COVID-19: 9th March round-up for primary care
We strongly encourage all health and care staff to get vaccinated. Our clinical leaders agree with the Chief Medical Officer that NHS staff have a professional responsibility to get vaccinated and we hope as many as possible are able take up the offer. If you have any concerns about the vaccine, please speak to your employer.
The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and its Royal College member organisations have now published a statement on their strong support for the UK vaccination programme, and the importance of health and care staff getting vaccinated. To reinforce take up amongst health and care professionals, we suggest the following statement is widely shared through all networks.
New text message service for COVID-19 vaccination invitations
As the COVID-19 Vaccination programme moves on to new age groups, the National Booking Service will shortly begin carefully trialling a text message service for COVID-19 vaccination invitations and reminders, in addition to the letters that are currently sent to eligible people. It is hoped that this approach will help the NHS issue invites to eligible groups more quickly and be more convenient for lots of people, particularly those in younger age groups.
People receiving these text messages will be invited to book online at nhs.uk/covid vaccine or by calling 119, for an appointment at a local Vaccination Centre or pharmacy-led site. The text message will be sent using the Government’s secure Notify service. They will appear as being sent from NHS vaccine. These text messages are in addition to those which are currently being used by some hospitals and local GP-led vaccination services.
COVID-19 vaccinations for eligible unpaid carers
This standard operating procedure (SOP) draws on national and local sources for known carers, to help identify and enable them to be invited quickly for vaccination, as well as making provision for those unpaid carers who may not already be known to the health and social care system to come forward.
Ordering and delivery of second round of lateral flow devices
All primary care contractors (medical, pharmacy, dentistry and optometry) will be invited this week directly by Primary Care Support England (PCSE) to place their second round of orders for lateral flow devices (LFDs). This is to supply primary care staff delivering NHS services of a new box of 25 tests to enable them to test for another 12 weeks, once their first order for all staff has run out.
The ordering and delivery process will work in the same manner as for the first round. Primary care contractors should carefully take notice of the following key points:
- Please place your order on the PCSE online portal as soon as possible, once you have received a direct email from PCSE.
- Order your test kits, separately from any other weekly orders, as any orders placed with other supplies items cannot be processed and will need to be cancelled.
- You will receive confirmation of your order. Please make sure you do not place duplicate orders, as this will delay the process.
- Please order one item per member of staff. The maximum order quantity on the portal is 54. If you need to order for more than 54 members of staff, please email pcse.urgentsupplies@nhs.net
- Deliveries will start on 25 March and will be delivered over the next two-three weeks after this date.
- Reporting of all test results via gov.uk remains imperative – whether negative, void or positive. This is a statutory notifiable disease reporting requirement.
Updated information for clinicians and health care professionals on COVID-19 Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing
From 5 March, the online COVID-19 PCR test booking page includes an additional reason for getting a test, to make it easier for a patient to book a test when recommended by a GP. The patient is now able to choose as a reason for getting a test the option ‘A GP or other healthcare professional has asked me (or someone I live with) to get a test’.
This addition is designed to support patients in accessing testing where they have been instructed to by a GP, no matter what their symptoms are. No referral is required to book a test under this option. This change simply means that where a GP deems it appropriate to recommend a patient takes a PCR test, that process is now more straightforward. This change has no additional impact on any other access to testing or other PCR testing services in general practice.
All people who have had a stroke or TIA must be offered the COVID-19 vaccine in priority group 6
The Stroke Association colleagues have advised that they are seeing a prevalence of calls to their helpline from stroke survivors who are being told different eligibility criteria for the COVID-19 vaccine by their doctors and in some instances, are not being offered the vaccine as a result.
Given the high prevalence of stroke and the resulting clinical frailty, we want to remind you that all stroke survivors (including subarachnoid haemorrhage) and those who have had a TIA are in priority group six and are therefore eligible to receive the vaccine. Read more about the schedule for the UK and the eligibility criteria for cohort six in the COVID-19 Green Book Chapter 14a.
Guidance on post-COVID syndrome
Post-COVID syndrome can have an effect on people's day to day functioning and ability to return to work. The Faculty of Occupational Medicine has produced guidance on Post-COVID syndrome for patients to support them to return to work and for employers to support their employees back to work. This link can be given to patients to pass to their employers. It can also be used by practices to support their own workforce.
GPhC changes to revalidation requirements between 1 May – 30 November 21
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has announced that registrants due to submit their revalidation records between 1 May – 30 November 2021 will only need to submit a reflective account when they renew their registration during that period.
The GPhC changed its revalidation requirements in March 2020 in recognition of the pressures on pharmacy professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic and is continuing the approach for pharmacy professionals who are due to renew their registration on or before 30 November 2021 and whose registration expires on or before 31 January 2022.
