Dear colleagues,
Welcome to the first Enfield LMC update which we hope to send every 2 months.
We are working very hard with our local Trusts to ensure that the primary/secondary care interface works as it should do. NCL is in the process of writing a local version of the attached consensus document (Cheshire Consensus Document and summary) and this will be circulated when finished. In the meantime, we would invite you to send us examples of inappropriate transfer of work from secondary to primary care.
These might include a consultant asking you to do a blood test (instead of giving the patient a form directly), a request to refer a patient back in two years for a repeat endoscopy (these should be kept on the books at secondary care and recalled) or an inappropriate request for the GP to refer elsewhere. Referrals from one consultant to another should be done directly, assuming that the reason is either related to the original referral or urgent. Please feed these issues back to the relevant Trust, northmid.gpliaison@nhs.net for NMH and tf.gpliaison@nhs.net for Barnet, Chase Farm or the Royal Free. If you feel the responses are not adequate please let us know by emailing my colleague: joni.wilson-kaye@lmc.org.uk.
We are working closely with the ICB as clinical pathways are being reviewed, to ensure that update planning include grass-root GPs and take into account workload impact and borough resource differences.
A particular concern at the moment within Enfield is the current expectation of the Enfield CAMHS to pass on prescribing of anti-depressants in children under 18 to GPs. We have no agreed shared care agreement, despite having multiple meetings to try and organise this, and current prescribing by the consultants is often outwith national guidance. We would encourage all GPs to push back on these requests until we have adequate shared care agreed.
We are recruiting! We currently have vacancies to recruit 4 additional GPs – we would be particularly keen to recruit GPs from the West Enfield Collaborative PCN or the Enfield Care Network PCN as well as salaried or sessional GPs but please do contact us, regardless of where you work, if you are interested in finding out more. Also, look out for information about the forthcoming LMC election which is due to begin in April for the new term in September 2023. For any further details about membership please email sarah.ocran@lmc.org.uk.
The LMC is here for you – feel free to contact us with any primary care issues and we will try to help.
Best wishes,
Dr Pippa Vincent
Chair
Enfield LMC