East Antrim GP Federation Quarterly Newsletter - Winter 2026
- Northern Federation Support Unit
- Feb 20
- 12 min read
A Note From the Chair - Dr Ian Lalsingh
Dear Colleagues,
As we progress through 2026, the rollout of Multidisciplinary Teams (MDTs) across the East Antrim Federation continues. We would like to inform you of our current representation throughout East Antrim Federation.
At present, we have a total of 3.6 WTEs First Contact Physiotherapists (FCPs) and 4.6 WTEs Senior Mental Health Practitioners (SMHPs) are working across eleven of the East Antrim Federation’s sixteen practices, which results in 69% of our practices having some presence of an MDT.
Further details are as follows:
FCPs - 3.6 WTEs | SMHPs – 4.6 WTEs |
Templepatrick x 1 WTE | Templepatrick x 0.5 WTE |
Tramways x 0.6 WTE | Whitehouse x 0.5 WTE |
Glengormley x 0.6 WTE | Glengormley x 0.5 WTE |
Rosehall x 0.4 WTE | Larne Health Centre x 0.4 WTE |
1 WTE on maternity leave | Castle x 0.6 WTE |
| Old School x 0.5 WTE |
| Meadowbridge x 0.8 WTE |
| Corran x 0.4 WTE |
| Scotch Quarter x 0.4 WTE |
Looking ahead to the next financial year, and in line with the SPPG phased rollout plan we have received, it is our intention to recruit a further 2 WTE SMHPs in November 2026 and an additional 2 WTE SMHPs in February 2027. These roles will be allocated equitably across East Antrim Federation practices.
We also anticipate the recruitment of additional FCP capacity during this period, with 2 WTE FCPs planned for November 2026 and a further 1 WTE FCP in February 2027.
As MDT implementation continues, several factors we must carefully considered are aspects such as;
SPPG allocation timelines and confirmation of funding parameters
Practice readiness information, gathered directly from practices and through SPPG highlight reports
Practical considerations relating to appointed staff, including geography, availability, and the provision of suitable accommodation alongside other MDT disciplines
The need for a coordinated approach to placement alongside other MDT roles, such as First Contact Physiotherapists
Please be assured that we remain fully committed to progressing MDT rollout across the Federation as efficiently as possible. However, the factors outlined above reflect the current operational realities within which we must work. The Federation Chairs are united in their view that the pace of rollout is not yet as ambitious as we would wish, and this remains an area of focus.
To further support collaboration and shared learning across the Federation, we are pleased to invite all East Antrim practices to an upcoming Member Practice Event, where we will provide further updates on MDT rollout and offer an opportunity for discussion and feedback.
I would like to thank you all for your continued engagement, enthusiasm, and the warm welcome you have extended to our MDT colleagues. We look forward to further expanding MDT representation across the East Antrim Federation in the period ahead.
Thanks,
Ian
Federation Education
Dr Richard McClean - Federation Education Lead
Our 25/26 FedED programme continues to be well supported and in receipt of positive feedback, with a mixture of sessions for both clinical and administrative staff.
The most recent PBL took place on 26th November 2025 and saw Dr Laura Skillen and Dr Ryan Cherry facilitate sessions. The sessions provided useful clinical teaching, as well as an opportunity for updates on local service provision and time for questions.
The feedback received was positive, and both sessions were recorded, allowing for online access via the NFSU website.
Our recent Small Group Learning session took place at Templepatrick Surgery on 21st January 2026. Dr Aine McNeill facilitated the session, providing an update on “HRT and the management of menopausal symptoms.”
The session was well attended and the feedback received was positive. As we seek to expand the reach of these small group sessions, it was encouraging to have GPs, trainees, and practice nurses present to share their knowledge and experiences.
Our next PBL session is on 25th February 2026 and is our yearly safeguarding update.The first session will be facilitated by Dr Alison Livingstone and the second by Dr Christopher Faraday, who will be speaking on “Common Paediatric Presentations.”
The sessions will be held via Zoom, and the meeting details and full agenda will be circulated in the coming weeks.
Read more
As most will be aware, there are some changes planned for the 2026/27 FedED calendar, with the Federation Chairs agreeing to seek clinical cover via Dalriada Urgent Care, to allow for protected learning time for the Northern Federations on four afternoons per year.
