26 October 2023

The latest news and updates from NHS England for those working in Primary Care.

Primary care

Pharmacy blood pressure service check finder tool

A new service finder on NHS.uk allows healthcare professionals and patients to search for and find a pharmacy that offers free blood pressure checks. The tool explains who is eligible to go to a pharmacy to get their blood pressure checked and can be searched using a postcode, with the nearest pharmacy listed first. Blood pressure conditions pages on NHS.UK have also been updated to signpost to the blood pressure pharmacy finder.

All pharmacy contractors offering the service should ensure their pharmacy profile on profile manager is up to date and indicates that they provide the service.  

National patient safety alert and guidance on GLP-1 prescribing

There are ongoing supply issues with GLP-1 receptor agonists (RAs) used to treat diabetes and for off-label weight loss. A National Patient Safety Alert, issued on 18 July, outlines actions for prescribers. Refer to the dedicated Specialist Pharmacy Service page for further updates around supply.

Acute Respiratory Infection Hubs: Community of practice webinar

Clinicians, commissioners, integrated care boards and their teams across primary, secondary and community health NHS services who are interested in setting up a hub, are actively considering setting up or have already set up a hub are invited to join a webinar on Tuesday 7 November, 1-2pm.

For further information on Acute Respiratory Infection hubs, please visit FutureNHS or contact the team at england.home@nhs.net.

General practice

Giving patients online access to new GP health record entries by 31 October

Nearly two thirds of GP practices provide patients with online access to new health record entries and by 31 October, all practices are required to do so.

Experience from practices that already provide access, is that the most efficient way to achieve this is to bulk enable all patients, excluding individuals who are known to have risk. This replaces the need to give access to individual patients manually and has resulted in no significant issues or increases in workload. Find out more about switching on access at your practice.

See also detailed guidance on safeguarding patients from harm or distress, including redaction (hiding specific information from online visibility) or preventing access. Patient safety is of the highest priority, with no reports of patient safety incidents from practices that have enabled this function.

GP webinar

Join NHS England’s GP webinar on Thursday 2 November, 5-6pm for the latest updates on blood pressure control, including case studies from GPs. Book your place by 5pm on Wednesday 1 November.

NHS Staff Survey  

On 2 October, the NHS Staff Survey was extended to general practice organisations in participating ICBs. To protect anonymity, practice level reports will only be made available to practices with more than 11 survey responses. Survey invitations went direct to staff email addresses. Those who have received an invitation are encouraged to have their say before the closing date of 24 November.

Find out more on the Employee Experience and Engagement workspace.

New GP registration service messaging feature

The Register with a GP surgery service has added a new feature that can send a message to patients, confirming when the practice accepts their registration.

This feature has been tested with 96 practices and is available to all patients transferring from another GP practice. Patients will receive notifications through the NHS App, email, text message, or post if they cannot be reached digitally.

Practices already enrolled (currently 1 in 4 in England) can turn this feature on or off in NHS Profile Manager. New practices signing up will automatically have access to this new feature.

Pelvic mesh complications training

An e-learning programme about pelvic mesh complications is available for GPs . The programme provides information about the clinical complications that some patients will have, linked to their mesh surgery for stress urinary incontinence and vaginal prolapse. 

It also covers identifying the symptoms and how to refer patients to one of the nine NHS hospitals, that have been commissioned to provide Specialised Mesh Centre services. All GPs are encouraged to undertake this e-learning to support patients to access the Mesh Centre specialised expertise.  

Short survey - GP direct access to testing

GPs are invited to help shape the future direction of NHS England’s programme to expand GP direct access to testing, by completing this optional survey, which closes on 3 November.

Community pharmacy

Community Pharmacy Workforce Survey 2023

The Community Pharmacy Workforce Survey 2023 launched on 23October 2023 and will close on Sunday 17 December. This annual survey is part of the community pharmacy regulations since 2022 and provides consistent, accurate data to support effective workforce planning. The survey is being conducted by North of England Commissioning Support Unit (NECS) on behalf of NHS England.

Ask Your Pharmacist Week 2023

Ask Your Pharmacist Week is an annual awareness-raising campaign organised by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) and supported by NHS England and runs from 30 October - 6 November.

This year’s theme is ‘Meet Your Local Pharmacy Team’, aiming to raise awareness of the NHS services and skilled staff available in their local pharmacies with the strapline -Convenient, clinical care. Free campaign materials are available on the NPA website.

Get involved

Sharing trainee/early career colleague stories for Disability History Month

The theme for this year's Disability History Month (16 November - 16 December 2023) is on disability, children, and youth. Submissions of stories like Grace's who, as a junior doctor, found the NHS to be a disability-positive place for a career, are encouraged. Individuals with case studies or best practices to share, especially GP trainees, MDT colleagues, adult nurses, clinical apprentices, or dental trainees who are disabled and willing to share their experiences, are invited to contact england.nationalediteam@nhs.net by the end of October.

Social Prescribing Link Worker (SPLW) Survey 2023

The NHS England Social Prescribing team have published this year's SPLW survey. It seeks input from SPLWs on their experiences over the past year, covering areas such as employment, training, equipment, and their role. Survey responses will shape national support, policies, guidance, and quality improvement. The survey is open until 3 November 2023.

Training and development

Primary care access recovery plan: National care navigation training

Practice and PCN managers can nominate one member of staff to complete virtual care navigation training at foundation or advanced level. This training is fully funded by NHS England until March 2024. Please email carenavigationtraining@england.nhs.uk with any questions. Care navigation training FAQs are also available.

Funding for nursing associates

Trainee nursing associate (TNA) places are available to staff in general practice and primary care networks. Financial support includes £8,000 employer grant per TNA and Apprenticeship levy funding up to £15,000. Send expressions of interest to england.nationalnursingteam@nhs.net.

Upcoming webinars and events

Various dates. NHS Pension Scheme webinar series

October 2023 – February 2024. Understanding and awareness of Ramadan and how it can affect people with a serious mental illness

October – March 24. Patient participation: online learning programme 

31 October, 7pm. Webinar for new pharmacy owners

7 November, 12.30pm – 2pm. Learning from venous thromboembolism claims in primary care

9 November, 1-2pm. General Practice Improvement Programme – PCN engagement webinar

9 November, 8-9pm. A call for action for CVD prevention

Catch up

Missed a recent national webinar? You can view slides and recordings below:

• General Practice webinars
• Primary Care Network webinars
• Recovering Access to Primary Care webinars

Download patient-facing materials