The LMC has raised concerns with the ICB regarding the proposed Tirzepatide Local Enhanced Service (LES), particularly around the workload required and the lack of corresponding funding . We also highlighted the need for flexibility in the recommended monitoring schedule, given the variation in patient complexity and clinical judgement required.
We have now received a formal response from the Regional Medical Director, Dr David Crichton. Key points include:
While the ICB has confirmed flexibility in how the monitoring schedule can be delivered, the funding remains unchanged despite the workload concerns we raised.
Practices will therefore need to carefully consider whether signing up to the LES is viable, balancing the clinical flexibility now confirmed against the absence of additional financial support.
From January 2026, RDASH Adult Autism and ADHD Services are changing their referral processes. The good news is that anyone can now make a referral on the patient’s behalf, with their consent. This could be you (as a GP or a member of your practice), a family member, the person’s support worker, etc. Even better news, the person themselves can self-refer too. These steps have been taken to try to reduce the barriers our community can face when trying to request an Adult Autism or ADHD assessment. There will be a new referral form as part of this change, copies of which are attached for your information. Referrals can be submitted via email to rdash.adhdandautismreferrals@nhs.net or posted to the central address: RDASH Adult Neurodiversity Service, The Neurodiversity Centre, Askern Road, Doncaster, DN5 0JR.
From February 2026 patients wishing to self-refer into either of these services can do so through the RDaSH website – https://www.rdash.nhs.uk/your-services/
I hope this is helpful but if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the team at rdash.adhdandautismreferrals@nhs.net or GP Liaison at rdash.pcliaison@nhs.net
Session 1 – Awareness of ReSPECT
Thursday 15th January 2026 at 1pm—2pm via Teams
This session is open to everyone in Health and Social Care across South Yorkshire and Wider!
ReSPECT includes everyone working in any area not just End of Life Care.
Learning Objectives
Please email – CommunitiesLearningTogether@swyt.nhs.uk to secure your place.
Session 2 – Having Conversations
Thursday 29th January 2026 at 1pm—2pm via Teams
This session is open to everyone in Health and Social Care across South Yorkshire and
Wider!
ReSPECT includes everyone working in any area not just End of Life Care.
Learning Objectives
Please email – CommunitiesLearningTogether@swyt.nhs.uk to secure your place.
Session 3 – Completing ReSPECT Form
Thursday 12th February 2026 at 1pm—2pm via Teams
This session is open to qualified professionals who complete the ReSPECT form.
ReSPECT includes everyone working in any area not just End of Life Care.
Learning Objectives
Please email – CommunitiesLearningTogether@swyt.nhs.uk to secure your place.
Following recent discussions at the Primary Care Provider Alliance and the Primary Care Steering Group, South Yorkshire ICB has developed a suite of resources to support safe, consistent, and well‑governed Non‑Medical Prescribing (NMP) across primary care.
The materials now available include:
The ICB has been clear that this package is designed to support, not replace, any local guidance or governance arrangements you already have in place. It provides a consolidated, locally ratified interpretation of national standards and best practice, intended to help practices – particularly smaller ones – who may not have the capacity to develop this level of documentation independently.
The guidance draws together national policy, regulatory expectations, and professional standards into a single, practical set of tools. It has been reviewed and approved by the South Yorkshire ICB Chief Medical Officer, Chief Pharmacy Officer, and Chief Nursing Officer, with input from local stakeholders across the system.
Using these documents will help practices to:
For many practices – especially those with limited administrative capacity – this provides a ready‑made, locally endorsed framework that can be adopted or adapted to fit your existing systems.
Session 1 – Awareness of ReSPECT
Thursday 15th January 2026 at 1pm—2pm via Teams
This session is open to everyone in Health and Social Care across South Yorkshire and Wider!
ReSPECT includes everyone working in any area not just End of Life Care.
Learning Objectives
Please email – CommunitiesLearningTogether@swyt.nhs.uk to secure your place.
Session 2 – Having Conversations
Thursday 29th January 2026 at 1pm—2pm via Teams
This session is open to everyone in Health and Social Care across South Yorkshire and
Wider!
ReSPECT includes everyone working in any area not just End of Life Care.
Learning Objectives
Please email – CommunitiesLearningTogether@swyt.nhs.uk to secure your place.
Session 3 – Completing ReSPECT Form
Thursday 12th February 2026 at 1pm—2pm via Teams
This session is open to qualified professionals who complete the ReSPECT form.
ReSPECT includes everyone working in any area not just End of Life Care.
Learning Objectives
Please email – CommunitiesLearningTogether@swyt.nhs.uk to secure your place.
Following recent discussions at the Primary Care Provider Alliance and the Primary Care Steering Group, South Yorkshire ICB has developed a suite of resources to support safe, consistent, and well‑governed Non‑Medical Prescribing (NMP) across primary care.
The materials now available include:
The ICB has been clear that this package is designed to support, not replace, any local guidance or governance arrangements you already have in place. It provides a consolidated, locally ratified interpretation of national standards and best practice, intended to help practices – particularly smaller ones – who may not have the capacity to develop this level of documentation independently.
The guidance draws together national policy, regulatory expectations, and professional standards into a single, practical set of tools. It has been reviewed and approved by the South Yorkshire ICB Chief Medical Officer, Chief Pharmacy Officer, and Chief Nursing Officer, with input from local stakeholders across the system.
Using these documents will help practices to:
For many practices – especially those with limited administrative capacity – this provides a ready‑made, locally endorsed framework that can be adopted or adapted to fit your existing systems.