We have aligned our planned PBL afternoons with these Protected Learning Times on the following dates:
20th May 2026
23rd September 2026
18th November 2026
24th February 2027
Our September PBL session has typically been a bespoke “Hot Topics” Webinar, which has received overwhelmingly positive feedback in previous years, largely due to the opportunity to cover a significant number of relevant topics within one session and in an accessible, interactive manner.
While the provision of clinical cover for the PLT afternoons has an impact on the FedED budget, the FedED team are actively exploring our options to retain “Hot Topics” in our calendar for 2026/27.
I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Dr Aine McNeill for her invaluable contributions to establishing the FedED team. After 5 years in post, she has decided to step down from her role as GP Education Lead to pursue other challenges. Her enthusiasm, professionalism, and passion for clinical education will be missed.
As always, I am thankful to all who have supported the FedED team by attending events, facilitating sessions, and providing meaningful feedback as we seek to provide quality, locality-based education in an exceptionally challenging time for Primary Care in Northern Ireland.
Practice Managers & Admin Update 🗂️
Shauna McKinley & Janice Russell - Practice Manager Education Leads
📚 Federation Education – Forward Plan
🗓️ Plan for the Year
February 2026
Safeguarding – All Staff
🔎 Forward Planning
👩⚕️ Nurses
Asthma update
COPD update
Diabetic update
🗂️ Admin
Care Navigation
Physio role update
Mental Health role update
👥 Managers
Final part of H&S
QI Training
Website Management training
📧Shauna & Janice welcome any suggestions — please feel free to email them directly. janice.russell@gp.hscni.net
Nicola Smyth and Karen Foreman - Lead General Practice Pharmacists
🫁 FENO Testing Pilot
We are delighted to share that we have been included in a regional Federation Pharmacist FENO pilot project.
FENO testing (or blood eosinophil testing) is the first step in asthma diagnosis within current UK asthma guidelines and also plays an important role in ongoing asthma management.
👩⚕️ Supporting Asthma Reviews
We are fortunate to already have a significant number of GPPs regularly carrying out asthma reviews across East Antrim Federation practices.
They will begin incorporating FENO testing into their practice as soon as the machines are available — hopefully from early March 2026.
This project also provides an excellent opportunity for more of our GPP team to upskill in asthma management, with training scheduled at our next team meeting on 24 February.
🤝 How It Will Work
This is a pharmacist-led project and, for governance reasons, FENO testing must be carried out by a Federation GPP.
However, nursing and GP colleagues can work closely with their GPP and refer patients for testing. This joint working approach has worked very well in other areas.
It is anticipated that we will have two FENO machines, which will be shared across the Federation, with a limited number of tests available.
We will contact practices with further details once the logistics have been finalised.
We have had a very positive response from practices so far. If there are any practices that would like to be included and have not yet responded, please let us know as soon as possible.
👥Staffing Update
Please see the table below for current staff. It is worth noting that we have recently informed affected practices of a staff reshuffle taking place over March and April to accommodate movement within the team. As always, we aim to keep any changes to a minimum for both GPPs and practices; however, there are several factors that must be considered when managing staffing arrangements.
Following a year that included several unsuccessful recruitment attempts, we are pleased to advise that—subject to all progressing as planned—when our two new fixed-term pharmacists commence in March and April, we will be at full allocation (at least until the next maternity leave, sick leave, or career break!). We are very grateful for the continued support and understanding of our member practices as we work to maintain stable and effective cover across the locality.
GPPs 22.0 wte (NB. This funding includes Lead GPP sessions) | |
Corran Surgery | 1.0 |
Inver surgery | 0.8 |
Victoria Surgery | 0.8 |
Larne Medical Practice | 1.2 ( 0.8 currently, 0.4 short) |
Meadowbridge Surgery | 1.2 (1.0 currently, 0.2 short) |
Castle Practice | 2.0 (1.8 currently,0.2 short ) |
Scotch Quarter Practice | 1.0 |
Old School Surgery | 1.4 (1.0 currently,0.4 short) |
Abbots Cross Medical Practice | 1.2 |
Whitehouse Medical Practice | 1.2 |
Rosehall Medical Practice | 1.2 |
Nottinghill Medical Practice | 1.4 (1.0 currently, 0.4 short) |
Glengormley Practice | 1.2 |
Tramways Medical Centre | 1.4 |
Ballyclare Health Centre | 2.0 |
Templepatrick Surgery | 1.2 |
ℹ️ Shared From Practices
We are delighted to share some fantastic news!🎉
Dr Louise Beck, Victoria Surgery, has been named RCGP GP of the Year 2025 — a recognition of her outstanding commitment to patient care and excellence in General Practice.
