New Medicine Service (NMS) ,Tees Update

You may be aware of the New Medicine Service that commenced on Saturday 1 October. Both Cleveland LMC and Cleveland LPC are working together to try and ensure that the introduction of this service runs as smoothly as possible. To this end, we have produced this letter and briefing sheet with the aim of explaining what the new service will mean to Tees Practices. If you have any questions with regard to the NMS, please contact janice.foster@middlesbroughpct.nhs.uk

Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Registration

Following an incident in Kent, we anticipate you may receive a request to ensure that you check all practice nurse(s) NMC Registration. It is important that you ensure periodic checks of registrations take place as we have been made aware of a small number of cases where qualified nurses failed to keep up their registration. It is an offence to work as a nurse without the required registration in place and practices will have to deal with any consequences should this occur. The NMC website has 2 separate means of checking registration, a simple pin number check that is open to the public and an employers check. It is important that practices register as employers and undertake the enhanced employers check as this gives additional information including the employment history of the nurse.

Summary Care Records, use of opt out codes

New READ codes were issued in April 2011 to support a wider range of patient consent preferences for Summary Care Records. GP Systems have not yet been upgraded to recognise these new codes. We would therefore remind everyone to continue to use 93C3 (or XaKRy, the CTV3 equivalent) to record the preference of a patient who has opted out of having an SCR, until you are notified that your GP system has been upgraded. This will ensure that Summary Care Records will not be created for those patients who choose to opt out. Further information is available here.

Commissioning Update

The first edition of Commissioning Update, giving GPs in-depth info on the latest developments within the NHS, focuses on the New NHS Structures and is available on the BMA website.

Information Cascades for Sessional GPs

Dame Barbara Hakin recently wrote this letter to all PCTs with regard to ensuring all important communications to general practitioners are also sent to sessional or locum GPs and encouraging PCTs/CCGs to work together to ensure the engagement of this group of GPs.

Locum Agreements Guidance

The BMA has posted locum agreements guidance on their website for BMA members. This guidance is aimed at BMA member locum GPs to help them put together written agreements with the practices for which they work, and should also be of interest to practices who engage locums. It assumes that the arrangements made will reflect the locum’s status as a self employed GP, and that the agreement will be a contract for services, rather than a contract of service, which would apply to an employee. If you have any specific questions with regard to engaging locum GPs please contact the LMC.

Patient Participation DES Guidance Reminder and Third Party ‘Starter DES Sessions’

Practices may have received offers from third party organisations for ‘getting started’ DES packages in return for payment. This goes against the spirit of the DES and defeats the object of practices forging closer relationships with their patients, better understanding local need and improving outcomes. Please remember that the GPC and NHS Employers have published this joint guidance which clearly sets out the key objectives of the DES for practices and encourages practices to seek the support of voluntary organisations in engaging with marginalised or vulnerable groups. This should help ensure the Patient Reference Group (PRG) is representative of the practice profile, while the onus remains on practices taking the initiative in achieving each component of the DES.