

A Note From the Chair - Dr Ian Lalsingh
Dear Colleagues,
We're already into February of 2025!
No official announcement on transformation funding for MDT yet. However, we press on with our plans. Interviews took place in December for the waiting list for lead MDT physio. We will interview for the waiting list for senior mental health workers this month.
I'm aware there are ongoing discussions with SPPG on the funding model given the financial constraints and pressing need to deliver in all areas with no MDT.
I am confident that we will have more definitive news soon.
The switch over of VISION practices to EMIS begins in earnest soon. Vision practices will already be aware of the support on offer from BSO. Hopefully EMIS practices may be able to support practices further in the switch over given the scale of back-office systems, protocols and templates that need transferred. Some of you have already reached out to your neighborhood practices about this.
Given the recent correspondence from SPPG on access & capacity, whilst we need to be mindful of how we handle the messaging to our patients & deal with urgent contacts, we can be reassured that as independent contractors we are free to manage our daily workload as we see fit.
Thanks to you all for your ongoing hard work. I continue to be amazed at the level of service provided by general practice in the most demanding, challenging circumstances.
I hope to have more news for you in the coming weeks.

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 takes for them to address each query.

Federation Education
Dr Richard McClean, Dr Aine McNeill, Shauna McKinley & Janice Russell -
Federation Education Team
The New Year brings fresh opportunities for Federation Practices to engage with FedED content.
We have made the clinical sessions on ENT and "The Assessment of Headache in Primary Care", from the November PBL, available on the NFSU website. This is a valuable resource for those who were unable to attend or who would benefit from engaging with the teaching at their own pace.
Our next PBL session takes place on 26th February and will focus on safeguarding. The session will be facilitated by Jenny McAlister (Designated Adult Protection Officer/ASW) and Dr. Richard Bunn (Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist).
In the coming weeks, the FedED team will distribute a survey to gather feedback from practices on the current PBL format. Traditionally, we have held four sessions per year, including:
"Hot Topics" in September
Safeguarding training in February
Two online clinical teaching sessions in November and June
Looking ahead, there is potential to collaborate with Dalriada Urgent Care to provide cover for some PBL sessions. However, this may require reallocating funding currently used for our annual "Hot Topics" session. We encourage practices to complete the survey to ensure any future changes reflect the needs of EAFed member practices.
Our most recent GP Trainee/Trainer session took place on 22nd January at Templepatrick Surgery, where Dr. Aine McNeill facilitated a discussion on the Primary Care management of menopause.
Further small group sessions are planned for April and July, with details on topics and locations to follow.
Thank you to all the practices that have hosted a session so far. If any trainers are interested in getting involved, please feel free to send me an email or text.
Dr Richard McClean
In November, we hosted a well-attended Practice Managers' event at the NFSU offices. Dr. Claire Sweeney provided an insightful update on GDPR and providing copy notes, which received excellent feedback from attendees.
Meanwhile, Moyle Medical Centre held a spirometry training event for practice nurses, followed by an introduction to cardio-renal metabolic disease, offering valuable learning opportunities.
Looking ahead, February’s annual safeguarding event will be held online via Practice Index.
If there are any topics you’d like covered in future Federation Learning Days or one-off events, please reach out to Shauna McKinley or Janice Russell.

Nicola Smyth and Karen Foreman - Lead General Practice Pharmacists

There aren’t many updates from the GPP team this month, but we’d like to take a moment to say a huge congratulations to Hannah Patterson on successfully completing the FP1 course!
A fantastic achievement—well done!

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:
Thank you for a very well presented and informative Newsletter and for all the work you are doing to support us. Diane Lavery.