Following the letter NHS England sent to general practice on 27th February outlining the contract arrangements for 2025/26, new and updated specifications and guidance have now been published for contractors.
The documents are
New for 2025 South Yorkshire Primary Care Workforce and Training Hub are very excited to offer a scheme of EDUCATION and SUPPORT specifically for those who are New to GP Partnership.
They recognise that there are particular challenges which people face at this stage of their careers and want to help new partners to thrive.
This is a 1 year programme of approximately monthly events.
These will include education and discussion around
They will encourage peer support and the development of a community of practice. They also hope to offer specialised mentoring from an experienced GP partner for any new partners who feel that they would benefit from this.
The sessions will be free to attend and there will be a mixture of online and in person events.
It is hoped that the scheme bill start as soon as possible, depending on the level of interest so please follow the link below to complete the form and to register your interest
To help ensure patients understand what to expect during their visit or stay, we are asking all practices to share the attached patient information leaflet. This leaflet outlines key details about their care journey and can help manage expectations, improve communication, and reduce misunderstandings. We encourage practices to print copies for distribution in the surgery, hand them directly to patients, email them, or send them via Accurx. You may wish to use mass messaging to reach a wider audience or target specific individuals who have been referred. Your support in sharing this information will help enhance patient experience and streamline care.
A recent Freedom of Information request has brought to light a significant concern for the profession: 56% of GPs in England have missing NHS pension records up to the 2022/23 financial year. In total, 156,896 years of pensionable service data are currently unaccounted for across the GP workforce.
This issue has serious implications. Without accurate and complete pension records:
It is impossible to determine your Annual Allowance tax position, meaning GPs could be incurring unexpected tax charges without knowing it.
Workforce planning is hindered – GPs cannot confidently assess whether they can take on additional work without financial penalty.
Pension savings strategies are compromised, making it difficult to plan for retirement.
Those affected by the McCloud judgment – which is designed to address age discrimination in public sector pensions – may face further complications if service records are incomplete or incorrect.
It is therefore essential that all GPs check and update their pension records. This is not only a financial issue but one that affects professional autonomy, wellbeing, and long-term career planning.
To support GPs through this process, comprehensive step-by-step guidance has been developed. This guidance walks you through:
How to access your Total Reward Statement (TRS)
How to identify missing years or inaccuracies
The process of submitting missing service or correcting data via PCSE or NHS Pensions
Where to seek further help if you encounter obstacles
🔗 Guidance for GPs in England on getting your pension record up to date
We urge all GPs to take a few moments to review their pension record. Ensuring your data is correct now can help avoid significant issues later and provide the clarity needed to make confident career decisions.
Following the publication of an Independent Review of Data, Statistics and Research on Sex and Gender led by Professor Alice Sullivan and published on GOV.UK, a significant safeguarding concern has been identified in relation to the current process of changing sex and gender markers in the NHS records of children and young people.
The review highlights that the existing system for reassigning gender and sex identity, particularly the issuing of new NHS numbers, may pose risks to the integrity of health data and safeguarding frameworks. In light of these findings, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has issued a directive that the process for changing NHS numbers and gender markers for individuals under the age of 18 is to be halted with immediate effect.
General practice teams should note the following:
It is still permissible to update the name and title fields in the patient’s medical record to reflect their expressed identity.
Practices can also place a reminder or alert note on the home screen of the patient’s record to support appropriate communication and care.
Applications for a new NHS number on the basis of gender identity for under-18s are no longer required or permitted.
The Department of Health and Social Care is currently considering alternative options for how gender identity can be appropriately and safely recorded in the medical records of children and young people. Further guidance and a national protocol for general practice teams are expected in due course.
Practices are encouraged to continue offering compassionate, respectful care and to support young people and their families during this period of policy transition.
NHS England has now launched the new opt-in process for transgender and non-binary individuals to receive automatic routine screening invitations, addressing a long-standing gap in equitable access to national screening programmes.
This is an important step toward ensuring that trans and non-binary patients are not excluded from potentially life-saving screening services due to gender marker discrepancies in their NHS records. The process enables individuals to opt in to receive invitations for screening based on their biological screening needs, rather than just the gender recorded in their medical record.
What GP Practices and Screening Providers Need to Do:
GP practice managers, along with other screening providers such as sexual health clinics and transgender health services, are expected to:
Identify eligible transgender and non-binary patients
Invite them for a consultation to discuss the opt-in process
Support informed decision-making regarding participation in the appropriate national screening programmes (e.g., cervical, breast, or abdominal aortic aneurysm screening)
This change will help to reduce health inequalities and ensure that no one misses out on essential preventative care due to administrative or systemic barriers.
