NHS Appraisal Toolkit

DoH will be allowing their contract with SCHIN, the providers of the NHS Appraisal Toolkit, to expire at the end of October. We will inform you of the impact this will have on the process in Tees as soon as we have official confirmation from the PCTs. In the meantime, the Department have clarified with the GPC that up until 31 October 2010, users of the toolkit will be able to download their appraisal documentation from the system in Word (Forms 1-3) and PDF (Form 4) format. Following 31st October 2010, it is GPC understanding from the Department that users of the toolkit will still be able to request their data from SCHIN, and that SCHIN will not levy a charge for users to receive their data, irrespective of which appraisal system they have adopted. However, GPC also understand that accessing the data will take longer after 31st October as users will need to prove their identity to access their information and would therefore advise users of the toolkit to download their appraisal documentation as soon as possible.

NHS White Paper – GPC positioning statement

The GPC has published this statement outlining the principles of GP commissioning in the context of the White Paper. It is intended that these principles should be used to define policy, inform debate and negotiations, and ensure that good medical practice is enshrined within the changes proposed in “Liberating the NHS”.

QOF prevalence calculation 2009/10

The GPC has produced this Q&A document in light of the unexpected prevalence figures for 2009/10.

Cleanliness guidance

The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) has now published guidance on cleanliness in the NHS for primary care providers, which is aimed at helping primary care providers set up simple, easy-to-follow processes to ensure that their premises are clean and safe. Using these specifications is not mandatory, but may be a useful guide for providers and may help towards registration with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) from April 2012. The NPSA has also produced this Q&A which explains the how the cleanliness specifications work.

Community Services, GPC Focus on the NHS Standard Contract

In April 2010 the NHS introduced a standard contract for acute, community, ambulance and mental health services. The contract is designed to cover agreements between PCTs and all types of providers that deliver NHS funded services. This guidance note is designed to alert GPs to what this change will mean in practice.