Contract imposition 2023/24 - survey result
Following the announcement of a GMS contract imposition for 2023/24 Doncaster LMC surveyed colleagues on their willingness to take industrial action.
Dear Colleagues,
The BMA’s GPCE (GP Committee England) voted to reject the Government’s proposed contract changes for 2023/24 on 1st February 2023. Despite further lobbying and discussions throughout last month, no further changes were made. These changes will subsequently come into force on 1st April 2023.
GPCE voted to reject these contract changes because:
- it increases the bureaucratic burden on practices
- they place access targets on practices that, will likely leave at least some in breach of contract
- there is no support for practices with inflationary and minimum wage pressures
We know that this workload is leading to burn out of GPs. As the workload increases and the number of GPs decreases, the capacity for general practice to provide safe care diminishes.
To force Government into meaningful talks, GPCE is preparing to ballot GPs. To be part of a future ballot, GPs must be a BMA member to participate. We await further information from the BMA about what this might look like.
In the meantime, we need to know your thoughts.
We asked Doncaster GPs
- Are you a member of the BMA?
- Are you a GP Partner / Sessional GP
- Would you consider participating in industrial action?
- What type of action would you like to see?
- There were 42 respondents
- 26 were BMA members
- 31 were GP partners
- 28 would consider participating in industrial action
- 8 requested undated resignations as the next step
Changes to PCN service requirements 2023/24
A summary of the 2023/24 PCN service requirements can be found here
Network DES guidance 2023/24
The following guidance documents have been published:
QoF 2023/24
NHS Standard Contract 2023/24
The following documents have been published:
HRT pre-payment certificate
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has introduced new pharmaceutical regulations, to take effect on 1 April 2023, to accompany the introduction of the HRT PPC. They are within the National Health Service (Amendments Relating to Pre-Payment Certificates, Hormone Replacement Therapy Treatments and Medicines Shortages) Regulations 2023. The HRT PPC is a new, limited scope, less expensive, prepayment certificate applicable only to listed HRT items.
Please see the link below to understand the consequences of the limited scope of the HRT pre-payment certificate https://psnc.org.uk/our-news/new-regulations-to-accompany-the-introduction-of-hrt-prepayment-certificates-hrt-ppcs/
New patient materials to support practice referrals to community pharmacists
New patient materials to support referrals from general practice for a minor illness consultation under the Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (CPCS) are now available. The communication materials have been designed to help practice teams and ICBs explain to patients why they are being offered a consultation with a community pharmacist and what to expect from it, to increase confidence in the referral process.
The digital materials were tested by practices – who found them a useful resource when making referrals. They include a patient leaflet and easy read version, poster, digital display screen, social media images and accompanying text and a briefing sheet that explains how to use them. Translations of the leaflet are available in ten languages. Contact england.pharmacyintegration@nhs.net for more information.
The resources can be ordered via the website https://campaignresources.dhsc.gov.uk/campaigns/help-us-help-you-primary-care/supporting-general-practice-referrals-to-the-nhs-community-pharmacist-consultation-service/
Pathology issues
Practices had reported that they were having issues with path links – none coming through for up to a few days then a huge amount coming through together. DBTH IT and Pathology have been working with their suppliers to resolve the issue. They have been monitoring the system closely and we have been assured that the issue has now been resolved. If you do encounter similar issues in the future, please let us know.
NHS rolls out specialist medical care centres for women during pregnancy
Pregnant women with serious medical problems will now have access to specialist treatment centres across the country; 17 centres of excellence will help women with pre-existing medical conditions, or conditions that arise during pregnancy to quickly get the extra care they might need. A team will be on hand to provide specialist medical advice before during and after pregnancy, bringing together expert physicians, obstetricians, midwives, nurses and other clinicians in one place.
Further information can be found here NHS England » NHS rolls out specialist medical care centres for women during pregnancy
DWP Special Rules update
From 3 April 2023, individuals who are likely to have less than 12 months to live can now claim PIP,
DLA, AA, UC and ESA via the Special Rules The ‘Special Rules’: how the benefit system supports people nearing the end of life – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
For more information: www.gov.uk/dwp/special-rules
LMC Buying Group
Doncaster LMC is been a member of the LMC Buying Groups Federation. This means that practices can access the discounts the Buying Group has negotiated on a wide range of products and services. If you’re not sure what the Buying Group is all about then this short video explains what they do: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FekMwFI5ILg.
By registering with the Buying Group: www.lmcbuyinggroups.co.uk/members/, you can view all the suppliers’ pricing, contact details and request quotes. The Buying Group also offers any member practice a free cost analysis which demonstrates how much money your practice could save just by swapping to buying group suppliers. Tel: 0115 979 6910 Email: info@lmcbuyinggroups.co.uk Website: www.lmcbuyinggroups.co.uk
