Updates - -
Covid Vaccination Enhanced Service – General Practice
We have updated the general practice enhanced service for the COVID-19 vaccination programme 2020/21 to provide further clarity that cover under the Clinical Negligence Scheme for General Practice (CSNGP) is not restricted to a GP practice’s registered patients so would apply to the provision of any NHS COVID-19 vaccinations by a GP practice to a person, including where they are not on the registered list of that GP practice. The revised ES can be found online.
20/21 flu programme
The annual flu reimbursement letter was updated on 1 April. A copy of the latest version can be found online. The letter confirmed that those aged 50-64 year old will be included in the 21/22 flu programme. The letter also confirmed the inclusion of a QIVr vaccine (Supemtek).
Vaccinating housebound patients
Local vaccination sites should consider how they can reach people who are housebound or who will require significant support to access services. Recognising the circumstances that contribute to people being unable to leave their homes encompasses a range of factors which could include illness, frailty, surgery, mental ill health, lack of practical support or nearing end of life.
National PCN Webinar – 28 April 2021, 5.30-7pm
Dr Ursula Montgomery, GP and Senior Clinical Advisor – Primary Care and Dr Ned Naylor, Director of Primary Care Provider Transformation will host the next in our series of PCN webinars for PCN clinical directors, general practice teams and integrated care system leaders.
JCVI advises prioritising homeless people and rough sleepers for COVID-19 vaccine
New advice has been issued from JCVI to prioritise homeless people and rough sleepers for the COVID-19 vaccine. Many people who are homeless or sleeping rough are likely to have underlying health conditions which would place them in priority group 6.
Advice for women following COVID-19 vaccination
A recent BMJ article reported that advice in the US is that breast screening appointments should be scheduled to take place before women receive a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine or four to six weeks after the second dose where possible.
National provision Steward Volunteers for PCNs, GP practices and community pharmacies
All vaccination providers in England can now directly book NHS Volunteer Responders (NHSVR) Steward Volunteers from the national pool (except the North East and Yorkshire region, which books through Lead Employers). The programme is delivered for the NHS by Royal Voluntary Service (RVS) and the GoodSAM app.
Workforce data – reminder to practices and PCNs
NHS Digital will extract the latest general practice and PCN workforce data from the National Workforce Reporting System (NWRS) on Wednesday 31 March, covering changes between 1 January and 31 March.
Guidance on care home visiting
The Department of Health and Social Care has published revised guidance on visiting professionals to care homes.
Making sure your digital health technology meets our national standards
If you’re trialling, procuring or promoting a new digital health technology (including apps) in your organisation, you will first need to make sure it passes the Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC) .
Update on Quality Outcomes Framework changes for 2021/22
We have written to update practices on the changes to QOF for 2021/22. To provide practice stability and to support recovery, QOF for 2021/22 will be based on the indicator set already agreed for 2020/21, with very limited changes only.
Publication of Primary Care Network Dashboard
After a period of user testing, we have launched the Primary Care Network (PCN) Dashboard on NHS ViewPoint.