Easter 2017 SSGPN Newsletter
The sunshine is making for a great weekend so far. The extra two days on the weekend is very welcome to many of us, especially those, like me, who are daft (?) enough to work on a Monday and a Friday each week. Enjoy it while it lasts.
We had a really great meeting this week with Mr Richard Foon giving his talk on continence. It was perfectly pitched for GPs with a great resume of the anatomy, patho-physiology and how the investigations work. There was a significant amount on how the GP can help manage incontinence and when to refer – not as early as I had previously thought! The presentation has been uploaded to the website. It makes for dry reading without his conversational.
Whatsapp or Whatsup?
This is a nationwide minor ailments scheme, running since October 2015 whereby patients can be treated for minor ailments after a free consultation with a pharmacist. There may be a prescription charge if medication is prescribed by the pharmacist as an extended scope practitioner however, as a big plus, if the patient is on benefits or has a medical exemption, provided they are able to prove this, they can get the medication free of charge. The list of pharmacies can be obtained from both CCG websites via the medicines management pages. There are some really good patient information leaflets out there and the one from Portsmouth CCG caught my eye. Easily downloaded though remember to change the CCG address!
I discussed the scheme in an email with Jacqui Seaton at Telford and Wrekin CCG, who is my ‘go to person’ for pharmacy matters. She says:
- Pharmacies tend to charge the recommended retail price for OTC products & in many cases the CCG pay a lot more for the drugs when we issue NHS prescriptions.
- Some pharmacies sell OTC products at a slightly cheaper price, which usually relates to their buying power. Supermarkets like Asda, Tesco and other multiples are often cheaper.
- If a patient doesn’t usually pay for their prescriptions and they have a minor ailment covered by the Pharmacy First scheme, the pharmacist can provide the OTC medicine free of charge (within the restrictions of the scheme).
And Top Tip – paracetamol & ibuprofen from Aldi cost pennies, but you probably already know that!
‘Survival in the Face of Increasing Workplace Pressures’
BMA Local Engagement Trial (Midlands)
Wednesday 28th June 2017, 15:00 – 18:00
Wergs Golf Club, 73 Wergs Road, Wolverhampton, WV6 9BN
Dr Tony Garelick, Consultant Psychiatrist and Consultant Psychotherapist at the Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust, London and has provided a clinical service for doctors for over 20 years provided confidential face-to-face therapeutic consultations. As former Associate Dean, MedNet, London Deanery he headed a service that provided confidential face-to-face therapeutic consultations to over 2,000 doctors.
Dr Garelick has now established a new independent service open to all doctors supported by the British Medical Association and the Royal Medical Benevolent Fund. It is based at BMA House, London and Skype consultations are offered to doctors who are outside the London area.
This session ‘Survival in the Face of Increasing Workplace Pressures’ will commence with a presentation on the challenges that doctors now face, and the systemic pressures that challenge us and generate stress. This will be followed by discussion in a workshop format of how we might better cope with these stresses and enhance our capacity to look after ourselves. The workshop aims to be informal, interactive and provide insights and strategies to address the challenges of modern day practice. It is open for all clinicians working in all branches of practice all grades whether hospital based or primary care, and will end with a short session of focused relaxation before attendees depart.
To register, please contact Lianne Denton BMA Local Organiser (Midlands) with your name, branch of practice, place of work and GMC number. The workshop is free to BMA Members, but please consider registration a firm commitment to attend. There are 25 places – first come, first served!
BMA Conference – ‘Women in Medicine – Taking Control of Your Career’
Friday 14th July 2017, 10.00 – 16:00
Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Edgbaston, B15 3TR
Places are limited, so register as soon as possible: email Lianne Denton, BMA Local Organiser (Midlands): ldenton@bma.org.uk providing your name, branch of practice, place of work, email and GMC number.
During 2017, the Women’s Medical Federation will be celebrating its centenary, promoting the personal and professional development of women in medicine and society. The BMA is hosting a one day regional conference for women doctors as part of its West Midlands Local Engagement Trial. The event will provide inspiration and support to the growing number of women in the medical workforce. It is free for BMA members to attend. There will be networking time, presentations by leaders who are making a difference, and access to tailored employment and financial advice from expert staff.
The Birmingham Botanical Gardens are located in a delightful setting with excellent facilities, plenty of parking, yet centrally placed for much of the West Midlands region. Refreshments and lunch will be served – and the day is free of charge to BMA members.
Please share the details of this event with your colleagues and encourage them to attend! Consider car-pooling with colleagues for a great day out! Take a study day to share your experiences with female colleagues from across the region and in different areas of medicine, and find out how the BMA is working to represent your professional needs.
Although attendance is free, places are limited and the day is likely to be popular. Lianne says, “If you commit to attend, please arrange your time off work and notify us if you can’t attend so that we can reallocate your place”.
