Page last updated: 1 April, 2021, 12:00pm
Primary Care E-bulletin (Issue 131) – 1 April 2021
Welcome to the latest edition of our e-briefing to support GP practices across mid and south Essex.
If you think these e-briefings could be improved, please let us know how by sharing your feedback.
Previous bulletins can be found on the MSE healthcare professional website.
There is also a search function (located top-right of the website) to make it easy to find what you’re looking for.
In this Issue:
- Reminder: 24/7 secondary care consultant helpline for care home and frail elderly patients
- Guide to local health services during the Easter 2021 Bank Holiday
- Improved oversight and reform needed on DNACPR decisions
- Share your views: End of Life Care Education Needs
- Wellbeing Support Workshops
- Mental Health Awareness Forums
- Regional CPD live webinar for medical emergencies
- FREE GatewayC Webinars: Effective Telephone Consultations and New Types of Cancer Treatments
- Introduction to the GP referral pathway to the Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (CPCS)
Primary care communications during the Easter period
Due to the upcoming Easter Bank Holiday Weekend, there will be some changes to the dates we publish the primary care briefings.
Please note: next week we will only be publishing one bulletin which is planned for Wednesday (7 April).
Help shape future primary care bulletins
Deadline: 12 April 2021
We will be transitioning to a new email communications provider, until we do this, we will be using the healthcare professional website to share information with you.
We’d like to take the opportunity to review our current newsletters, so we are asking people to share their views on the content and layout of newsletters received to date.
We do appreciate there are many demands on your time at present, but if you can spare a few moments to complete a brief feedback survey we’d be very grateful.
We will use this feedback to help build our new design for primary care communications going forward.
Support with Day to Day Issues
Reminder: 24/7 secondary care consultant helpline for care home and frail elderly patients
Helpline number: 01245 513 938
We wanted to remind primary care colleagues about the 24/7 secondary care consultant helpline. This was set up earlier this year to support primary care staff in decision making regarding care home and frail elderly patients - helping to avoid distressing trips to hospital.
Please do continue to use this helpline when needed.
Guide to local health services during the Easter 2021 Bank Holiday
The CCGs have developed guides to health services in mid and south Essex over the Easter 2021 Bank Holiday Weekend (including pharmacy opening details). The CCGs will be promoting the information via social media. Please feel free to share the guides as appropriate via your own networks too. The posters which can be downloaded below include QR codes that take people to the online page where information relevant to their area can be found.
Download black and white poster
Improved oversight and reform needed on DNACPR decisions
Earlier this month, the CQC published their review of ‘do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation’ (DNACPR) decisions during the coronavirus pandemic. DNACPRs are also known as DNRs and DNARs.
Their review found worrying variation in people’s experiences of DNACPR decisions during the pandemic. Although there were examples of good practice, they also heard from people who had not been properly involved in decisions, or were unaware that such an important decision about their care had been made.
They make a number of recommendations in the below report, including that a ministerial oversight group must be set up to look in depth at the issues.
Report: Protect, respect, connect – decisions about living and dying well during COVID-19
Share your views: End of Life Care Education Needs
Deadline for response: 16th April 2021
The Mid and South Essex Health and Care Partnership End of Life Education Group are looking for your views with regards to end of life care education. Please do take the time to complete this important survey which will be used to shape future education packages for end of life care.
As an incentive for completing the survey, we are putting all those who wish to be entered into a prize draw for a £10 Marks and Spencer voucher. There is a link at the end of the survey that can click on to e-mail your details in order to be entered into the prize draw.
Education and Training
Mid and South Essex Training Hub
For the latest initiatives from the Mid and South Essex Health and Care Partnership Training Hub, please visit the Training Hub section of our website.
Wellbeing Support Workshops
Anxiety, stress, bereavement are all very pertinent emotions that people all over the world are currently experiencing. However, Healthcare workers have been at the full front of Covid-19 from the very beginning, if you are needing support, confidential space, a forum to reflect about your experiences and emotions, please utilise the service that is Here For You!
To read more about these workshops, including dates and how to book your place, please visit the Training Hub website.
Mental Health Awareness Forums
The Mid and South Essex Training Hub, along with EPUT, have set up two forums to better explore how we support Primary Care staff, specifically around emotional wellbeing.
If you would like to join one of these forums, which will focus on wellbeing and what is needed in the practices, please send an email to [email protected] letting us know which date you would like to attend.
Tuesday 6th April, 12.30pm-1pm
Wednesday 14th April, 12.30pm-1pm
The sessions will be held via MS Teams. Please note, you do not need to be an expert in this topic, our intention is to generate a healthy discussion to make robust plans for the future.
Regional CPD live webinar for medical emergencies
When: Thursday 29 April 2021
Covering: an overview of medical emergencies and recognising emergencies in children and adolescents. Worth three hours of CPD.
How to book:
- E-mail [email protected]
- Website: www.gpforum.com
- Or complete the registration form (download below), along with a cheque made payable to GP Forum.
FREE GatewayC Webinars: Effective Telephone Consultations and New Types of Cancer Treatments
GatewayC is a free online cancer education platform developed for primary care professionals across England, aiming to improve cancer outcomes by facilitating earlier diagnosis and improving patient experience. The platform is fully funded by Health Education England and assists users to confidently identify, refer and support patients with symptoms on a suspected cancer pathway. The below webinars are suitable for all healthcare professionals across England, but targeted at primary care.
- 21s April 2021, 13:00-14:00: Effective Telephone Consultations
- 12th May 2021, 13:00-14:00: New Types of Cancer Treatments
Introduction to the GP referral pathway to the Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (CPCS)
Date: Wednesday 7th April 2021, 1pm-2pm
This webinar, run by Practice Managers Association (PMA), will provide an overview of the GP CPCS pathway, detail the benefits of the pathway to practices and patients and provide lived experience stories from practice managers and community pharmacist of how the pathway was implemented in their practice/PCN/pharmacy.
Register: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/6054810836873666576
For Information
NHS Primary Care COVID-19 Bulletin
Click here to access NHS England’s latest primary care COVID-19 bulletins.
For the latest advice and guidance around coronavirus for clinicians, please visit the NHS England website.