Thursday 26 May 2022
Dear all,
Thank you for all preparing for the long bank holiday.
Please take the opportunity to use social media to remind people about how to access care, NHS 111 and prescription ordering and check all answer phones and websites are correct.
The bulletin today includes a monkeypox update – please do share with your teams.
Training is now available to help you complete your Equality Impact Assessment which is part of PQRRS. More details below.
Please note there is no planned primary care bulletin next week due to the bank holiday weekend. For those of you off, please have a lovely break.
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Please send any queries relating to this bulletin to mhcc.primarycare@nhs.net
 Some of the headlines:
Northern Care Alliance: IT issues affecting Northern Care Alliance systems updates
The latest Northern Care Alliance IT issues updates can be found on TeamNet.
GM HCID (High Consequence Infectious Diseases) and Monkeypox Guidance
Greater Manchester has shared a monkeypox update and have announced that they already have well-established pathways in place for High Consequence Infectious Disease to support the management of all suspected cases.
You can find the full GM update and GM pathway for suspected HCID cases presenting to primary/community settings on TeamNet.
They advise that it is worth considering initial front-door triage questions that can be used in your settings to minimise healthcare exposures and potential contacts, particularly in waiting room areas e.g., early identification and prompt isolation of patients presenting with a febrile rash.
An example of a draft operational policy being developed at MFT which includes some initial triage questions that could be used, as well as advice on testing is also on TeamNet.
Also attached is a Monkeypox communications toolkit with information for social media and a news post to add to your website.
Training to help you complete your Equality Impact Assessment (part of PQRRS)
Training is now available to support practices in submitting their Equality Impact Assessments as part of PQRRS.
The training will support you to:
- Develop skills to complete an EIA effectively and to identify, eliminate or mitigate equality risks
- Effectively fulfil your legal equality duties.
- You will have the opportunity to complete an EIA and get feedback
It will also provide background to the legal requirements, how to conduct an initial equality impact screening, introduce a five-stage approach to support you to complete the assessment, and provide access to a virtual toolkit for your own use.
The second session will review your EIA, share examples of best practice, an overview of the Equality Act, and provide you with an action plan.
To find the dates available and how to apply, please visit TeamNet.
For information: Q1 payment processed for PQRRS
The Q1 payment for PQRRS (2022/23) has been processed and practices will receive the payment on Tuesday 31 May 2022.
MJOG renewal message to practices
We have been informed that practices using MJOG may have received a message advising that the service is being removed on Tuesday 31 May as the CCG is not renewing the contract.
Support for a small number of practices that did not have a text solution in place was made available at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic as part of the Covid response, to make sure all practices had access to a mass texting solution.
As part of the ongoing support for Digital First Primary Care, funding has been agreed for the mass texting solution offered by AccuRx, as it forms part of a bundle of functionality that supports the advanced texting functions of this platform, and so all practices will have in place a platform for mass communication.
If practices wish to continue to MJOG as their preferred platform, this will need to be funded by the practice, as it was prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Communications: How to access healthcare over June Jubilee bank holiday weekend
In preparation for the June Jubilee bank holiday next week, we have created a social media tile summarising care available and also added the information to our website.
Also attached is the latest information regarding urgent dental care for patients in Greater Manchester. We would be grateful if you could replace any old posters within your waiting rooms and check the information is up to date on your websites.
 New Long Covid advice sheet for patients in Manchester and Trafford
MHCC alongside Trafford CCG and colleagues in the Long Covid Adults Manchester and Trafford Long Covid Steering Group have developed a Long Covid advice sheet for patients who have been newly diagnosed or think they may have long covid.
It is intended that clinicians share this leaflet with patients upon diagnosis of confirmed or suspected long covid. The information is a brief introduction to long covid and includes exercises, dietary information and signposts to some useful resources.
Further plans to share this information include installation of the leaflet into EMIS, and the development of a webpage on the MFT website. Please download the leaflet from TeamNet.
Primary Care Briefing: Update on Alcohol Harm in Pregnancy and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)
GM have provided an update on reducing alcohol harm in pregnancy and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
It encourages GPs to take the CPD accredited e-Learning provided by National FASD. Their website provides expert led advice for GPs and other health care professionals.
Short survey on HIV testing in primary care
Three Junior Doctors are conducting research into HIV testing in primary care. HIV is an important issue for Manchester, and in 2021, Mayor Andy Burham pledged to end all new HIV transmissions by 2030 in Greater Manchester.
With the help of Dr Marlon Morais (GP HIV Champion for Manchester CCG), a short 5-minute survey has been created for clinicians in primary care (including GPs, GP SpRs, foundation doctors, ANPs, ACPs and Pas). Take the Google survey.
New GP newsletter for Division of Laboratory Medicine
As part of a drive to improve communications with the GP practices, the Division of Laboratory Medicine is launching a regular email newsletter for GPs. To sign up, please email dlm.comms@mft.nhs.uk with 'Subscribe to GP newsletter' in the subject line.
