Category Archives: News

One Care service helps practices save time on referrals

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One Care’s Digital Support team has been helping practices across Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire clean up their referral resources.

Since the introduction of a centrally managed document hub, Resource Publisher, in August 2021, many practices found they had old or duplicate referral forms stored on their systems.

To solve this problem, One Care began offering a form consolidation service to practices. The service sees One Care’s Digital Support team remotely accessing practices’ systems and archiving the out of date and duplicate forms.

Stephanie Hatton, One Care’s Digital Consultant said: “This service brings a lot of benefits for practices. It saves clinicians and administration staff time, ensuring they are only using the latest forms so they can be confident the referrals they send have the necessary information.

“Because we can do the work in the background, practices can keep using their systems as normal, and their administration staff can work on other things.

“So far, we’ve delivered the service to 30 of our practices, and the feedback has been positive. We’d love to help any other practices who’d like it.”

The consolidation service is available to all One Care practices in BNSSG as part of their subscription. If you would like to find out more, please contact digital@onecare.org.uk

 

 

 

General practice information campaign launches today

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Your GP surgery team cares for you – that’s the message from our new public communication campaign, launching today.

The campaign aims to explain the changes in general practice in recent years, and what they mean for the public.

It showcases how GP surgeries continue to provide the same level of care they always have, and are working hard to ensure everyone receives the right support when they need it, whether that’s a face-to-face appointment, a phone consultation or a video call.

It also aims to highlight the range of healthcare professionals now based at local surgeries, including nurse practitioners, clinical pharmacists, and physiotherapists. It explains their roles, what they can do for patients, and how they work as part of the general practice team.

The campaign is being run by One Care and Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (BNSSG ICB).

Ruth Taylor, Chief Executive for One Care, said: “General practice has seen a number of significant changes recently, including the introduction of digital and online services, and the integration of different healthcare professionals into general practice.

“We want to help the public understand how their GP surgery team is here for them throughout their lives, and how their GP surgery provides them with proactive, personalised and convenient care.”

As well as activity across social and traditional media, the campaign features a microsite with information about the changes in general practice, and explanations about the roles of the different healthcare professionals patients may see at their GP surgery.

Later this month, campaign adverts featuring staff and patients from practices across BNSSG will start to appear on buses across the area.

For more information about the campaign, or to find out how you can support it, please email enquiries@onecare.org.uk.

New Integrated Care Board assumes responsibility for NHS in BNSSG

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Today marks an exciting step in the provision of healthcare in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG), as a new organisation takes responsibility for the day to day running of the NHS in the area.

Following the dissolution of BNSSG Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), the BNSSG Integrated Care Board (ICB) will now arrange the provision of NHS services, manage the NHS budget, and look after the health needs of the area’s population.

ICBs were legally established across England on 1 July 2022, while clinical commissioning groups were abolished.

In BNSSG, the ICB forms part of the area’s Integrated Care Partnership (ICP). The ICP is formed between the ICB and BNSSG’s three local authorities.

It brings together a broad range of partners – including the local voluntary sector and community groups – and sets strategy to meet the population’s health, care and wellbeing needs.

The Integrated Care Partnership and Integrated Care Board are key elements in the Integrated Care System (ICS) for BNSSG.

The ICS comprises 10 partner organisations, including the three local authorities, NHS trusts, the new ICB, and community and general practice healthcare providers. It is also known as the Healthier Together Partnership.

Although Healthier Together has been active as a partnership for some time, it now has legal status after the Health and Care Act 2022 formalised new arrangements to ensure ICSs become statutory entities from 1 July 2022.

The ICS partners are:

Senior representatives from these organisations have seats on the ICB board. General practice’s voting member will be Dr Jonathan Hayes, Chair of the GP Collaborative Board. Ruth Taylor, Chief Executive of One Care, will also attend in a non-voting capacity.

Within the ICS sit six locality partnerships. These operate on a smaller scale within the ICS, responding to the unique needs of their local populations.

The locality partnerships in BNSSG are South Gloucestershire, North and West Bristol, Inner City and East Bristol, South Bristol, Woodspring, and Weston, Worle and Villages. Locality partnerships include general practice, social care, community services, hospitals, voluntary sector, and mental health services – working alongside local people and communities to improve health and wellbeing.

One Care Chief Executive Ruth Taylor said: “This is a really exciting development. One Care and the GP Collaborative Board are looking forward to working more closely with our partners in the new ICS. We are excited to attend the first meeting of the Integrated Care Board today, ensuring effective general practice representation in leadership discussions.”

New app to boost staff sharing across BNSSG

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One Care is working with health system partners on an exciting new project to improve collaborative working across primary and community care in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG).

