This week’s GP roundup is here! It features the Covid-19 vaccination programme update, the latest guidance on children under five with respiratory symptoms and more. You can download the update in PDF here:
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You can also read the update below:
In this bulletin:
- COVID-19 Vaccination Programme Update
- Cohort 12 (25 – 29 year olds)
- Children aged 12 – 15
- Standard Operating Procedure: Roving and Mobile Models
- Enhanced Service Specification: COVID-19 Vaccination Programme 2020/21
- Access to General Practice Communications Toolkit
- Flu and COVID-19 Vaccination Trials
- Children Under Five with Respiratory Symptoms
- General Practice Data for Planning and Research Data (GPDPR) Collection
- Free PPE for Unpaid Carers
- Workforce Minimum Data Set (wMDS)
- HMRC Webinars
- CQC Mythbuster of the Week
COVID-19 Vaccination Programme Update
- Now that 25 to 29-year-olds (cohort 12) are eligible for the COVID vaccine, and the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for 12 to 15 year olds, a decision on vaccinating children is expected soon
- A Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for operating roving and mobile vaccination modelshas just been published. These models enable the administration of COVID-19 vaccines at identified locations outside of vaccination ‘base’ sites – vaccination centres, hospital hubs, PCN-led sites and community pharmacies
- The Enhanced Service Specification: COVID-19 vaccination programme 2020/21has recently been updated to include a 3-month maximum period for payment claims, using a single Point of Care System for entering new vaccination events, and permitting the administration and payment claim of a single dose vaccine once authorised
- The Access to General Practice Communications Toolkithas been updated and supports GPs to explain to patients how they can safely access General Practice. The update reflects many of the changes in the GP COVID SOP in that, in addition to remote consultations, patients should have the option of coming to the practice in person while adhering to social distancing and IPC guidance. There should be a consistent approach to patient access and Practices should continue to ‘engage with their practice population regarding access models and should actively adapt their processes as appropriate in response to feedback’
- Clinical trials are continuing to establish whether flu and COVID-19 vaccinations can be given at the same time and whether a third ‘booster’ dose is required. The ComFluCOV, Com-CoVand COV-Boost vaccine studies are three of the clinical trials in progress.
Children Under Five with Respiratory Symptoms
Due to limited exposure to respiratory viral infections other than COVID-19 in young children, because of the measures to minimise the spread of coronavirus, all children under five with respiratory symptoms should be considered for face-to-face clinical assessment and referred to secondary care as appropriate.
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) has produced a summary of key current evidence regarding COVID-19 in children and young people and guidance on paediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome temporally associated with COVID-19.
General Practice Data for Planning and Research Data (GPDPR) Collection
The data extraction of patient data from GP Practice IT systems has been widely discussed over recent weeks but, with concerns about the lack of publicity and time for Practices to fully inform patients, the data collection has been deferred until 1 September 2021.
The General Practice Data for Planning and Research (GPDPR) service is being rolled out to replace the General Practice Extraction Service (GPES). NHS Digital published a Transparency Notice to explain how and why they collect, analyse, publish and share data collected from GP practices for planning and research. They also included a short 1½ minute video about the data collection, which can be shared on websites and social media.
Free PPE for Unpaid Carers
Unpaid carers who do not live with the person they care for should wear PPE when delivering care and are eligible to receive free COVID-19 PPE through local authorities (LAs) and local resilience forums (LRFs) until the end of March 2022.
Workforce Minimum Data Set (wMDS)
The next quarterly Extraction of GP Practice and Primary Care Network data will take place on 30 June via the NHS Digital National Workforce Reporting System (NWRS) and will cover the period April – June 2021.
HMRC Webinars
HMRC offer various videos, webinars and email alerts to help employers find help and support. In their next webinar P11D – How to complete your 2020 to 2021 return, the HMRC will explain which employees need a P11D, taxable expenses and benefits, exemptions and National Insurance, with examples to show how to enter the most common benefits.
CQC Mythbuster of the Week
There is a new CQC mythbuster which is GP mythbuster 103: Complaints management – 10 May 2021.
In this mythbuster, the CQC requires Practices to follow the expectations for NHS providers in how to manage complaints and follow the two stage process:
- Local resolution by the provider or NHS England
- The case can be referred to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO)
The mythbuster gives guidance on:
- How providers should respond to complaints
- Timescales and initial response to complaints
- Multi-agency complaints
- Complaint management at a practice
- Acknowledging and acting on complaints
- Complaint reporting
- Revalidation
- What the CQC inspection teams will expect to see
The Medical Defence Union (MDU) have produced guidance on how to respond to a complaint, but Practices must make sure complainants receive a timely and appropriate response and this is usually three working days to acknowledge receipt of the complaint.
The British Medical Association (BMA) has also produced guidance on dealing with complaints made against a GP practice. They have also produced specific guidance for GPs who manage staff, to help managers of other healthcare professionals better manage concerns raised to them.
A full list of CQC tips and mythbusters by latest update can be found on the CQC website.
QCS Resources
In the QCS system we have various resources to help customers manage complaints including a complaints leaflet, a complaints poster and a complaints register which reflects the fields required to submit the KO41b Primary Care (GP and Dental) Complaints Collection.
KO41b Primary Care (GP and Dental) Complaints Collection
Please note that following the decision not to conduct the 2019-20 KO41b data collection from GP and Dental practices due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NHS Digital aims to collect the 2020-21 data in June 2021, although the dates are still to be confirmed.