A note from the Chair - Dr Alan Lewis
It seems no time since our last newsletter and there is little new to update on!
We do remain hopeful that we will hear some further positive news of transformation funding health bid and the further roll out of MDT. We hope that Antrim Ballymena Federation may see some benefit from this in the coming years.
We continue to engage with the department and Northern Trust regarding plans for MDT accommodation across the Trust owned premises. Our teams of GPPs and GPNs continue to work to help support practices in our Federation and we are in the process of recruiting temporary GPPs to replace those off on maternity leave.
I also want to take this opportunity to wish you all a happy and healthy new year for 2025 and look forward to seeing you all at our federation education events soon.
thank you,
Alan.
Encompass/Epic Transition
The Encompass query form remains active on our website, the queries submitted are being sent daily to the NHSCT Encompass Command Centre for processing. They are currently developing a regional form, and once that is completed, the current form will be deactivated.
In the meantime, the queries are being received and processed by the Trust. However, we do not have control over the time it tes for them to address each query.
General Practice Nurses
Anne Witherow - Federation Lead Nurse
📸 Celebrating Success
We are delighted to congratulate Kathryn on successfully completing the Postgraduate Certificate in Primary Care Nursing! This is a fantastic achievement, and we are so proud of her dedication and hard work. Well done, Kathryn!
🎓 Investing in Training
We’re thrilled to have secured four places for our GPNs to undertake the Cervical Screening Course with QUB. This training will enhance the care they provide to patients, and we’re grateful to their individual practices for the invaluable clinical support and mentorship they receive.
📚 Ongoing Learning
Our in-house tutorials continue to cover a range of clinical topics, with the added benefit of practice-employed GPNs joining some of our sessions. It’s been great to see this collaborative learning in action!
Joanne Caldwell & Lyndsey Alexander - Lead General Practice Pharmacists
Big congratulations to GPP Emma Rogers on achieving her independent prescribing qualification!
All your hard work has paid off!
We have enjoyed various training opportunities towards the end of 2024 including a Haematology and Anticoagulant Update with our GP colleagues providing us with valuable advice on NOAC reviews that are an integral part of the GPP role.
2025 is shaping up to be an exciting year for GPP training with workshops scheduled in asthma and mental health. We are also offering more bespoke training for GPPs to increase the scope of their practice, supported by our new Regional Training document that we will be launching early 2025.
We would also like to wish our Belfast Marathon team all the very best with their training!
GP Elective Care Services
Dr Conor Gorman - Deputy Clinical Director for Elective Care
As with my previous update, we await the decision of DOH regarding recurrent funding of our Dermatology, MSK , Women’s Health and Skin surgery services . The signs are positive that all services will continue into the next financial year but this still falls way short of where we want to be at. We continue to lobby decision makers regarding the benefits of having community-based services for our patients. We have seen over 80,000 patients in our clinics and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, despite the funding cuts and increased waiting times.
With recurrent funding now agreed for Vasectomy, we are working on the backlog of referrals which built up while the service was suspended. We are currently training more vasectomists in order to meet this demand .
We are also undertaking a ‘proof of concept’ pilot for the excision of low risk BCC in primary care. We are hopeful that a primary care service for managing low risk BCC will grow out of this pilot.
We would encourage you to continue to refer into our services despite the longer waiting time as the vast majority of the referrals will wait much longer to be seen in secondary care , indeed the may never be seen in secondary care .
Northern GP Federation Support Unit Update (NFSU)
We would like to take a moment to acknowledge the retirement of Sandra Roberts, ECR Facilitator, who stepped down at the end of last year.
Sandra played an integral role in the establishment and development of elective care services in Northern Ireland, leaving a lasting legacy through her dedication and expertise. Her commitment and passion have been instrumental in shaping services that have benefited both patients and colleagues alike.