A comprehensive implementation guide has been published to support practices and services in rolling out this process effectively. Additionally, a recording of the recent NHS England webinar—which provides detailed information on the opt-in pathway and practical advice for implementation—is now available.
🔗 Both the guide and the webinar recording are accessible via the FutureNHS Collaboration Platform (login required).
For support or further information, please speak with your local screening lead or contact NHS England directly through the FutureNHS platform.
The Cameron Fund provides help and support solely to GPs, including those who are retired, and their dependants. It aims to meet needs that vary considerably, from the elderly in nursing homes to young, chronically sick doctors and their families, and those suffering from unexpected and unpredictable problems such as relationship breakdown or financial difficulties following the actions of professional regulatory bodies. Careful consideration is given to the help most needed, which could be advice, a grant or a loan.
The Fund’s Spring 2025 newsletter and Annual Review — The Cameron Fund can be found by following the link.
If you know of colleagues who may need help from the Cameron Fund please encourage them to contact the Fund. More information on how to contact the Cameron Fund, the support they can offer and how to donate can be found by following this link The Cameron Fund .
Doncaster Local Medical Committee has developed a new patient-facing poster to help reduce stress and workload for GP practices regarding requests to expedite hospital appointments.
Many patients ask their GP for letters to speed up their hospital appointments, but GPs do not have the authority to influence hospital waiting times. Hospitals manage their own appointment schedules based on clinical urgency.
The poster is designed to:
✅ Educate patients on why GPs cannot alter hospital waiting lists.
✅ Encourage patients to only request letters if their symptoms have changed significantly.
✅ Reinforce the importance of keeping hospitals informed of worsening symptoms to ensure appropriate treatment.
✅ Reduce unnecessary administrative burden on GP practices, allowing them to focus on patient care.
We encourage all practices to display this poster in waiting areas, on websites, and on social media to help manage patient expectations. By doing so, we can ensure that GP time is used efficiently and that hospitals are prioritising care appropriately.
NHS England has cascaded new guidance that advises general practitioners against shared care agreements with unregulated providers in relation to hormone treatment medication to children and young people under 18 as a response to gender incongruence / gender dysphoria
The guidance outlines that:
The cascaded letter states an unregulated provider is one that is not registered with, or regulated by, a UK health regulator such as the Care Quality Commission or Health Inspectorate Wales.
In all cases, safeguarding measures should be considered where the administration of a medicine from an unregulated source presents an immediate safety risk.
Doncaster LMC is been a member of the LMC Buying Groups Federation.
Buying Group membership entitles practices to discounts on products and services provided by the Buying Group’s suppliers.
Membership is free and there is no obligation on practices to use all the suppliers. However, practices can save thousands of pounds a year just by switching to Buying Group suppliers. To view the pricing and discounts on offer you need to register for access to the Buying Group’s online portal: https://buying.plexusportal.co.uk/Register.
What is the purpose of the Buying Group and how does it work?
The sole purpose of the Buying Group is to save its member practices money by negotiating discounts on goods and services which practices regularly purchase. The Buying Group team negotiate with suppliers, after which they identify ‘approved’ suppliers, who guarantee to give you significant discounts over what you would otherwise pay for their services, in return for the Buying Group’s endorsement and help in making you aware of what they offer.
Does it cost us anything to be part of the group?
No, membership is free and members are free to use as many discounts as they wish.
Is there any obligation to take up the deals offered?
No. Each practice is free to take up or decline any of the deals the Buying Group have negotiated. If you wish to take advantage of any of the offers in question, you will be given contact details, and all communications take place between you and the individual supplier*.
*The Buying Group accepts no liability for any contract willingly entered into by a practice with an approved supplier. Practices are advised to check that the terms of any contract with suppliers are consistent with those the Buying Group have negotiated and are advised to inform the Buying Group team of any discrepancy. The Buying Group do not, however, accept any responsibility for any member practices’ failure to check the terms of the relevant contract and the principle of caveat emptor (buyer beware) applies in all cases. Your rights as a consumer under the Consumer Protection Act are unaffected. With respect to any services to which the provisions of the Financial Services Act 2000 might apply practices are advised to seek independent financial advice as may be appropriate.
What happens to my details?
When a practice signs up for Buying Group membership, they will keep your basic contact details (practice address) on a secure system. On the membership application form, they also ask you how they can use your personal data (i.e. your email address) but even if you do sign up to receive their emails you can stop them at any time by clicking the unsubscribe button.
What if I am not happy with the quality of goods and services supplied?
Always let the Buying Group know if you encounter any problems getting what you want, and they will endeavour to sort it out.
Contact the Buying Group
The Buying Group is managed by Plexus Support Services Ltd:
Tel: 0115 979 6910
Email: info@plexussupport.co.uk
Website: https://www.plexussupport.co.uk