The project – known as the collaborative bank – will enable sharing of staff across primary and community care in BNSSG. It aims to increase workforce agility, reduce the need to use agency staff, and give staff the opportunity to develop their skills and experience across the BNSSG health and care system. It will also enable a collaborative approach to using our limited staff resources where they are most needed.

The process will be managed digitally through a web and phone-based app, which has been developed by a company called Ryalto. Ryalto has experience of running similar projects elsewhere in the country, although this is the first time such a project is being led by general practice.

Through the app, staff will be able to book shifts at other practices and in community care settings, in addition to their core place of work. Available shifts can be filtered by competency or by role to give as much flexibility, choice and opportunity as possible for both employers and staff.

It is hoped the system will reduce the need to use expensive agency staff, which will reduce costs for the employer. Additionally, the staff member’s pay rate will follow them into the alternative place of work and they will continue to be paid by their usual employer.

The project is currently in the customisation phase, with practices and other partners providing feedback about their local requirements to Ryalto.

This feedback will support Ryalto to tailor the app and its functionality to the needs of local staff and employers for the best results.

Jim Hodgson, One Care’s Programme Manager for urgent care, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Ryalto and colleagues from BNSSG primary and community care to develop this solution. As a health and care system, we need to address the 21st century workforce challenges we are now facing; it’s clear that 21st century technology will play a big role in solving these problems.”

One Care tool underpins successful cholesterol management pilot

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One Care recently supported a successful collaborative pilot project alongside the West of England Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston (UHBW) to identify patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) who could benefit from better lipid management.

CVD causes a quarter of all deaths in the UK and is the largest cause of premature mortality in deprived areas.

Reducing cholesterol through improved lipid management is a key way to address CVD. The project aimed to do this by making sure patients could be treated with the right medicines. In the pilot, these medicines included: High Intensity Statins (HIST), Ezetimibe, and PCSK9 inhibitors.  The NICE-approved lipid management clinical pathway has since been updated to also include Inclisiran and Bempedoic Acid.

To enable GPs to find the patients who would benefit most, One Care’s business intelligence and digital support teams developed and ran a CVD search tool. Over a year, they supported 10 practices across Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire to assess more than 149,000 patients and find those with existing CVD who had elevated lipid levels.

Using the tool, they then refined the data using criteria for PCSK9 inhibitor therapy – which treats very high cholesterol – to find eligible patients.

The pilot identified 444 patients who were eligible for medication reviews and referred seven of them to secondary care for PCSK9i therapy.

More broadly, primary care in BNSSG now has a sustainable, standardised way to improve the lipid management of high-risk CVD patients.

Colette Buckley, Head of Digital Support at One Care, said: “We’re really pleased to have been able to bring our digital expertise to the pilot. Delivering the tool has helped ensure  patients across our region are taking the most effective CVD medication, and provided a valuable pathway that can be used more widely in future. Enabling this kind of collaboration and helping to develop ways to help general practice and patients is at the heart of what we do.”

The pilot, led by Dr Paula Rostek, was part of the West of England Academic Health Science Network’s Rapid Uptake Products programme.

Clare Evans, Deputy Director of Service and System Transformation at the West of England AHSN said: “As a result of this pilot project, and the One Care tool, a sustainable pathway has been developed for Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire to optimise the lipid management of high-risk patients in primary care. This will support a standardised, evidence-based approach to manage those with established cardiovascular disease. Delivered alongside the pressures of the pandemic, the work of everybody involved is to be commended.”

Following the pilot, One Care will shortly launch the second phase of the tool. A second tool, to help identify patients who may have undiagnosed Familial Hypercholesterolaemia (FH), will also be offered. More information about these tools is available here.

Making Covid-19 vaccinations mobile to reach our local community

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A blog by Joanna Ford from Network 4

Our Primary Care Network (PCN), known as Network 4, consists of nine GP sites in South Gloucestershire. We have been vaccinating patients from our Downend Health Group (Christchurch) site since December 2020, with thousands having passed through the doors. However, our patient data showed there were pockets of people in our area who were either totally unvaccinated or had not had their second doses. At Network 4, we know the community well and where to go to find people who might not have been vaccinated.

We know there are many reasons people may be unsure about getting vaccinated or having their first dose, including concerns about side effects; feeling that Covid-19 wouldn’t seriously affect them; or simply taking longer to decide whether to have the vaccine. We wanted to give people a chance to talk with us about their concerns.

We also know that working patterns and lack of transport were factors in limiting access to vaccination. So, we decided to take the show on the road – literally.

Our local Covid-19 Vaccination Programme’s outreach team offered us use of a St John’s Ambulance mobile vaccination clinic, and we began a series of pop-up outreach clinics in January 2022.

People power

Collaboration proved invaluable. South Gloucestershire Council and local businesses and organisations really got behind our efforts. With the help of the manager and staff at Longwell Green Leisure Centre, we advertised on their social media channels that we’d be popping up. And, unbeknown to us, a local school emailed their parents, which resulted in a 75% increase in vaccinations given on that day compared with our previous effort.

