Practices urged to set out priorities

Dr Michelle Drage, Chief Executive of Londonwide Local Medical Committees (LMCs), has urged practices to speak out about the “hamster wheel” of pressures they face and to decide on their priorities ahead of this year’s general election.

Dr Drage wrote to members of Londonwide LMCs following the rallying cry from the General Practitioners Committee England Chair, Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer, who set out much-needed policy and funding priorities for GP practices.

“The very core of general practice has been systematically defunded in favour of a politically driven hamster wheel of piecework forced upon you, your nurses, your practice managers and your teams,” said Dr Drage. “And the consequence is the overwhelming number of practices who can’t recruit, can’t afford locums and are having to cross-cover.”

She highlighted some preliminary results from the BMA’s GP finance survey which show that contract income has dropped by an average of more than 20% over one year.

Patient misunderstanding of palliative care

Research led by the University of Sheffield discovered that patients misunderstand what it means to have palliative care provided by their practice; they tend to associate palliative care with end-of-life care, rather than care that can improve the quality of their lives.

The researchers interviewed eight people with serious medical conditions and three family carers across Sheffield. Many patients didn’t realise they were receiving palliative care because, it seems, they associate the term ‘palliative care’ with death.

However, some patients who were questioned said they valued their relationship with their family doctor more than hospital doctors and relied on them for emotional and practical support.

Viruses overwhelm practices while serious flu recedes

Practices saw a significant increase in patients with flu-like illnesses as the new year began. But the threat of serious flu seemed to recede as the number of hospitalised patients fell during the first week of January, according to the UK Health Security Agency.

The agency warned that flu vaccine uptake among the over-65s and pregnant women remains lower than a year ago, while noting that there was a 60% increase in practice consultations for flu-like illnesses.

Rates of Covid infection fell, according to the Agency, with the virus affecting 3.1% of the population.

Dr Alexander Allen, Consultant Epidemiologist at UKHSA, said: “Some indicators show that flu cases in the community are on the rise, so we are not out of flu season just yet.”

Warning over measles upsurge

Amid an upsurge in children infected with measles, practices have been urged to take steps to increase MMR vaccination rates.

A national incident has been declared, with outbreaks occurring in two regions of England – the West Midlands and Yorkshire and Humber. According to the UK Health Security Agency’s latest data, 43 cases of measles were confirmed in England in November, mostly outside London where the virus tends to be concentrated. In the West Midlands, the total number of confirmed cases since early October is now 133.

Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, the Chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, told The Times: “If vaccine coverage does not improve, it is likely that deaths and other complications from measles will reappear.”

Data access complaint rejected

The Information Commissioner has refused to halt the Accelerated Access to GP Records programme on the basis that it’s a risk to data security.

Several practices complained to the Commissioner that the programme would add significantly to their workload. Complaints stated that patients might have difficulty in understanding the records and that doctors would have to spend time reviewing information from secondary care.

The Commissioner’s response states that the complaints refer to “operational risks concerning the allocation of resources, rather than data privacy risks which would infringe the data protection legislation. While we appreciate these changes may mean more work for GP surgeries at a time when they are stretched, it is not within the remit of the ICO to advise on risks that are not posed to individuals, based on the nature, type, extent and frequency of the processing involved”.

Concern at cyberattack vulnerability

Many integrated care systems don’t have a plan to respond to cyber-attacks. The Health Service Journal found just ten ICSs with a plan, whereas 26 ICSs told the journal that they don’t have a plan in place. Others didn’t respond to requests for information.

An NHS England spokeswoman told the journal that it is “continuing to work closely with ICSs and ICBs to support them in developing their strategies to improve cyber security across the health and social care system”.

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