Beyond her professional contributions, Sandra was a valued and respected colleague, known for her warmth, support, and unwavering dedication. She will be greatly missed by all who had the pleasure of working with her.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to Sandra for her years of service and wish her a fulfilling and happy retirement.
Practice Closure Posters
Following a request from a few practices we previously created Practice Closure Posters with the required information they wanted to communicate to patients. These were well received, therefore, we are now offering this to all of our practices.
These posters are sent via email, allowing you to print and display them within your practice and for use on your social channels as needed.
If you would like to receive these posters for all exceptional closure days throughout 2025 for your practice, please click here to register your interest.
NFSU HR
Cathy Christie - HR Officer
Carol Shaw - HR Administrator
Christmas Appeal 2024 –
Supporting Women’s Aid 🎄
A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to our Christmas Appeal 2024.
Together, we raised £140 for Women’s Aid alongside a generous collection of essential items. Your support has made a real difference!
Federation Teams Take on the Belfast Marathon 🏃♀️
Our Federation areas are gearing up for the Belfast Marathon Relay on 4th May 2025, each team running in support of a chosen charity. Best of luck to all participants!
East Antrim Federation – Running for Stroke Association
Clare Gallagher, Michael Ervine, Pawel Ciunajtis, Ciara Briers & Mark Briers
Donate to Stroke Association here
Causeway Federation – Running for Dementia UK
Mary McBride, Karina Duffy, Jenny Chartres, Susie Weir & Donna Campbell
Mid Ulster Federation – Charity TBC
Niall O’Kane, Mark Donnelly, Mairead Quinn, Nichola Stewart & Anne-Marie Pickering
Antrim Ballymena Federation – Running for Northern Ireland Chest, Heart & Stroke
Joanne Caldwell, Emma Kelly, Heather Totten, Emma Hughes & Lucie Gage
Upcoming Webinars & Learning Opportunities 📢
💡 Power to Your Pocket Webinar (hosted by the Consumer Council NI)
Now available on our website! Watch here.
❤️ Cardiovascular Heart Health Webinar with Dr. Patricia Campbell
📅 6th February 2025 | 1–2 PM
NFSU Project Update
Naomi Hutchinson & Rachael Elliott
NFSU - Keeping you up to date with our team.
We have had some recent changes within the NFSU team that we’d like to share:
Naomi Hutchinson, formerly our Project Coordinator, has been appointed to the new role of Business Support Manager. Naomi will oversee projects as well as other business operations at NFSU.
Rachael Elliott, our Project Coordinator, will be going on maternity leave towards the end of February 2025.
To put a face to our names and for the relevant contact details, click here - Northern Federation Support Unit | Northern Federation Support Unit
Economies of Scale Project
Thank you for completing our recent detailed Economies of Scale survey back in December. Our response rate was 39%. We are currently going through the data and taking the appropriate actions on the information we collated. This is and will be an ongoing piece of work as there are several areas to research, negotiate and agree pricing frameworks and ensure we schedule periodical reviews to ensure we are obtaining the most competitive prices. We also plan to update our “Suggested Suppliers” and relevant information on our website over the next couple of months, therefore please keep an eye out for this under our member practices login area. For example, you may be in a current contract for shredding which is not yet due to expire, but when it does expire, you may wish to check out who our “Suggested Supplier” is, and the relevant information from our research and negotiations to make comparison with the agreement you already have.
To date we have discussed, negotiated and agreed pricing frameworks with:
💰Defibrillator Discount for NFSU Member Practices!!
Further to previous correspondence with all Practices, we have been able to negotiate further discounts for the Physio Control CR2 Semi Automatic (Wifi) Defibrillator.
The 3 main benefits to having the CR2 are:
Connectivity – a smart defib that can be monitored remotely via wifi connectivity; sends 60 & 30 day notifications regarding battery/pad expiries; automatic software updates; easy remote resus data downloads, plus more…
Child mode – simple conversion to child mode (reduced energy) by the simple press of a button, with no need to change pads (the child pads for the 500P would be an additional £120+VAT)
CPR insight – the only device on the market allowing CPR to continue while the defib is analysing the underlying rhythm. This allows for up to 25% more CPR to be delivered, increasing patient chances of survival and better patient outcomes.