Other local organisations who got behind our community mobile vaccination effort include Morrisons in Fishponds, Asda Longwell Green, and Yate Shopping Centre. Sadly, our attempt to engage with the DIYers at B&Q was scuppered by Eunice…Storm Eunice, that is!

Major successes in the uptake of vaccinations came from having a presence in in supermarket car parks. Our ability to park up, engage with shoppers, and allow them to make their decision in their own time – usually have a chat, do their shop, come back to us and be vaccinated – was very helpful in giving people an opportunity to take up the vaccination offer.

Magnetic attraction

Although the ambulance was visible, it wasn’t clear we were offering vaccinations, and the pull-up banners we had kept blowing over in a slight breeze! The Vaccination Programme communications team solved this with magnetic signs for the sides of the ambulance, which improved engagement from the public, and markedly increased the number of vaccinations we delivered. You really couldn’t miss us in a car park!

Lessons learned

Making a vaccination clinic work on four wheels wasn’t without its challenges. This was a very different way for a PCN to work, and staffing and logistics were more complicated than we had imagined, but the impact we had on vaccinations in our community made it all worthwhile. We reached 337 members of the public who may not have been able, or wanted, to go to out of their way to a vaccination clinic. This included 33 first doses.

The feedback from the people we vaccinated was that they found it convenient, and the mobile clinic enabled them to get their vaccination while they were going about their daily business.

Was the clinic a success?

Vaccinating some of the most vulnerable and hard to reach members of our community wouldn’t have been possible without this approach. Staff members from our PCN were also able to engage with some of the misinformation surrounding the vaccine, which was incredibly useful in breaking down barriers, and keeping people safe from COVID-19.

Would we do it again?

Yes. Absolutely. Look out for us in a shopping centre near you during the summer. We look forward to meeting you.

Our shareholder event 2022

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On Wednesday 4 May, One Care held our first annual shareholder event in over two years. This was the first time since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic that we were able to come together in person as general practice in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire at scale. It was a brilliant afternoon and there was a real energy in the room.

The event provided a fantastic opportunity for practices to network, hear about the support One Care and the GP Collaborative Board can offer them over the next year and learn about the work we have been doing within the BNSSG healthcare system.

Guest speaker Fiona Adamson, Chair of the Primary Care Federation Network and the NHS Confederation, joined us virtually to give a thought-provoking talk on the opportunities and challenges for GP federations in Integrated Care Systems.

We were also very fortunate to be joined by Shane Devlin, Chief Executive of BNSSG Integrated Care Board, who spoke alongside Dr Jon Hayes, Chair of the GP Collaborative board. They gave an overview of our BNSSG Integrated Care System and the role of the General Practice Collaborative Board within it. Attendees were also given a unique chance to ask Shane questions regarding the Integrated Care Board and the changes to the BNSSG healthcare system as we move towards the introduction of the new health and care bill in July 2022.

Ruth Taylor, Chief Executive of One Care, led the agenda throughout the afternoon. She gave an overview of the work One Care has done over the last year and what services we aim to provide in the future.

An exciting section of the day was our marketplace, where attendees were able to talk to the different teams at One Care, find out more about the support they can provide, ask questions, and provide much welcomed feedback.

One Care’s Chief Executive Ruth Taylor commented on the afternoon saying “The shareholder event provided a great opportunity to come together with all our member practices, ensure they are aware of the support we can offer them and answer their questions. We were able to celebrate the incredible work and progress we have made as general practice in the two years since our last shareholder event. It was an energising afternoon and amazing to see so many familiar faces in person after such a long time and meet new colleagues too. I look forward to continuing discussions and supporting our practices to survive and thrive over the coming year.”

A huge thank you to all the practices who attended, the afternoon was a great success, and we look forward to coming together again next year.

Get to know the GP Collaborative Board

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The GP Collaborative Board (GPCB) is the newly established representative decision-making body for general practice in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG). The membership is made up of voting nominated representatives from the Primary Care Networks in BNSSG, plus non-voting representatives from the six Localities, Avon LMC, and One Care, the GP Federation.

The GP Collaborative Board was formed as the fully representative body for general practice in our area to enable true engagement with the changing health and care landscape that will come fully into effect in July 2022. This change will see the formation of a new Integrated Care System, where organisations across health, care, and local authorities and voluntary sectors will come together as equal partners to meet the specific health and care needs of people living in their area. General practice will have representation on the Integrated Care Board, which is a key part of the overall Integrated Care System. For more information on Integrated Care Systems, please visit the NHS England website.

As general practice will be one of the partner organisations within the Integrated Care System, general practice recognised a need to come together as a unified voice. In February 2020, practices asked One Care and Avon LMC to work with them to develop and implement an ethical decision-making process and good governance framework for general practice. This work was put on hold due to Covid-19, but restarted in late summer 2020.

