Primary Care E-bulletin (Issue 97) – 24 November

Click here to view a web browser version of this briefing.

In this Issue:

• Extension of the flu vaccination programme to 50 to 64 year olds
• COVID-19 Risk Assessment Service
• PPE Portal registration reminder
• Phlebotomy Clinic Christmas Opening Times
• Quality Improvement Leadership Programme
• Virtual Primary Care Skills Show and Jobs Fair
• Mid and South Essex Training Hub
• EPUT Delirium Presentation
• Health and wellbeing bulletin (HWB)
• Help Us Help You – Mental Health NHS campaign

Support with Day to Day Issues

Extension of the flu vaccination programme to 50 to 64 year olds

Following last week’s national announcement re. the extension of the programme to 50 to 64 year olds the CCGs have been cascading messages out via social media asking people to wait to be contacted and not inundate GP practices with call.  

Reminder: please make sure people can easily find the information they need re. flu vaccinations on practice websites. Templated information has been developed to support practices.

General practices and community pharmacies will be able to vaccinate all 50-64-year olds from 1 December, and should begin planning now, for example, ordering additional stock and organising appointment slots.

DHSC will be updating its guidance to general practice and community pharmacy on accessing centrally supplied flu vaccines which includes an update on the availability of supplies.

Vaccine stock update

Please click here for updated guidance for GP’s to order flu vaccines. The updated guidance includes an updated position for each of the manufacturers regarding available vaccines, and also includes information on the FluBlok vaccine, which can now be ordered for at risk patients and for 50-64-year olds. Please note that the FluBlok vaccine does not come with needles, so these will need to be ordered separately.  

There are details in the guidance regarding the size of needles that should be ordered and how to order these via normal processes or via PCSE online. There is also a link in the document to the FluBlok PGD, although this must not be used until section 2 is signed off.

Although vaccines can now be ordered for the 50-64-year-old cohort, please note that practices must not vaccinate 50-64 years olds that do not fall into a risk-category until at least 1st December.

COVID-19 Risk Assessment Service

NHS Digital are working in partnership with DHSC, NHSE/I and Oxford University to engage local areas of England’s primary and secondary health and care system in early testing of COVID-19 Risk Assessment Service (‘private beta’) before it is made more widely available to users across the NHS (‘public beta’).

More information

PPE Portal registration reminder

Remember to register on the PPE Portal to obtain free PPE, available to all primary care providers (including community pharmacists, optometrists, dentists, orthodontists and GPs).

The PPE portal is the primary source of free COVID-19 PPE (including Flu vaccination requirements). However, if there is a severe disruption to distribution, in the first instance get in contact with your local authority or LRF.

Phlebotomy Clinic Christmas Opening Times

Please find information below regarding Christmas opening times for the phlebotomy clinics in Basildon and Southend:

• Download Basildon Christmas Phlebotomy Opening Times
• Download Southend Christmas Phlebotomy Opening Times

Updates from the Wider System in Mid and South Essex

Quality Improvement Leadership Programme

The Mid and South Essex QI leadership programme is now in its second year and works to support teams to collaborate more effectively across geographical, organisational and sector boundaries.

The programme is open to clinical and non-clinical Partnership staff from the health, care and voluntary sectors who have some improvement experience and are willing to lead change within and across organisations.

The next cohort of applications are open until 11 January 2021. Full details are available on the Health and Care Partnership website.

More information

Education and Training

EPUT Delirium Presentation

Spencer Dinnage, an Operational Service Manager for Older Adult Community Mental Health at EPUT talks about why delirium is everybody’s problem. The training is relevant to unqualified staff and care providers.

For Information

Health and wellbeing bulletin (HWB)

The health and wellbeing team has prepared an updated pack of current offers to support employee wellbeing. Please visit our website for more information and to download the latest pack.

More information

Help Us Help You – Mental Health NHS campaign

NHS launched its first national campaign on mental health services on Tuesday. Help Us Help You – Mental Health is a two-month campaign aimed at increasing awareness of NHS talking therapies services (IAPT). It will encourage adults with mental health issues to seek help and consider accessing talking therapy via their GP or through self-referral. The campaign resources can be accessed and downloaded for free.