Vacancies:
Medical Receptionist required for 25 hours per week. Northenden Group Practice
Morning and afternoon shifts available (07:30am - 13:00pm) (13:30pm - 18:30pm). A busy and friendly GP Practice looking for a committed and enthusiastic person to project a positive and friendly image to our patients and other professionals.
- Must have good communication, IT/Keyboard skills combined with common sense and an ability to work under pressure.
- General Practice experience desirable but not essential.
- Salary dependent on experience. £9.50 ph increasing to £10ph after probation.
- 5 weeks annual leave (Pro rata) and NHS Pension.
Please feel free to contact:
 Special Announcement: Congratulations to Jessica Fox (Kingsway) for winning in the ‘Rising Star’ category at the recent GM GPN nursing awards, and apologies for this not being recognised correctly last week.
Please find flyers attached regarding student supervision. The Greater Manchester Training Hub is hosting a lunch time training session to empower you to play an active role in developing our future workforce in Primary Care.
This is as important as ever as we know exposure to the GPN role - YOU! encourages student nurses to enter primary care. There is also a short support session for those nurses (supervisors and assessors) who have students. The flyers have info of how to join.
Please find attached information about the Garrett Anderson Senior Leader Apprenticeship.
Ever considered a career in Nursing? Come along to the Registered Nurse Degree Apprenticeship open evening at Bolton University
This is an open evening at Bolton University for any primary care staff thinking of joining the nursing profession either part time or full time. It's a great opportunity to continue to work in practice and do the degree without the fees at the end!
Dates are Wednesday 22 June, 7:30pm and Wednesday 6 July, 7:30pm
Find out how degree apprenticeships are funded, an overview of the full time and part time courses, what qualitifcaitons you need, plus a Q&A with the team from Bolton University
For more information please visit https://www.hmrpca.co.uk/bschonsrnda
And to register your interest, visit Forms.
 Increase in chickenpox attendance at A&E
Emergency departments have reported an uptick in parents attending with children who have chickenpox.
The headlines around the outbreak of Monkeypox cases has likely worried a lot of parents, so we have created social media tiles reminding parents of the symptoms of chickenpox and how to treat. Download a copy of these on TeamNet.
The What 0-18 – fever and rash web page is also a good resource to share with parents.
 Update to auto report - MHRA safety alert: Pregabalin - Findings of safety study on risks during pregnancy
Following recent communication regrading safety alert on use of pregabalin in women in childbearing age, we have identified that not all of the patients may have been identified by the auto report. The auto-report has now been amended and uploaded to the TeamNet. If you require any support with actioning the alert, please contact your practice-based medicines optimisation team.
Sodium alginate shortage advice
In view of the recent sodium alginate shortage, prescribers may wish to take this opportunity to review the ongoing need for the products.
For short term acute relief of heart burn, patients may be directed to their community pharmacy where they can obtain lifestyle advice and make recommendations for alternative products that can be purchased over the counter if appropriate.
Alternatively for patients who require long term management, information on alternative medicines that can be prescribed are detailed in Chapter 1 of the GMMMG formulary; such as H2 receptor antagonists and proton pump inhibitors.
Hormone Replacement Therapy Serious Shortage Protocols
In response to significant ongoing disruption to the supply of some Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) medicines, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has issued a further ten new Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs), meaning that there are now 13 SSPs in circulation.
Following the three HRT SSPs issued at the end of April 2022, the ten new SSPs, introduced with immediate effect, allow community pharmacists to consider different options to enable continued supply of HRT medicines to mitigate the ongoing supply disruptions affecting certain HRT medicines.
Further information on all current HRT SSPs can be found on the NHSBSA website.
Please read the full update on TeamNet.
 Community Gastroenterology / Direct Access Endoscopy Service information (Beacon Medical Services Group)
Please find attached information from our Direct Access Endoscopy and Gastroenterology Community services provided by Beacon Medical Services Group. The update provides information about the service and referral criteria and advice around how to make a referral into the service.
Beacon Medical Services is commissioned by MHCC to provide your patients with a Community Gastroenterology / Direct Access Endoscopy Service. Average wait times are significantly less than those experienced in secondary care. Most patients are seen within 3 weeks with urgent referrals being prioritised.
The service is consultant led and patients and GPs have indicated high levels of satisfaction consistently for many years. The ability to be seen in a community setting is a major attraction for patients as it allays the anxieties normally associated with visiting the hospital.
Please select the community option on the Care Gateway referral forms. (This will help with getting referrals to Beacon Medical Services Group) and avoid referral being mistakenly sent to secondary care).
All referrals are to go through the Manchester Care Gateway only:
If you have any queries about this update, please contact Beacon Medical Services Group for any service or operational queries Bmsg.beacon-enquiries@nhs.net or SaraFletcher@nhs.net at MHCC for anything else.
 Courses
Coming up in June:
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