The GP Collaborative Board has come a long way since then. In September 2020, the Board first met in shadow form, becoming substantive in April 2021. During that time, each PCN nominated a representative to become a member and represent their PCN’s views at the meetings. The Board elected their Chair and Vice-Chair in June 2021 and recruited a Medical Director in March 2022.

During their first year, the GP Collaborative Board has focused on raising general practice priorities within our health and care system and establishing the Board as the ‘go-to’ place for our system partners to engage with general practice. The GP Collaborative Board has also enabled general practice leaders, including GPs and managers, to shape important transformation programmes, including urgent care, community phlebotomy, and mass vaccinations.

Looking towards next year, the GP Collaborative Board will work closely with other system partners to shape a shared vision for health and care in the area. The Board are also looking to increase general practice involvement in further system transformation projects, focusing initially on the outpatients and digital programmes.

Speaking about his involvement as Chair of the GP Collaborative Board, Dr Jon Hayes said:

“The GPCB is an important development for general practice in BNSSG, as it truly gives a single representative voice of general practice across our system. This means we can engage with system partners and ensure we are delivering effective and sustainable improvements in healthcare for our practices and our patients.”

If you’d like to learn more about the GP Collaborative Board please contact gpcollaborativeboard@onecare.org.uk or visit our website.

One Care supports the ATHENA study

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One Care is working with the University of Bristol, on their research project which looks at the use of AmiTritypline for the prevention of post-HErpetic NeuralgiA (ATHENA).

Shingles is caused by a virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. It can make people feel unwell, cause pain and a rash can follow. Some people can develop nerve pain months after the rash has gone, called post-herpetic neuralgia. Researchers at the Universities of Bristol, Oxford, Southampton and Warwick want to find out if taking a tablet called amitriptyline can prevent persistent pain.  

Amitriptyline is a drug. To find out if using amitriptyline when the rash first appears prevents pain later, the clinical trial is recruiting 846 patients, aged 50+ who have been diagnosed by their GP with shingles. These patients will take tablets nightly for 10 weeks – half will be given amitriptyline and the other half will get a placebo tablet. Questionnaires will then be used to find out what happens to everyone over the following 12 months, especially whether they still have pain related to shingles at 90 days.  

Invited to take part in the study are 120 practices across three clinical research network (CRNs) areas – CRN West of England (this includes Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire), CRN Wessex and CRN Thames Valley. 

One Care is providing digital support to this clinical trial in the form of EMIS resource and data extraction. One Care has worked closely with the research team at University of Bristol, to understand the ideal process for identifying eligible patients at a practice and inviting them to the study. 

This has led to the design of an EMIS protocol which automatically alerts a clinician that a patient may be suitable to take part in the ATHENA study. One Care has also designed an EMIS search to collect the data needed by the health economists to undertake analysis for this research. 

The EMIS resources designed mean practices do not have to design their own, and a standardised design means higher quality data can be gathered. With One Care managing data extractions, it also reduces administrative work for the practices.   

Speaking about One Care’s involvement with the study, One Care’s Head of Digital Support Colette Buckley said “We’re really excited to be supporting this important research project. It’s a great opportunity to work with our academic colleagues to explore improvements to patient care. This is the first of many research projects we will be supporting in 2022.” 

If you’d like to learn more about how One Care is supporting this study, please contact emis.optimisation@onecare.org.uk  or call 0117 941 0900. 

Medical Director for the GPCB announced

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We are pleased to announce that Dr Geeta Iyer will be taking up the role of Medical Director for the GP Collaborative Board (GPCB) from 1 April 2022.

Geeta has been working closely with the GP Collaborative Board since its inception in her role as Clinical Lead for Primary Care Development for Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG) CCG and alongside her role as a GP at Gloucester Road Medical Centre. Geeta will continue in both these roles alongside her new GPCB position, which will mean she is uniquely placed to strengthen the GPCB’s working relationships with both the wider system and BNSSG practices.

Geeta will be working for the GPCB one day a week. Please join us in giving her a warm welcome to her new GP Collaborative Board role over the coming weeks and months.

Speaking about her appointment, Geeta said: “I’m really looking forward to working on behalf of the GP Collaborative Board to strengthen the relationships between general practice providers and our colleagues across the system. I’ll be working closely with the Chair, Vice-Chair and Board members to make sure the board truly understands and represents the views of our constituent practices. The GPCB has already established itself as the representative body for general practice in our developing Integrated Care System and we can build on this solid foundation over the coming years.”

Geeta’s initial priorities will be to coordinate general practice input to system planning for next year, offer clinical leadership for key areas of work in our ICB and support the role of the GP Collaborative Board in implementing the BNSSG Primary Care Strategy.