andreou
Treasurer—Dr Arun Saini


GPC Report of PCSE/Capital Performance

As you may know, GPC England undertook an exercise over the month of October to assess the performance of PCSE/Capita as experienced by practices. Practices reported on a number of issues on a weekly basis, LMCs compiled responses from their areas, and GPC compiled LMC responses to build a national picture for analysis. The headline results of the report are shown below; the full report can be accessed here under the October 2016 tab.

GPC England continue to discuss appropriate compensation for GPs for the extra work caused by the issues and will provide an update in due
course.


NHS Property Services — Leases

NHS Property Services are preparing to visit practices in NHS owned properties i.e. LIFT buildings with a view to asking them to sign the new agreed lease. A new lease has been negotiated but it is not compulsory. The new lease can include a “full fixing” clause which makes the lease holder liable for all repairs. Even if this was fully reimbursed, it leaves the practice open to liability for all repairs and maintenance. This is a complex area and practices are advised to get advice before signing anything (some funding is provided by NHSPS). A new lease cannot be imposed on a practice and if it is very different than your existing lease legal advice is essential.


HEE Midlands and East GPN Conference
1st and 2nd March 2017

The HEE General Practice Nursing conference 2017 is aimed at inspiring general practice nurses, those in leadership positions and aspiring leaders for the future across the Midlands and East region. A rare opportunity to for practice nurses to attend a free two day CPD conference. Fore more details click here.


Online Services

NHSE are supporting practices to register patients for online services. There are a number of benefits for patients and practices. The links below provide further information.

www.england.nhs.uk/patient-online
Twitter #patientonline

If you wish to speak to NHSE about the offer, please contact:
England.patient-online@nhs.net or damianwilliams@nhs.net


GP Trainee Pay Issues

GPC England is aware that under new arrangements for the provision of primary care support services, a number of practices have not been provided with accurate information in order to pay GP trainees at their practice or have not received reimbursement for GP trainee pay.

No matter the reason for the issues, GP trainees should not be left without pay.

It remains the responsibility of the practice (as the employer) to ensure they pay their trainees. NHS England, Health Education England and GPC met on 9 November to resolve these issues, and have implemented the following process:

  • Any trainee who has not been paid, or who has been paid significantly less than they should have been paid (causing financial hardship) should contact the BMA as soon as possible (0300 123 1233 or support@bma.org.uk). We will pass your details to NHS England who will approach the practice to ensure such trainees are paid without delay.
  • Practices who have not received reimbursement for their trainees will be identified and prioritised, therefore any trainee who has not been paid for this reason should be paid without delay. This is aimed to occur over the next week.
  • HEE and NHS England will work together to provide a HR advice service to practices to ensure they know how much to pay their trainees, and will also ensure that any trainee that has not received the correct pay is identified and the pay is reconciled.