Pulse Today

The Government will approve the first proposals for neighbourhood health centres by the summer, however it has received a lot of ICB proposals for estates upgrades that it ‘can’t afford’. Director of capital at the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England Oliver Clarke told the NHS Confed Expo conference in Manchester that the Government expects to provide ‘initial approval on certain schemes by the summer’. NHSE had given regions working with ICBs a 28 May deadline to give a ‘clear articulation’ of the potential neighbourhood health estate in their areas. The Government plans for 250 neighbourhood health centres to be created in England, which NHS England advised should be ‘anchored around general practice’. ICBs were asked to agree the geography (‘a neighbourhood’) around which services should be delivered, and plan for neighbourhood health centres to serve a population footprint – around 50,000 people, the scale of a PCN – with ‘general practice at the core’. Read more at the link in our comments

EXCLUSIVE: Patients using AI to send '25-page long' legal letters to GP practices, says indemnity provider Speaking at the launch of a new white paper by Pulse and our publisher Cogora, Medical Protection Society deputy medical adviser Dr Sarah Townley told delegates at Pulse 365 LIVE Birmingham that they are seeing a proliferation of complicated letters that contain legal arguments ‘that maybe don’t exist’. The white paper, on complaints and the regulatory process, revealed that practices are seeing more patients using AI to generate complaint letters of seven pages and longer, which can be done in a matter of seconds. However, at the panel discussion yesterday, Dr Townley said that this is not being limited to complaints, and Medical Protection is seeing this being used more for threats of legal action. She said: ‘We’re seeing the use of AI in claims, we’re seeing it in litigation. People are bringing claims in their own name, they’re not using solicitors. These letters can be 25 pages long, quoting various legal arguments that maybe don’t even exist because it’s been generated by AI.’ Read more here: https://buff.ly/D8i9H8s

This was one of the highlights of Pulse 365 Birmingham today. Jaimie Kaffash chaired a live panel discussion with Healthwatch England, and others on improving the NHS complaints process, tied to the launch of our new white paper Reducing Fear, Improving Care at the event. More to come on the white paper shortly. And if you want to be in the room for sessions like this, our next event is the inaugural Community Pharmacy and General Practice Conference, which takes place next week. 📅 21-22 June 📍 The National Conference Centre 🎟️ https://lnkd.in/eGKyJ2pN

The GP Defence Fund has voted against stopping funding for the BMA’s GP Committee England. The fund that pays for GPCE activities had been called to vote on proposals to cease cashflow to the negotiating body by the end of the year, and instead channel funding towards LMCs and the development of a ‘plan B’ general practice model. According to a briefing paper, shared ahead of the meeting and seen by Pulse, the vote was triggered following concerns that the GPC doesn’t appropriately represent the interests of GP partners.

Four in five GPs say that the growing threat of complaints has led them to practise ‘defensive medicine’, potentially worsening patient care and access to general practice, a Pulse survey has found. GPs have said that they are more inclined to prescribe certain medications, refer, or spend a longer time writing notes because they are worried about patient complaints, a referral to the doctors’ regulator or potentially a letter from a solicitor concerning the care they provided. Many GPs raised the point that there is an impact on patients in terms of being over-diagnosed, over-medicalised and made needlessly anxious – which also have implications for the NHS on both costs and waiting times. The survey of around 836 GPs reveals that 78% agree with the statement ‘the threat of complaints has led me to practise more defensive medicine than I feel is best for the patient’, with 35% strongly agreeing and 43% somewhat agreeing. This finding is part of a major report being launched at Pulse Live Birmingham today (Wednesday 10 June) on reforming the complaints and regulation process, supported by Medical Protection Society This paper was independently produced by Cogora, using research from Pulse and our sister magazine Management in Practice

‘"Invest more funding" has been the BMA mantra for a generation but my own 30 years as a BMA leader tells me that this isn’t going to happen. Ever. To persist with that strategy is naive, lazy and hypocritical. 'More crucially it will fail the profession by undermining the autonomy and flexibility that come with the independent contractor status, leaving GPs with ever less say over how care is organised and delivered, while betraying our most vulnerable patients.' Dr Tom Black argues that recruitment pressures in Northern Ireland and lessons from the Republic of Ireland mean a hybrid model of general practice may be unavoidable Read more here: https://buff.ly/RJK9bfZ

Some more great voices to join the programme. Less than 2 weeks to go until 1000+ healthcare professionals come together in Birmingham to explore the future of neighbourhood care. Don't miss your chance to join the conversation 👉 https://lnkd.in/evHJ-7xi 

We're looking forward to seeing our Editor-in-Chief Jaimie Kaffash take the stage tomorrow at Pulse 365 LIVE Birmingham for a major white paper launch alongside Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer, Rebecca Curtayne, Sarah Townley and Anna Rowland! You do not want to miss this panel - register now: https://lnkd.in/eQg4Z7FW

GPs are not mandated to use advice and guidance (A&G) and will not be in breach of contract if they refer directly instead, NHS England’s national medical director has said. Professor Francesca Swords’ comments came as she answered questions during a public Q&A at NHS England’s board meeting last week – including one on whether it was ‘appropriate to mandate A&G in any form’ while the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) is investigating the patient safety risks of doing so. GP practices in England are required under this year’s contract to use A&G across specialities ‘prior to or in place of a planned care referral where clinically appropriate’, with ‘single point of access’ routes to be finalised locally by 1 October.

Pulse’s deputy news editor Anna Colivicchi has received an award for her work investigating NHS Health Checks, pregnancy coding errors, and trusts failing to send crucial communication to GPs. At the MHP Group 30 to Watch Journalism Awards, Anna was named a winner in the health category, in recognition of her major investigation NHS Heath Checks: at end stage. The investigation found that cash-strapped local authorities around the country are limiting the number of health checks that can be carried out by GP practices, seriously undermining the prevention programme. The award also recognised Anna’s exclusive story on pregnant patients receiving ‘inappropriate’ medication due to pharmacy coding errors, as well as her work highlighting issues with trusts failing to send thousands of patient letters to practices, leading to GPs being asked to report patient harm. Read at the link in our comments Cogora