NICE Guidance Around TV Mesh Surgery and Current Options for OCCG Patients
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OCCG Weekly Bulletin
Wednesday 10 January 2018
Included in this bulletin:
- Change to Oxfordshire Headache Service from 18 January 2018
- Current Elective ReferralSituation
- NICE Guidance around TV Mesh Surgery and Current Options for OCCG Patients
- Ensure a Free Flu Vaccine this Winter for Patients with a Learning Disability
- Cervical Cancer Prevention Week – 22-28 January 2018
- GP Update on MSK Provision by Healthshare
- Scriptswitch®– Your Local Oxfordshire Prescribing Decision Tool
- Updated Request for Information – Gender Dysphoria Patients
- GP Patient Survey 2018
- Invitation to Join a Webinar on Group Consultations Hosted by NHS England South on Thursday 8 February – 12.30-1.30pm
- Reminder – Book Your Places on the GP Update and Working at Scale Courses
- Wellbeing Service Review – GP Survey Questionnaire
- Learning Event on Effective Working with Dads and Male
- Information for Patients: Financial Wellbeing Webinar
Information for Practices
Change to Oxfordshire Headache Service from 18 January 2018:
GPs should continue treating patients with migraine themselves, in line with OCCG guidelines, before considering a referral to secondary care, unless you have clear reasons for suspecting an alternative diagnosis. When you do refer to secondary care, the majority of patients will now be seen in new and predominantly community-based headache clinics run by GPs with a special interest in headaches.
The attached leaflets, one for GPsandone for patients,describe what to do and expect when patients with headaches are referred to secondary care.
When you refer a patient with a headache, please hand a copy of the patient leaflet to them.
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Current Elective Referral Situation:
As you are all aware, there is a crisis in the elective ‘referral to treatment time’ (RTT) for many of our providers. This is multifactorial but mainly due to workforce problems.
Please click here for more important information.
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NICE Guidance around TV Mesh Surgery and Current Options for OCCG Patients:
The use of mesh within gynaecology has received much publicity of late; OUHT have seen many extremely anxious patients as a result of reports on the BBC and within the press. This is a complex field within Urogynaecology, and some of the reports have been, on occasions.
Please click here to view Mr Simon Jackson (Consultant Urogynaecologist) important detailed information to try and clarify the current situation for GPs and patients.
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Ensure a Free Flu Vaccine this Winter for Patients with a Learning Disability:
All people with a learning disability – no matter their age – are entitled to a free flu jab. In certain cases, for example the individual is terrified of needles; they can even receive the nasal vaccine.
NHS England would like to encourage GP practices to ensure free NHS flu vaccinations for their patients with a learning disability, and is also encouraging pharmacies to offer the vaccine.
NHS England has clarified that the national flu immunisation programme includes all people with a learning disability in the groups eligible for a free flu jab, along with those over 65, with long term conditions etc. Carers of people with learning disabilities are also entitled to a free flu vaccine.
Help people stay well this winter by vaccinating those at risk.
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Cervical Cancer Prevention Week – 22-28 January 2018:
Cervical cancer prevention week will be taking place from 22-28 January 2018. Please see the attached informationfrom Jo’s Cervical Trust website on how you can get involved to help raise awareness.
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GP Update on MSK Provision by Healthshare:
We are conscious that there have been questions raised about some aspects of the new MSK service. Theupdate attached will address these questions particularly around imaging requests, Rheumatology appointments and the arrangement of physiotherapy, the pain clinic and consultant to consultant referrals.
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Scriptswitch® – your Local Oxfordshire Prescribing Decision Tool:
Did you know?
- Each Scriptswitch® suggestion, safety message and formulary prompt is created and edited by Oxfordshire CCG’s Medicines Optimisation team?
- Updates to the profile are made by the team following each APCO meeting
- Every feedback message entered into the system is sent directly to the Oxfordshire Medicines Optimisation team for review – please add your name as this helps us feedback our response to you
- Any identified errors can be reported to the team and we will ensure they are rectified and deployed across Oxfordshire within minutes - another advantage of it being managed by the local CCG team
- All reports sent to practices have been designed by the Oxfordshire Medicines Optimisation team to suit local practices
- Sometimes there will be negative savings displayed - this is often deliberate in order to guide prescribers away from more cost effective products which are currently available or products which are experiencing concession prices which are higher than the alternatives recommended – neither EMIS Web nor Scriptswitch® is able to display the concession prices so you may not be aware of these but we will always add some text on the popup to explain the rationale
If you have any further questions or comments on Scriptswitch® please feel free to contact Ross Burton at
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UPDATED Request For Information – Gender Dysphoria Patients:
OCCG flagged up in last week’s bulletin that we currently have a pathway issue around GP prescribing and managing the off-licence medication required for Gender Dysphoria patients post treatment, and are seeking data to inform future commissioning.