The CR2 has been demonstrated to be the easiest device to use by the untrained user, and fastest to first shock.
Here is a link to a youtube channel showing the CR2 demo video
“Restore Datashred” – For Practice Shredding
For those practices who indicated that you may be interested in an alternative shredding provider please watch out for an individual practice email Naomi will send to each of you during the first week of February. This will provide you would a specific price for your practice based on the information you provided.
If any NFSU member practice wishes to find out more, please look at the following information and contact Naomi should you have any queries:
Postal Sort – Postage within Practices
61% of Practices within NI currently use “Postal Sort” for their postal needs. We organised a webinar for those Practices who had indicated their interested in finding out more / making savings in relation to their postal needs (from the survey).
The following presentation will provide you will further information and the associated costs.
For anyone wishing to use Postal Sort please feel free to email Naomi for the “new customer” documentation” (2 pages).
Ebrington Partnership – Almost £1500 savings in past 5 months!!
We are thrilled to announce that the Ebrington Buying Group Scheme, which launched on 1st August 2024 as a six-month trial, has now been approved as a permanent partnership with the Northern GP Federation. Over the last five months, participation in the scheme has led to almost £1500 in total savings for GP Practices in the group. If you have any questions in relation to pricing or products please contact Raymond Carless at Ebrington r.carless@ebrington-ni.com
Stericycle Partnership – Clinical Waste
We have achieved significant cost savings with Stericycle by leveraging economies of scale. Several practices have joined Stericycle regionally, and more plan to join in 2025 when their current contracts expire. Once these practices are fully onboarded, we will assess the total cost savings achieved. Currently, we are on tier 3 of pricing, resulting in a 14% savings for each practice compared to joining Stericycle individually. If you interested in joining please contact Smyth, Susan ssmyth@STERICYCLE.com Click here to view further details and resources:
AccuRx Partnership -
We will be contacting those EMIS Practices who are in the contract in March to confirm modules for the usual contract renewal.
We continue to support and manage the regional contract for AccuRx, ensuring cost savings for practices. In the Northern area alone, 38 EMIS practices are currently signed up and finding AccuRx highly effective in their operations, regionally there is over 100 GP Practices. As part of our support, we act as the primary point of contact for practices, addressing any queries and directing finance-related concerns to AccuRx.
We are also mindful of the upcoming Vision to EMIS migrations. If your practice is considering joining AccuRx or if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to: Naomi.hutchinson@northernfsu.co.uk or Rachael.elliott@northernfsu.co.uk
Regional Discount Contract Pricing Structure: The yearly license fee is based on your patient list size and the modules you choose to purchase. Below is an example of the pricing calculation:
Example: A patient list size of 8,000 × £0.2496 (messaging bundle) = £1,996.80 for a 12-month licence.
Please note: The annual license fee stated does not include VAT or SMS costs.
Webinar recordings/training for AccuRx:
Vision to EMIS Migration
If you are a Practice who will be migrating from Vision to EMIS you will be kept up-to-date by BSO. Any Practice who is scheduled in PHASE 1 should have received an overall migration information handbook from BSO. PHASE 1 will run to the end of May 25.
Just for your information:
There are 10 training days included in the migration package and the training starts approx. 6 weeks before the scheduled go live date. The training includes:
Pre Migration (4 Days)
- Planning Day – 1 Day (6 weeks prior to Go Live)
- Preparation Day – 3 Days (2 -3 weeks prior to Go Live):-
Go Live Training (3 Days)
- Go Live Day
- Go Live Day + 1 Day
- Go Live Day + 2 Days
Further Training (3 Days scheduled on the week after Go Live)
Should you require any further information please feel free to contact:
David Rowntree Senior Project Manager GP IT Modernisation: BSO
028 9536 1173
We would like to remind you that your Federation has purchased a Practice Index Learning package licence for your Practice at £1095+vat per practice, this has been valid from January 2023 until January 2026. Please ensure you are making the most of this resource. Login - Practice Index HUB If you are having trouble accessing please let me know.
See Meadowridge Surgery thoughts on Practice Index Learning….
“Meadowbridge Surgery has been using Practice Index Learning since FSU provided funding to cover its cost. The Hub is an invaluable training tool for managing, tracking and monitoring statutory and mandatory training for both clinical and non-clinical staff with 75 mandatory eLearning courses, six Masterclasses and lunchtime learning available. We began with a free Practice Index Hub demo and with lots of helpful support from the Practice Index team and we haven't looked back since. We also use the free Holiday Manager tool which allows our staff to request and managers to approve annual leave online. The Bradford Factor scale also lets us quickly identifying any sick leave issues needing addressed. No more paper records but a smooth on-line operating system everyone has access to and a great time saving resource. Why not book a free demo to see the Practice Index Learning Hub in action and see what you have been missing!
If you need training on this please join Practice Index every Tuesday at 2pm – register here. Select a Date & Time - Calendly
Our records indicate that several practices are currently not utilising Practice Index. While the use of Practice Index is optional for individual practices, we may contact those who do not appear to be actively using the platform to explore the possibility of removing their practice from the contract. Ultimately, your usage of the platform will play a key role in determining whether the Federation are in a position to renew your contract.
Practice Index PLUS - PLUS - Practice Index HUB Opportunity to Save on Practice Index PLUS??
What is Practice Index Plus? Practice Index PLUS leaflet.pdf
We understand that some practices are already using or interested in Practice Index PLUS. Recently, a Practice Manager approached us to explore potential cost-saving opportunities for GP practices to subscribe to PLUS.
Currently, the standard price for Practice Index PLUS is £425 + VAT. However, if we can confirm interest from 10 or more practices between 6th – 20th February, Practice Index has agreed to offer a discounted rate of £382.50 + VAT. For those who are already subscribed, Practice Index has confirmed that existing subscribers will also be eligible to receive the discounted rate at their next PLUS renewal.
If you are interested in subscribing or are already a Practice Index PLUS subscriber, please let us know by clicking below to complete this quick form: https://forms.office.com/e/hvCvkq6RcX
To find out more about PLUS - Join us on our Q&A Webinar for practice Index Plus on:
Thursday 6th February - 12pm - 12.30pm.
Microsoft Teams
Meeting ID: 348 706 346 671
Passcode: RV3aq9HT
Medical Administration Training Academy – COMING March 2025
We are delighted to confirm we have secured funding through the Labour Market Partnership to deliver a bespoke 8-week MEDICAL ADMINISTRATION TRAINING ACADEMY (2 days per week) which will be held in our NFSU offices in Galgorm delivered by LMP and with bespoke general practice training delivered by Linda Hyland.
With this being funded by Mid & East Antrim Council, we can only actively recruit participants for the training from the Ballymena, Larne & Carrickfergus areas. We hope this pilot training academy goes well so we can perhaps get additional funding to run in all Federation areas soon!
Please look out for further information which will be emailed to Practice Managers.
GP Practice Job Advertising - NFSU Website
Did you know we have a section on our website where we can signpost potential applicants to any current live vacancies our member Practices have?
We would encourage all practices to let us know as and when you have live opportunities.
You can view our careers page for practices here: https://www.northernfsu.co.uk/nonfederation-gppracticevacancies
Use the form below to promote jobs on our site:
Contact us
As always if you have any questions for the FSU, please do not hesitate to contact the Federation Support Unit on info@northernfsu.co.uk or 02896208333
Follow the Federation on:
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