Bulletin 29.09.2009
Pandemic Flu – Vaccination Arrangements
The National Director of NHS Flu Resilience, Ian Dalton, has clarified that in England, GP practices will not be charged for the time of District Nurses (DNs) engaged in the vaccination of housebound patients in the priority groups for H1N1 vaccination. PCTs have been asked to plan their vaccination programmes on this basis.
GPs, as employers, should be making arrangements to secure the appropriate vaccination of themselves and their staff. It is the responsibility of GPs to organise the vaccination of eligible front line staff, either via existing occupational health schemes or by putting in place other local arrangements to vaccinate practice staff. The Swine Flu vaccination agreement was specifically about payments to practices in respect of the 9.5 million people in the Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisations recommended priority groups. View the letter from Ian Dalton here.
The dosage of Tamiflu for babies aged 6 months to 1 year has been changed by the European Commission. Full details can be found by following this link to the DH website.
Please see the Pandemic Flu Q&A (updated 14 Sept) here.
Audit of ‘E’ Discharge Letters
The PCTs carrying out an audit on discharge letters from each clinical directorate following the highlighting of some problems with the ‘e’ letter – misdiagnosis, lack of information regarding procedures, incorrect admission and discharge dates etc. The simple audit will require GPs to take a couple of minutes to complete a short audit form which will be sent with the discharge letters which were being audited by the Clinical Directors. We hope all practices will assist with this audit as it will enable the system to be more effective.
As part of the new QOF process, NICE wants to ensure that all stakeholders from all participating countries have the opportunity to contribute to the development of future indicators for the QOF. NICE have launched two new online facilities to enable people to suggest topic areas for the development of new QOF indicators and also comment on existing indicators. The facilities can be accessed from 15 September – 13 October.
The GPC will not be involved in the suggestion of clinical areas for the QOF as it negotiates the final framework. However, individual GPs are encouraged to submit their personal views and experiences as part of this programme.
Suggesting a Topic
The online topic suggestion facility provides a list of evidence-based recommendations drawn from NICE clinical and public health guidance that could provide potential new QOF indicators. Over time this facility will be expanded to provide the opportunity to suggest a wider range of evidence-based sources, accredited through NHS Evidence. Each suggestion will be reviewed against the criterion presented in the submission form and suitable suggestions for the QOF will be presented to the independent Primary Care QOF Indicator Advisory Committee for consideration.
Suggestions can be made here.
Comment on Existing Indicators
The online facility to comment on QOF indicators enables people to input into the review of existing indicators. Comments will be used to review existing QOF indicators against criteria including, evidence of unintended consequences, significant changes to the evidence base or changes in current practice. Comments will be fed into a rolling programme of reviews and considered by the independent Primary Care QOF Indicator Advisory Committee. All contributions will be reviewed following the process laid out in the QOF process guide and only those suggestions and comments that fulfil the criteria for consideration will be presented to the Advisory Committee.
The online facility for commenting on existing QOF indicators can be accessed here.
Referrals to Complementary Therapists Regulated by Statute
Guidance has been produced in response to evidence of continuing interest amongst patients in the use of treatment modalities which are currently outside NHS healthcare provision but which are delivered by professionals who have statutory regulation in place. This guidance was first issued in September 2006 and has now been updated. It is available on the BMA website.
Are available on the LMC meeting pages or by clicking here.