GP Contract 14/15
Negotiations on changes to the GP contract in England for 2014/15 have been concluded and announced. The GPC believes that this package, as a whole, puts general practice and all GPs in a better position to deliver improvements to patient care. An email from Chaand Nagpaul, GPC Chairman, was sent to all GPs in England on Friday to inform them of the position and outline the key points of the package. Full details of the agreement are available on the BMA website. Work will now being on the detailed arrangements for implementation. An email was sent from CLMC to all practice managers on Friday. If you have any questions or did not receive the emails on Friday please contact Janice.foster@tees.nhs.uk.

Future of General Practice: BMA Response to ‘Call to Action’ and BMA ‘Developing General Practice’ Paper
The GPC has published its vision discussion paper, ‘Developing general practice: Providing healthcare solutions for the future’, setting out proposals and ideas on the future of general practice. Views are being sought on the paper and it will be taken forward through a programme of activity over the coming year. A BMA Health Policy and Research Unit paper outlining the findings from some GP focus group work on views for the future was issued to accompany the paper. Alongside the GPC vision paper was also published the BMA’s response to NHS England’s Improving General Practice Review – the Call to Action.

Legionella Risk Assessments
We have been made aware of a company approaching practices with regard to legionella risk assessments. This is not required by CQC or anyone else and you do not need to waste money getting an outside organisation to do this. Under HSE law you are required to consider the risks and take suitable precautions. Considering the risks is straightforward and it is highly unusual for an external agency to be required. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Janice.foster@tees,nhs.uk. 

GP Practice Premises Development
David Geddes, Head of Primary Care at NHS England, has confirmed to the GPC that Area Teams do not currently have allocated funding to progress premises developments that, though considered previously by PCTs, had not received final approval and confirmation of funding by PCTs before 1 April 2013. Area Teams will not be in a position to progress business cases which are still pending approval, or to consider any new developments until April 2014 at the earliest. NHS England has confirmed its intention to remove barriers to future premises development from 2014/15. Following on from a recent review of capital commitments by Area Teams, NHS England is now undertaking an audit of the current backlog of business cases. David Geddes has asked Area Teams to prioritise all outstanding business cases against set criteria which match the NHS England business case approval guidance for capital investment.

New BMA QOF Guidance
The BMA have updated their guidance Focus on QOF payments for 2013-14 and NHS Employers has also updated their QOF FAQs. You can view both documents on the BMA webpage for QOF guidance for 2013-14.

Pharmaceutical Regulations 2013
The guidance on market entry and performance sanctions, within the Pharmaceutical Regulations 2013, has been updated.

Sick Leave Guidance for GP Trainees
The updated version of the sick leave guidance for GP trainees is intended to clarify sick leave arrangements in line with the Framework Contract agreed between GPC and COGPED.

GMC State of Medical Education and Practice 2013 Report
The GMC have published a report, State of Medical Education and Practice 2013, which focuses on key trends around complaints and identifies some of the challenges these reveal for doctors and those working in healthcare.