Congratulations also to Dr Gordon Alexander, Corran Surgery, who has received the Robin Harland Award for Undergraduate Teaching in General Practice 2025 from Queen’s University Belfast. This prestigious award recognises his exceptional contribution to medical education and his dedication to inspiring the next generation of GPs.
📖 Dalriada Urgent Care (DUC) Cover – Protected Learning Time
Dalriada Urgent Care (DUC) cover continues to be arranged to support practices during our Federation Protected Learning Time (PLT) afternoons, helping enable colleagues to attend education and training sessions. As always, DUC cover remains subject to sufficient GP availability.
To support this and help ensure reliable cover across all areas, the Federation will be offering an incentive to GPs who provide DUC cover on any of the scheduled PLT dates.
The confirmed PLT dates for 2026/2027 are:
· 20th May 2026
· 23rd September 2026
· 18th November 2026
· 24th February 2027.
Practices are encouraged to note these dates in their calendars and indicate availability where possible.
Northern GP Federation Support Unit Update (NFSU)
To put a face to our names and for the relevant contact details, click here -
NFSU Project Update
Naomi Hutchinson - Business Support Manager
Meet Terri – Ballymoney Family Practice’s Newest Recruit 🎉
We are delighted to introduce Terri, the newest member of the team at Ballymoney Family Practice (BFP).
Terri commenced the Medical Administration Academy in September 2023, funded through LMP Mid & East Antrim, and successfully completed the programme in October 2023. As part of her development, one of our member practices kindly offered Terri a placement and work-shadowing opportunity, providing valuable insight into the day-to-day realities of working within general practice.
Following this experience, Terri quickly secured a temporary role within another member practice and subsequently progressed to a permanent position as a Receptionist at Ballymoney Family Practice. Having previously worked in retail for over sixteen years, Terri entered the Academy seeking a change in career and has embraced the transition enthusiastically. Now five weeks into her role at BFP, Terri describes herself as “surviving and absolutely loving life at BFP, especially the support and encouragement from the team around me.”
Terri has expressed her sincere appreciation for the Medical Administration Academy and is extremely grateful for the opportunity it provided to begin her career in general practice.
Nuala, Practice Manager at Ballymoney Family Practice, recently shared:
“We were delighted to welcome Terri to our talented medical administration team here at BFP. The patient experience begins with our admin team, so recruiting the right people is key for us. We would love to see a dedicated Medical Administration Academy for people within our geographical remit, enabling practices across the Causeway Federation to access a wider pool of talented individuals.”
We wish Terri every success as she continues her journey at BFP and we are delighted to note that Terri’s journey reflects a wider pattern of success, with similar positive outcomes seen across other Northern Federations.
➡️ Want to know more about our Medical Admin Academy? Watch the below video.
🎉Our first Medical Administration Academy with LMP - Antrim & Newtownabbey
Week 1 got off to an eventful start, quite literally, with Day 1 coinciding with an amber weather warning. Despite the less-than-ideal conditions, spirits were high and the programme launched with great energy as participants explored the key roles that make up general practice.
We were delighted to welcome Dr Goodrich, GP, who shared first-hand insights into life in general practice and Yvonne Back, Assistant Practice Manager, who highlighted the essential role of practice management and administration. Team-building activities throughout the week helped the 13 participants get to know one another and start building confidence for their journey ahead.
🎉 Save the Date! Please mark your calendars for our Celebration Event at Antrim Civic Centre on Thursday 19th March. More details to follow.
📣 Calling all GP Practices: If you have any current or planned administrative vacancies, we would appreciate if you could share the information with us. Please get in contact with our team and we will be happy to explore potential matches from our motivated participants. .
👥Staff Update
💼Appointment of New Business Support & Communications Officer
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Lucy McClure as Business Support & Communications Officer within NFSU. In this role, Lucy will support communications and governance activities, as well as assist with the organisation of meetings, events, and training across the Northern Federations.