Since our last communication, the planned transition to the redesigned Front Door Assessment and Signposting Service at Doncaster Royal Infirmary (DRI) has been temporarily paused. This decision follows interim concerns raised during a recent CQC inspection, and the pause has been agreed by partners to ensure that any issues identified are fully understood and addressed before further rollout.
The redesign remains an important component of the wider Doncaster Urgent and Emergency Care Redesign Programme, delivered jointly by FCMS, Doncaster & Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals (DBTH), and the Integrated Care Board (ICB). However, in light of the CQC’s interim findings, system partners have taken a precautionary approach to ensure that:
This pause is a system-led decision and reflects a shared commitment to safe, high‑quality urgent and emergency care.
The ICB, DBTH, and FCMS are working together to review the CQC feedback and agree the adjustments required before the redesign can safely resume. A revised timeline will be shared once the system is assured that the model meets all regulatory, operational, and clinical requirements.
We will continue to keep practices updated as further information becomes available.
The government has announced a new package of measures designed to improve health equity and life chances for young people leaving the care system. Under the proposals, care leavers will now be entitled to free NHS prescriptions, dental care, and eyecare up to their 25th birthday. The initiative also includes enhanced employment pathways within the NHS, aiming to widen access to stable, meaningful work for this group.
Alongside these entitlements, new safeguards are being introduced to strengthen the support available to children currently in care. General practice teams will receive clearer, more consistent information about which patients are in care, helping to ensure continuity, proactive care planning, and better safeguarding oversight.
The government has acknowledged that young people leaving care often face significant disadvantage. Many experience a sudden drop‑off in support at 18, leaving them vulnerable to social isolation, disrupted family relationships, financial insecurity, and barriers to education and employment. These reforms are intended to reduce those inequalities and remove some of the structural obstacles that care‑experienced young adults encounter.
For practices, the key implications will include:
Further operational detail is expected in due course, and we will update practices as implementation guidance becomes available.
DR Solicitors have highlighted an important issue for GP surgery owners in one of their most‑read recent articles. The piece focuses on how poorly drafted or outdated Partnership Agreements can inadvertently trigger significant and avoidable tax liabilities for practices.
The article sets out common pitfalls – particularly around property ownership, profit‑sharing arrangements, and partner retirements – and explains how certain clauses, if not carefully worded, can lead to unexpected tax charges for individual partners or the partnership as a whole. Given the financial pressures already facing practices, this is an area where proactive review can prevent considerable difficulty later.
We encourage practices, especially those with older agreements or recent partnership changes, to familiarise themselves with the guidance and consider whether their current documentation remains fit for purpose.
You can read the full article here:
Poorly Drafted Partnership Agreements: Avoiding Tax Charges
The South Yorkshire ICS 7‑Day Prescribing Position Statement has now been formally approved by the Integrated Medicines Optimisation Committee (IMOC) and is available on the Medicines Optimisation website.
This statement sets out the system-wide approach to safe, consistent prescribing across weekends and bank holidays, including expectations for continuity of medicines supply, responsibilities across providers, and the principles underpinning 7‑day service models. It aims to support practices, community services, and urgent care providers in reducing unwarranted variation and ensuring patients receive timely access to essential medication regardless of the day of the week.
The position statement also clarifies:
Practices are encouraged to review the document and consider any local adjustments needed to align with the agreed system approach.
South Yorkshire ICB has published its Tirzepatide Weight Management Guidance, along with a Primary Care Quick Reference Guide, now available on the Medicines Optimisation website. These documents provide a consolidated, system‑wide approach to the safe, appropriate, and equitable use of tirzepatide for weight management across South Yorkshire.
The guidance outlines:
The accompanying Primary Care Quick Reference Guide distils the key points into a practical, easy‑to‑use format to support day‑to‑day decision‑making in general practice.
A patient information leaflet for tirzepatide weight management is currently in development and will be published in due course. We will update practices once it becomes available.
Registration is now open for GP practices and community pharmacy contractors wishing to deliver the 2026/27 Covid‑19 vaccination service. Providers who intend to participate in next year’s programme must complete the registration process to ensure vaccine supply is available in time for the spring campaign.
How to register:
GP practices should register via CQRS and complete the associated data collection form.
Key deadline:
Providers must complete registration by 2 February 2026 to guarantee access to Covid‑19 vaccine stock for the start of the spring vaccination period.
Providers who sign up to deliver the Covid‑19 vaccination service will also be required to deliver the 2026/27 adult flu vaccination service. This alignment is intended to support operational efficiency, workforce planning, and consistent delivery across both programmes.
Full details of service expectations, delivery models, and payment arrangements can be found in The GP Enhanced Service Specification
Practices and contractors are encouraged to review the specifications early to ensure they understand the operational requirements and can plan workforce and clinic capacity accordingly.
The national childhood immunisation schedule has been updated to include the MMRV vaccine, which now replaces the standalone MMR vaccine at key points in the programme. This change is part of a wider effort to strengthen protection against measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella, and to simplify delivery for both families and providers.
The catch‑up offer is designed to ensure that children who fall between the old and new schedules receive full protection. Practices will be asked to identify eligible children and invite them for vaccination during the campaign period.
A communications toolkit is available to help practices implement the change smoothly. This includes patient‑facing materials, template messages, and guidance to support conversations with parents and carers.
The update aims to improve uptake, streamline delivery, and strengthen population immunity at a time when measles activity is increasing nationally.
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