Information from GPhC for pre-registration assessment candidates
The GPhC has published a briefing note setting out the actions it is taking to ensure candidates can book onto pre-registration assessments taking place in March 2021. Further information about the registration assessment is available on the applying to sit the registration assessment page of the GPhC website.
COVID-19: 12th March round-up for primary care
Thank you for the key role you have played in the vaccination programme to date and your continued efforts to ensure that all eligible patients are offered a COVID-19 vaccination. We recognise the significant commitment you have made to the programme whilst also caring for your patients’ routine, urgent and COVID care.
People aged 55 to 59 (cohort 8) were sent a vaccination invite letter over the weekend, and this week more than 400,000 people who are aged 55 or an unpaid carer will be the first to get text messages from the national booking service.
We have now written to PCN-led vaccination sites about phase 2 of the COVID-19 vaccination programme. We want to support as many PCN groupings as possible to sign up to deliver vaccinations to cohorts 10 to 12 (patients aged 40-49, 30-39 and 18-29), though we need to keep balancing delivery of vaccinations to these cohorts with wider general practice led service provision, which we recognise is a priority for you too.
The COVID-19 Vaccination Programme 2020/21 Enhanced Service Specification has been updated to enable PCN groupings the option to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to these cohorts once each of these cohorts has been authorised and announced and where practices in the PCN grouping can demonstrate to their local commissioner that they meet the requirements in the annex of the enhanced service.
For now, cohort 6 remains a priority for first dose vaccinations via PCN-led sites. Please make every effort to support everyone in cohort 6 to understand the importance of their vaccination so that we can achieve good uptake in this cohort and can ensure that no one gets left behind. All those eligible in this cohort, as defined by JCVI, should be offered an opportunity to receive the vaccination. To ensure that those who are eligible come forward to receive their vaccine, the national booking service will send text messages to all those in cohort 6 with underlying health conditions encouraging them to book their vaccination via the national booking service if they are yet to receive an invitation.
As we move into phase 2 it will be important that all PCN-led sites can provide assurance that an offer for vaccination has been provided to those in cohorts 1-9 before the vaccination of cohort 10 begins.
Reminder to place an order of lateral flow devices
All primary care contractors are reminded that following a direct email from Primary Care Support England (PCSE), they should place their second round of orders for lateral flow devices (LFDs) on the PCSE online portal to re-supply their staff with a new box of 25 tests, which will enable them to test for another 12 weeks. More information on how to order tests can be found on the PCSE website.
Primary care contractors should carefully take notice of the following key points:
- Order your test kits separately from any other weekly orders, as any orders placed with other supplies items cannot be processed and will need to be cancelled.
- You will receive confirmation of your order. Please make sure you do not place duplicate orders, as this will delay the process.
- Please order 1 item per member of staff. The maximum order quantity on the portal is 54. If you need to order for more than 54 members of staff, please email pcse.urgentsupplies@nhs.net
- Deliveries will start on 25 March and will be delivered over the next 2-3 weeks after this date.
- Reporting of all test results via gov.uk remains imperative – whether negative, void or positive. This is a statutory notifiable disease reporting requirement.
New joint national plan to make pharmacy practice more inclusive launched
Pharmacy professionals across England are being urged to join in with a new Joint National Plan for Inclusive Pharmacy Practice published on The Royal Pharmaceutical Society and Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK websites to help make the most of the benefits of their diversity for improved and better healthcare provision.
Chief Pharmaceutical Officer Dr Keith Ridge, Royal Pharmaceutical Society president Sandra Gidley, and Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK president Liz Fidler, on behalf of 12 partner organisations, have written to pharmacy professionals asking them to work to deliver the plan in their healthcare setting over the next four months, with a focus on continuing to address vaccine hesitancy and reducing health inequalities more broadly.
The plan has been co-produced by an advisory group working with a wide range of partners from across national organisations in the pharmacy sector. It sets out actions for pharmacy professional leaders and their teams at all levels and in all care settings to consider, including developing their understanding of the benefits of diverse teams and culturally competent healthcare service delivery to address inequalities and ensuring the voices of colleagues from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds are fairly represented and equally heard in decision-making forums.
Public urged to act FAST if they suspect stroke
Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England and NHS Improvement, supported by the Stroke Association, have this week relaunched the Act FAST campaign. Stroke is a time-sensitive condition – any delay in getting treatment impacts a patient’s health outcomes. The campaign reminds people of the symptoms of stroke and why urgently calling 999 is vital for saving lives.
The campaign has been relaunched in response to data suggesting that some people put off seeking help for stroke during the first months of the pandemic.
Think and act FAST - the signs of stroke are:
- Face – has their face fallen on one side? Can they smile?
- Arms – can they raise both their arms and keep them there?
- Speech – is their speech slurred?
- Time – it’s time to call 999 if you see any of these signs or symptoms.
Campaign materials are available on the Campaign Resource Centre.