Dr Fiona Hay presents ‘GP STUDY DAY “D-day”, Friday 19th May 2017’
Conference Centre, Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Oswestry, SY10 7AG
Open to all Health Care Professionals in Primary Care. Registration Fee £50
I’ve published the whole thing to show you the wide-ranging programme of interesting initiatives:
As we all know dementia is a massive problem in primary care that seems to grow exponentially with an increasingly elderly population and a diminishing community service and NHS. As a problem it seems to conjure up despondency in patient, carer and practitioner alike but I want to inspire you all to think laterally and consider other ways of improving your patients’ journey other than completing a care plan. By attending this day you will be able to explore options that are simple, inexpensive, community based and will offer support when there appears to be none.
Dr Fiona Hay, Convener
SPEAKERS AND TIMETABLE
08.45-0900 Registration/Coffee
0900-1000 Andy Lowndes, Play List for Life, Glasgow
1000-1020 George Rook, Patient, Chair of Dementia Alliance
1020-1040 Sue Whitcombe, Carer
1040-1100 Coffee
1100-1130 Ann Johnson, Memory Outreach Sister
1130-1200 Dr Alice O’Connor, Consultant – Advance Care Planning and Hospice Help Gary Kirlew, Clinical Lecturer, Coco Volunteers
1200-1300 Dr Louise Davies, Dementia Friends
1300-1345 Lunch
1345-1445 Namaste Care Programme, St Christopher’s Hospice
1445-1515 Deborah Alma, The Emergency Poet
1515-1530 Tea
1530-1600 Heather Rodenhurst, Shropshire Librarian and Community Projects
1600-1700 Professor David Jolley, The Gnosall Project
This looks amazing and unfortunately I can’t go, is anyone able to go and represent the group i.e. bring back information to share on the webpage?
The cost of the day includes refreshments, lunch and car parking and to register for the day, please contact alison.whitelaw@rjah.nhs.net or telephone 01691 404661.
Secondary care continues to struggle under the burden of referrals – the latest casualty is Neurology with the following announcement from T&W CCG:
“Neurology Services at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) are temporarily unavailable to new referrals from Tuesday 28 March 2017 for 6 months initially. New referrals, from 28th March, will be sent to the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust.”
The service has experienced some difficulties in managing the demand of referrals. SaTH currently has two Consultant Neurologists supported by one Locum.
The national average is one Neurologist per 80,000 people, which would equate to six Neurologists for the population of Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and mid Wales that SaTH serves. Despite the Trust’s best efforts, SaTH has so far been unable to secure additional full-time or Locum capacity. If you would like any further information, then please contact:
Shropshire CCG
Wendy Southall
Tel: 01743 277527 (internal ext: 2098)
Telford and Wrekin CCG
Angie Parkes
Tel: 01952 580406
What the message from T&W CCG doesn’t tell us is how many patients are already on the waiting list and how the swamped services will cope with reducing the backlog. I don’t have the post from Shropshire CCG to compare it with.
And talking of shortages…
This just popped into my inbox whilst I was writing the post.
Main stream journalism is not always reliable and often sensational however, this article on junior staff shortages and gaps in the rotas deserves an airing. See what you think. The BMA is focusing on school children with a potential for a career in medicine and this month appealed to any GP who might like to get involved in this initiative. I particularly liked (if that is the right word!) the front cover of the GPfrontline magazine which sums up how the people doing the work are driven harder and harder until they can’t take it anymore and quit. There has to be a better way of caring for the carers. Any ideas and we could start a conversation? My first idea would be to publicly acknowledge how hard the neurology departments in the two hospitals have been working and ask how we can play a part in helping reduce their burden of work.
The GP Retention Scheme
If you are thinking of leaving or returning to general practice then the GP Retention Scheme might be for you. Developed by a working party drawn from the BMA, RCGP and HEE. If you want to know more about it from a GP who is quite prolific in supporting GPs in the workplace then have a look at Paula Wright’s blog on the BMA website. There are some interesting statistics as well as information about the evolution of the GP retainer scheme – not before time! It looks as if this might be a cost effective way for practices to employ GPs who do not fit into the usual system of part-time working. The practices appear to get a better deal on reimbursing their costs and there is an educational component. For the first time, GPs approaching retirement/reaching retirement age are included and you can now work in a practice that currently employs you or where you are already a partner.
The only hollow ring comes from the comment about data on session lengths: Paula says, “session length varies hugely with total working hours: GPs working four-five sessions a week have an average session length of seven hours compared to those working between nine and 10 sessions a week for whom average session length is 5.6 hours.” but she doesn’t quantify this with how much the SMA would anticipate a reasonable session should be. This is sad as it may be the beginning of a very slippery slope indeed, especially for those who currently work as locums.
And finally, this is my last mention of the Leadership Programme at Keele
Which starts next month. I have no idea whether the course is full but it is always worth checking it out. There are a scale of prices but the top price for four days over six months with two nights accomodation is £640. It would be best to contact the course organisers directly as the poster doesn’t show up clearly when I try and insert it into the document.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend and I hope it doesn’t rain on your various activities but if it does, enjoy it anyway and be grateful for the garden’s sake!