Thank you to those who have already submitted their data - please could we have further responses by Friday 19 January.
OCCG is trying to scope out whether we would be able to commission a small service where this management and prescription was handled by one location for all patients falling under this cohort.
To help with this OCCG need to understand what the size of this cohort, and so are asking for all practices to email the primary care email address ith an aggregate number of patients they have. If you have any comments regarding your issues/concerns about the current management of these patients we would welcome this as well.
The read code for this is;
Read Code: ZV62A
Concept ID: SNOMED CT – 93461009
Description ID: SNOMED CT –154707011
ADDITION: I have also being advised by a number of practices that some patients are being coded under the following, so please include this in your search as well:
Gender identity disorders
Read code: Eu64,
SNOMED-CT: 296515015
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GP Patient Survey 2018:
From January to the end of March, more than two million people registered with GP practices will be invited to answer a postal questionnaire about their experiences.For the first time, 16 and 17 year olds will be included. The questionnaire has been redesigned to measure new ways of working such as online services and extended opening hours.
Practices can refer any queries . Aposter, in 14 languages, is available to display during the survey. Accessibility supportis offered to help patients take part.
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Invitation to join a webinar on Group Consultations hosted by NHS England South on Thursday 8 February, 12.30-1.30pm:
Group consultations are a different way to deliver clinical care that see clinicians consult one to one in a supportive group setting of 10-12 patients, with others listening in and learning from each other’s consultations. They have an extensive evidence base in the US and are mentioned specifically in the GP Forward View as one of 10 high impact changes under ‘new consultation types’.
NHS England South would like to invite you to a webinar on the 8 February 2018, 12.30-1.30pm with guest speakers Dr Priya Kumar (GP in Slough and Primary Care Strategy Lead for Slough CCG. She was one of the first GPs to give group consultations a go as part of a PMCF funded pilot in 2014/15) and Louise Brady (clinical and strategic development lead Central Manchester CCG).
Please feel free to register for this WebEx at
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Reminder- Book your Places on the GP Update and Working at Scale Courses:
The first GP Update Course will be held on the 24th January, so time is running out! To register for any of the courses please go to
All training events will take place in the Kings Centre, Oxford. For further info you can find flyers for the two courses here or we have included a brief summary below.
The Working at Scale Course: Saturday 17 March 10am-4pm.
Are you worried about the sustainability of your practice? Are you being encouraged to think about working at a larger scale but don’t know which option to choose? Are you concerned it might make things worse rather than better?
Through interactive presentations using case studies to aid discussion, this one day course gives you a broad overview of the working at scale options whilst going into more depth about specific important issues. This course is aimed at all GPs, Practice Managers and other primary care practitioners who are facing these choices and would like to have a better understanding of the options and what to do.
GP Update Course:
This one-day course offers a wide-ranging, evidence based programme, covering the latest guidance and major developments across all areas of general practice: from chronic conditions to Musculoskeletal medicine, from Mental health to Gastroenterology and many more in between
- Wednesday 24 January 10am-4pm
- Tuesday 20 February 1-7pm
- Thursday 8 March 10am-4pm
If you need help booking onto a course, please contact Red Whale directly ()
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Wellbeing Service Review – GP Survey Questionnaire:
Together with Oxford Health and Oxfordshire Mind, OCCG is undertaking a review of the Wellbeing Service provided by Oxfordshire Mind. The link below takes you to a short questionnaire which we would be grateful if you would complete to help us in our review. A short explanatory statement begins the questionnaire to give you a little more information:
We would be grateful if you could complete the survey by 2 February. If you have any questions please contact:Ellie Simcox, Assistant Project/Commissioning Manager OCCG
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Learning Event on Effective Working with Dads and Male Care Givers February 2018:
This date notified in the GP bulletin on 20 December 2017 is now available for booking.Please see the attached poster for details on this free training session.
Information for Patients: Financial Wellbeing Webinar:
Could you please display the attached poster in your surgery about financial wellbeing webinars for people affected by cancer?
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To give us your feedback please email: