Our values
- To be impartial and non-judgemental
- To inspire hope
- To be kind to ourselves and each other
- To be honest and straightforward
- To be courageous, wise and trustworthy
Latest news
GPCE’s vision - Patients First: Why General Practice is broken and how we can fix it
Today sees the launch of Patients First: Why General Practice is broken and how we can fix it. Our vision details the essential changes that need to happen to save general practice across England.
Patients First focuses on safety, stability and hope, presenting solutions for the new Government to work with us in rebuilding a transformed general practice for the benefit of our patients and improved long-term public health.
GPs need an extra 11p per day, that’s £40 per patient per year, in 2025/26 to offer fair pay and conditions for practice employees, to take on more GPs, to deliver more GP appointments and help provide safer, better continuity of care for our patients.
We’ve shared Patients First: Why General Practice is broken and how we can fix it with the Secretary of State Wes Streeting, as well as with the Department for Health and NHS England leaders. We look forward to working with them to bring about essential changes and shape policies that will fix the front door to the NHS and bring back the family doctor. Safeguard general practice, and you safeguard the NHS.
24/25 Primary Care Network Contractural Documents
The 24/25 Network Contract Directed Enhanced Service (DES) Contract Documents have now been published and are available below.
- NHSE: Primary Care Network DESPRN01583_i -Network Contract DES - Contract specification 2024/25 – PCN requirements and entitlements
PRN01583_ii - Network Contract DES 2024/25 - Part B Guidance: Non-clinical - PRN01583_iii – Letter: Variation to the Network Contract Directed Enhanced Service (DES) contract specification 2024/25
The updated specification and guidance takes effect from Tuesday 01 October 2024.
Death Process from 9 September 2024
The LMC has circulate to our members the updated revised guidance. Please find attached a revised guide to the death process.
A major change to the process occured in line with guidance issued by the Chief Coroner on 9 September. The new requirement is that if a death is natural but the cause is unclear or unknown, the death must be discussed with a Medical Examiner before it is notified to the Coroner. The Coroner will not accept any natural death unless this has taken place.
Please ensure that you replace the copy in your new APMCCD book to assist any doctor completing a certificate.
I apologise for this change, but with such a significant new process there are likely to be further tweaks to the process as it embeds.
BMA document: 'Focus on… how the 6% DDRB pay award for 2024/25 is applied to the national practice contract baseline funding
We would like to draw your attention to a document produced by the BMA, 'Focus on… how the 6% DDRB pay award for 2024/25 is applied to the national practice contract baseline funding – ‘Global Sum’ – and allocated to practices' .
This explains how the 6% DDRB pay award for 2024/25 is applied to the national practice contract baseline funding.
NHS England/DHSC have now finalised how the 2024/25 DDRB award will be implemented. Please find attached a letter from Dr Julius Parker, GPC England Deputy Chair, confirming the details.
Guidance in full is available here
LLR LMC Newsletter - September 2024
Welcome to our recent newsletter. This month we cover a variety of different topics that effect General Practice in LLR.
SUMMARY OF IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
- Remember to vote in the most contested LMC election in memory
- Check on Collective Action guidance
- Refer all Natural deaths where you do not know or uncertain of the cause of death to the Medical Examiner Service
- Do not to sign up to Optum at present
Topics in this newsletter:
- LMC Meeting September 2024
- Election Special
- Collective Action
- and much more
To join our mailing list, please contact us at enquiries@llrlmc.co.uk
Medical Examiner Service - Monday 9th September
After years of fits and starts the revised process of certifying the cause if death changes 9th September. We recommend that you keep a printed copy with the new MCCD book. If your practice has not received a new book of MCCDs, please email mccd@dhsc.gov.uk .
Please take away any remaining old MCCD books and shred any unused certificates. The counterfoils can be shredded after 2 years (Records Management Code of Practice - NHS Transformation Directorate (england.nhs.uk)) .
Please contact the LMC if you have any questions or concerns about the process. The LMC has also issued a press release on the new Medical Examiner service.
Data Request for Cloud Based Telephony Statistics
The LMC is aware of that requests have been circulated to practices around the 'Cloud Based Telephony Data Collection – Data Provision Notice'. The GPC has sought legal advice and the briefing guidance is available here.
LMC Complaints Training session , Tuesday 5th November 2024
Due to popular demand we are pleased to confirm that the LMC will be hosting another Complaints Training session on Tuesday 5th November 2024, 1.00 - 4.00pm at The Hilton Leicester, Junction 21 approach, Leicester, LE19 1WQ.
The session will be delivered by Lee Bennett – NHSE Strategic Complaints Lead along with Cathie Cunnington, NHSE Complaints/Carers/Patient Experience Senior Manager. To read more about our events, please click on our training page.
LMC Newsletter - August 24
Our recent newsletter has been circulated to our members, and in this month we have covered the following topics in this newsletter:
- LMC Meeting, August 2024
- Collective Action
- DDRB Report /Pay Award for staff and partners
- Fit for the Future / Constitution
- Election
- Subcontract New Year’s Eve and Christmas Eve
- Medical Examiner Service
- Celebrating General Practice / Awards Ceremony
- Website
- NHS Resolution, CNSGP, ELSGP
- Bariatric Surgery
- NHS Continuing Healthcare Needs Checklist
- LLR General Practice Funding
- Upcoming LMC Events – BOOK NOW
- Final Thoughts
Dr Ingrams, LMC Chair communications to practice on Racism
The current right wing, racist thuggery affecting much of the country. Unfortunately, racism affects general practices at least as much as other parts of society. There is no place for this, and the LMC recommends that every practice adopts a Zero-Tolerance policy to include racism.
