Bulletin 21.10.2013

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Bulletin 21.10.2013

Care.data Fair Processing, Additional Guidance
Further to the announcement by NHS England with regard to their national awareness raising plans for care.data, this fair processing guidance has been produced for practices by NHS England and the HSCIC, with ICO, GPC and RCGP input, and sets out the responsibilities of practices in meeting their fair processing obligations under the DPA.

GPC Guidance on Alliances, Federations and Sharing Staff
The GPC has produced guidance for practices considering forming alliances or federations and sharing staff. The guidance gives advice on what practices should explore before taking decisions, possible structural and legal models and provides case studies on the different organisations some GPs have already created. The related advice on sharing staff includes secondments, joint employment, VAT considerations, alternative arrangements and managing change.

Vaccines & Gelatine
Following reports in the media about the use of gelatine in Fluenz, the vaccine recommended for use for children, Public Health England has published a statement on this issue. More in depth guidance has also been published in a recent Vaccine Update.

Vaccine Supply – Zostavax Temporarily Unavailable
National distribution of Zostavax® vaccine began on 1 August 2013. However, due to an ongoing delay in the supply of the vaccine into the UK, PHE has temporarily removed Zostavax® from the ImmForm website, and it is not currently available to order. PHE expect further limited deliveries during October, at which point ordering will be resumed, with more substantial volumes due in November and December. It is likely that the order level cap for England will remain in place during this period. PHE apologise for the inconvenience caused.

Multiple ordering to circumvent the cap has presented a number of challenges both for the distributor in distributing those orders, and for PHE in managing the remaining stock. Further orders will be monitored. When ordering resumes, Zostavax® must only be ordered for the 70 year old and 79 year old cohorts this year. PHE have asked GP practices not to stockpile the vaccine as the vaccine is expensive and it is important to minimise wastage. Please note that the vaccine can be administered to the two eligible cohorts at any time between 1 September 2013 and 31 August 2014.

2013/14 Enhanced Service Guidance and Audit Requirements Update
NHS Employers, NHS England and the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) have updated their guidance and audit requirements for the 2013/14 enhanced services and the vaccination programmes supported by automated extractions. This guidance is intended to support area teams and practices in delivering these services, and includes the new read codes and business rules, including for childhood influenza. Note that guidelines and a template for all the flu vaccines (including childhood nasal spray) are available for Vision practices. The business rules have also been published.

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