Page last updated: 27 April, 2021, 12:41pm
Primary Care E-bulletin (Issue 137) – 27 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:
- Health and wellbeing support for local staff
- COVID-19 vaccination programme update
- Urgent Community Response Team (UCRT) Supporting avoidable hospital admissions across mid and south Essex (MSE)
- GP registration – updating practice websites
- Together with Baby service
- Essex County Council Eating Disorders, Self-injury, Loneliness & Isolation posters
- RCGP/BMA Joint Statement – Adopter/Foster Carer Medicals
- Bowel Cancer Awareness Month – New FIT resources available
- 10% off at Iceland until Sunday 2 May
Health and wellbeing support for local staff
As we start to come out of the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK, our hearts go out to those battling the unfolding tragic situation in India.
In mid and south Essex, we will be doing all we can to support national efforts to provide medical equipment to our health and care colleagues in India.
Some staff will be personally affected by this and will be very worried about friends and loved ones. If you need someone to talk to, you can use the free and completely confidential local service ‘Here for You’.
Details of other services that can support you, your staff or your colleagues can be found here.
Support with Day to Day Issues
COVID-19 vaccination programme update
From this week, 44-year olds will be invited to book their vaccination through the national booking service (online at nhs.uk or by calling 119).
The priority for all delivery models is to book or re-book a 2nd dose appointment and reserving sufficient supply for cohorts 1-9 who are yet to come forward. Further details can be found in this operational update sent on Friday 23 April 2021.
A decision on inviting 40-43 year olds to book will be made very shortly. This phased approach is being taken in line with available supply.
Vaccination should not be offered to anyone outside of eligible cohorts.
Urgent Community Response Team (UCRT) Supporting avoidable hospital admissions across mid and south Essex (MSE)
NEW contact number for Mid and South Essex: 0344 257 3951
UCRT is the new collective name for the community teams who respond to the crisis needs of patients in their own homes, including nursing and residential care homes, to avoid admission to hospital or in need of new 24-hour care.
Access to this service is available immediately. You may already know the service by a different name, depending on your location:
- “SPOR” in Basildon and Brentwood
- “ESDAAR” in mid Essex
- “RRAS” in Thurrock
- “SWIFT” in Southend, Castle Point and Rochford.
PLEASE REMEMBER TO UPDATE YOUR SYSTEMS WITH THE NEW NUMBER: 0344 257 3951.
The service is accessible 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year with teams operating from 08:00hrs – 22:00hrs (referrals accepted 08:00 – 20:00).
GP registration – updating practice websites
A few GP practice websites are still displaying information stating that proof of ID/address or immigration status is required to register, which is no longer the case as outlined on the NHS.uk website. Please check and update websites accordingly.
GP practices may also be interested in the following:
- ‘Homelessness Training for GP Receptionists’
- Joining the Safe Surgeries initiative which reassures people that immigration status will not be checked, and they are in a safe space.
For Information
Together with Baby service
The Together with Baby service is aimed at helping parents who struggle to bond with their baby or have difficult feelings regarding the experience of parenting. The service offers a safe non-judgemental space to help parents understand further the difficulties they are encountering.
The service has proved to be a huge success with parents – to learn more, watch this video.
Essex County Council Eating Disorders, Self-injury, Loneliness & Isolation posters
The Essex Wellbeing and Mental Health SEND team have produced a number of different posters covering a range of topics from eating disorders to mental health and loneliness and isolation. These are being shared within schools. Please feel free to use these and share them more widely as necessary.
RCGP/BMA Joint Statement – Adopter/Foster Carer Medicals
The RCGP and BMA have issued a joint statement encouraging GP practices to undertake medical assessments for prospective carers and adopters, where possible, to maintain sufficient safe placements for vulnerable children.
The statement was published today and is available here. The BMA have also included a link to the statement in their latest newsletter here.
Bowel Cancer Awareness Month – New FIT resources available
April is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month and Cancer Research UK are pleased to be able to share with you the updated England version of the key differences FIT infographic which outlines the use of the Faecal Immunochemical test in screening compared to how it is used to investigate symptomatic patients.
This has been developed to support health professionals’ understanding of the different uses of FIT and highlights the recent pathway changes in the use of FIT for symptomatic patients in both primary and secondary care settings.
To support the increasing use of FIT in symptomatic patients we have also developed a ‘How to complete your FIT test’ patient facing leaflet to encourage patients to complete the FIT test correctly and in a timely manner. Please feel free to share this with patients as necessary.
10% off at Iceland until Sunday 2 May
There is currently a 10% in-store discount for NHS staff in Iceland. This will be valid until 2 May 2021. Please remember to take your official NHS ID with you to show at the till.
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.