I welcome the recent supportive statement by Dr Caroline Trevithick (CEO, LLR ICB) and the LMC urges all practices to consider how best to protect the safety of GPs and their staff. If your practice is subjected to racist behaviour please let the LMC know, report incidents to the police and have a very low threshold for removing abusive patients due to breakdown in the relationship.
Please stay safe during these troubling times.
LMC Support for General Practice: Collective Action
Following the almost universal support for both the referendum and non-statutory ballot, the LMC is now encouraging every practice in LLR to undertake at least one of the 10 collective actions.
This will be a marathon and not a sprint. Practices can implement as many of the actions as they like at a rate that they feel comfortable with. I have attached a supportive document from your LMC for you to discuss with your practice teams.
It is time that we protect practices and not the system. It is time when we work to improve patient services, patient safety and patient satisfaction.
Last year, by the majority of LLR practices working together, we achieved significant improvements in local contracts. If we work together across England we can achieve similar improvements in the national contract, benefitting general practices and our patients.
You may be asked to provide information to the ICB or NHS E about what actions your practice intends to undertake. YOU DO NOT need to respond to this.
GPCE plans to request practices to complete a weekly action tracker. All LMC guidance relating to collective action is available on the specific page.
LMC Newsletter - July 2024
Our recent newsletter has been circulated to our members, and in this month we have covered the following topics in this newsletter:
- LMC Meeting July 2024
- GMS Contract for 2024-25/Roadshows and onwards
- Minor Surgery
- CBS Updates
- Local Practice Clinical Protocols
- Wheezy Children – 48-hour checks
- Medical Examiner Service
- Celebrating General Practice / Awards Ceremony
- An LMC Fit for The Future
- Upcoming LMC Events – BOOK NOW
LMC press release: “General practice is broken, and we are calling on all Prospective Parliamentary Candidates to pledge support for all actions needed to resuscitate general practice, without which the service is likely to go the same way as NHS dentistry.” says LLR LMC
The LMC has published a press release following our recent open letter to prospective parliamentary candidates. Please click here to view the latest press release from the LMC. Any questions, please contact the LMC office.
Open letter to all local Prospective Parliamentary Candidates
Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland LMC have written an open letter to all local Prospective Parliamentary Candidates to ask them to pledge their support for general practice. We are inviting all GPs (partners, Salaried and Locums), Practice managers, GP registrars, other clinicians and staff to sign it. We would also welcome support from Chairs and members of Patient Participation Groups.
A copy of the letter can be accessed here and an opportunity to sign the open letter is here .
GP Contract Guidance
GPC England has now drafted contractual guidance on the 2024/25 contract following the imposition on 1 April and the following guidance documents. Please note these are living documents, subject to revision and update. They will be available on GP contract 2024/25 changes ballot (bma.org.uk) shortly.
- Dispensing and Prescribing
- Data sharing and data controllership
- Limited Liability Partnerships
- Medical Associate Professions
- PCN DES Capacity and Access payment funding
- Premises Costs Directions
- Enhanced Access appointments
- Vaccinations and Immunisations
There is also a planned update of the safe working guidance, which will be launched at our Roadshow events.
We will be looking to schedule a lunchtime talk to provide practices with the opportunity to hear & discuss the contract - details will follow in due course.
LLR Available to Work initiative
LLR LMC are keen to develop and support the General Practice workforce in LLR. As a result, we have recently developed the ‘available to work’ link – we anticipate that this will share the following with the profession in LLR:
- availability of locums (GPs, Practice Managers, Nurses)
- details of people looking for a more substantive post with LLR practices e.g. Salaried GP, Salaried with view to Partnership.
- to provide practices with details that could potentially fill such roles
This is a free service that the LMC is offering to promote all roles to LLR practices. It is important to note that, we have not endorsed any adverts for vacancies/(GP, PM or Nurse), availability or opportunities which have been included on our website and it remains the responsibility interested parties for conducting the relevant checks.
Individuals can be added to our mailing list and availability can be added on the link below:
- I am available to work and wish to share my details with interested LLR practices
- I am a LLR practice looking for role to be filled
Please note, we will not be sharing personal contact details in the public domain, but we will replace contact details with a reference linked to individuals, and if a practice wishes to contact you directly – we will ask the practice to contact the LMC and at that point, will provide relevant contact details.
Our vacancies section of our website can be accessed here .
We will share this regularly with our network and GP practices as this develops. To find out more information, contact the LMC office on enquiries@llrlmc.co.uk
Updated BMA safe working guidance
In our recent communications we have referred to safe working in General Practice, this afternoon the BMA has updated its safe working guidance document which we have shared below for your information:
- https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/gp-practices/managing-workload/safe-working-in-general-practice
- https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/gp-practices/gp-service-provision/enhanced-services-gp-practices-can-seek-funding-for
In the new year, the LLR LMC will be focussing on this area and will update practices accordingly.