📄NFSU Job Opportunity – Office Administrator
We were very pleased to be granted a Job Start vacancy for an Administrative Assistant here at NFSU (funded through Department of Communities). This is vacancy for initially 6 months here at our offices in Galgorm. To find out more / eligibility criteria please click here.
📈Member Survey Update
A huge thank you to everyone who completed the Northern Members Practices Survey - we had a 58% response rate, and we really appreciate those practices who responded taking the time to complete the survey.
Following your submission of Practice Index choices, these have now been confirmed with Practice Index. Should you wish to amend / join any of the products they offer please contact our account manager directly on matthew.smith@practiceindex.co.uk.
The current prices as of Feb 2026 are (12 months subscription):
PLUS £409 + VAT
HR Package £371 + VAT
Learning Package £371 + VAT
Rota Package £371 + VAT
🧭The results also showed strong interest in Care Navigation, with around three-quarters of respondents expressing interest in us organising a few ad hoc sessions. We will be liaising with relevant people to explore all suggested training ideas and to organising sessions.
🫀There was a particularly strong response for CPR training, which we are actively working on and will keep you updated as plans develop.
89% of practices informed us they find our newsletter useful.
🙏🏻Thank you for your continued engagement. It is important to us that we are engaging with the majority of Practices in a way that meets your needs. .
Accurx Update
The Federation’s regional contract with Accurx is due to renew soon and we want to ensure practices are aware of the options available going forward.
📅 Accurx will be hosting a dedicated webinar for our practices on Wednesday 4th March (12:30–1:30pm), covering current products, packages, pricing, and upcoming developments. T
he session will also include a Q&A and will also be ideal for any practices who is / has recently migrated from Vision to EMIS.
➡️ If you wish to attend the webinar on 4 March you can register here. We will be liaising with each practice during March/April to obtain confirmation how you wish to proceed.
Economies of Scale Project
Our “Suggested Supplier” for workwear / scrubs is Garment Graphixs. This information has been added to our website.
📄Model Complaints Handling Procedure (MCHP) - Update
You will be aware from our previous newsletter communications that we had been gathering and sharing information regarding the new MCHP.
We did not take this matter any further, as GPNI recently delivered a lunchtime webinar in conjunction with SPPG covering the key details. If you were unable to attend, you may access a recording of the session - ➡️ Click here
💭Info Shared by Our Northern Member Practices
⭐Become a Yellow Card Champion – Supporting Patient Safety Across Northern Ireland
The Yellow Card Centre Northern Ireland is inviting healthcare staff to volunteer for the important role of Yellow Card Champion, helping to strengthen patient safety and pharmacovigilance across our health and social care system.
This opportunity is open to all staff working across GP practices, including nurses, pharmacists, healthcare assistants, allied health professionals, and medical professionals.
READ MORE!
What is the Yellow Card Scheme?
The Yellow Card scheme is run by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which safeguards medicines, vaccines, medical devices (including software, apps and AI), blood products and e-cigarettes, quality and efficiency in the United Kingdom. Through the Yellow Card scheme, the MHRA collects and monitors information on suspected safety concerns involving healthcare products, like side effects caused by a medicine, or adverse incidents involving medical devices.
What is a Yellow Card Champion?
Yellow Card Champions play a vital role in promoting the reporting of suspected adverse drug reactions and improving awareness of medication safety within their workplace.
As a Champion, you will:
Promote Yellow Card reporting within your area of practice
Provide peer-to-peer education to individuals or staff groups
Raise awareness of adverse reactions as a key safety and quality issue
Support colleagues to identify and report suspected adverse reactions
Receive ongoing support from the Yellow Card Centre Northern Ireland
Why get involved?
By becoming a Yellow Card Champion, you will contribute directly to improving medication safety, strengthening a culture of reporting, and supporting safer prescribing and monitoring for patients across Northern Ireland.
How to take part
Staff interested in taking on this role are encouraged to discuss the opportunity with their line manager.
If you would like to register your interest, please complete the Yellow Card Champion Registration Form.
To support those taking on the role, a Yellow Card Champions Day will be held in March, with further details to follow.
This is an excellent opportunity for colleagues across the East Antrim Federation area to champion patient safety and play an active role in pharmacovigilance.
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 028 9620 8333
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Date of next newsletter - January 2026
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