As part of national NHS England contractual requirements, all general practices are expected to include a link to the official patient guide titled “You and Your General Practice” on their practice website.
This guide provides clear, accessible information for patients about:
It covers key topics such as appointment systems, clinical roles, digital access, and the importance of mutual respect and understanding in the delivery of safe, effective healthcare.
By signposting this guide, practices help ensure transparency, consistency, and shared understanding between patients and primary care teams.
🔗 Required Link for Practice Websites:
You and Your General Practice – NHS England
This link must be clearly visible on your practice website to remain compliant with the GP contract. It supports national efforts to improve patient experience, reduce misunderstandings, and promote appropriate use of NHS services.
If your practice website does not yet include this link, we recommend updating it as soon as possible.
General practice is currently navigating a deeply contradictory landscape. On one hand, patient demand for appointments continues to soar. On the other, many GPs – both newly qualified and experienced – are facing underemployment, sessional instability, or even unemployment, as practices grapple with constrained funding, workforce gaps, and unsustainable workloads.
To support GPs through this unprecedented workforce crisis, the British Medical Association (BMA) has launched the GP Support Hub – a dedicated online resource designed to provide practical, emotional, and professional support to GPs at every stage of their career.
Support for GPs: Tackling Unemployment and Underemployment Together
The GP Support Hub is a centralised space offering:
Whether you are struggling to secure sessions, considering a career pivot, or simply feeling the strain of an overstretched system, the Hub is designed to meet you where you are – with empathy, clarity, and practical tools.
“Whether you’re overstretched or struggling to find work, we’re here for you.” – BMA
This is not just a workforce issue – it is a system failure. GPC England has formally raised the crisis with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and has written to Stephen Kinnock MP, Minister of State at the Department of Health and Social Care, urging urgent dialogue and action to address the growing mismatch between GP capacity and patient need.
The LMC fully supports these efforts and continues to advocate for:
If you are a GP in Doncaster or the surrounding area and are experiencing employment challenges, please reach out to the LMC for local support, signposting, or peer connection. We are here to listen, advocate, and act.
For direct access to the BMA GP Support Hub, visit:
🔗 https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/gp-practices/gps-as-employees/gp-support-hub
The Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber (RDaSH) Children and Young People’s Community Eating Disorder Service (CEDS) is a dedicated, multidisciplinary team providing specialist care for children and adolescents experiencing eating disorders across Doncaster, Rotherham, and North Lincolnshire.
Grounded in the principles of the NHS Long Term Plan and NICE guidance, CEDS delivers timely, evidence-based interventions designed to reduce inpatient admissions and support recovery in the least restrictive setting possible. Our approach prioritises early intervention, whole-system collaboration, and co-produced care planning to ensure that every young person receives personalised, compassionate, and clinically robust support.
CEDS provides a comprehensive suite of services tailored to the needs of children and young people aged up to 18, including:
Our team includes professionals from psychology, paediatrics, dietetics, specialist nursing, family therapy, and support work—working together to create seamless care pathways that wrap around the young person and their family.
CEDS is committed to removing barriers to care. We accept:
There is no minimum weight or BMI threshold, and no lengthy referral form – ensuring swift access to support. Referrals can be made via:
📧 Email: Rdash.ceds@nhs.net
📞 Telephone: 03000 212349
All referrals are reviewed promptly for risk, with triage initiated within 24 hours.
In alignment with the Medical Emergencies in Eating Disorders (MEED) guidance, every referral undergoes a structured risk assessment within one working day. Following triage, cases are categorised as:
This ensures that care is proportionate, timely, and responsive to clinical need.
To support early identification and reduce inappropriate referrals, CEDS offers weekly consultation sessions for professionals every Thursday morning. These sessions provide:
This proactive offer helps ensure that children and young people are directed to the most suitable intervention without delay.
CEDS is more than a clinical service – it’s a collaborative commitment to recovery, resilience, and relational care. By working across sectors and centring the voices of young people and families, we aim to:
For more information or to make a referral, please contact us at Rdash.ceds@nhs.net or call 03000 212349.
The General Practitioners Committee England (GPCE) has met with NHS England to address growing concerns around the administration and oversight of the Medical Performers List (MPL) – particularly regarding the processes surrounding practitioner removal.
Following this engagement, NHS England has issued updated guidance to all Heads of Professional Standards, reinforcing the need for careful, case-specific consideration before any proposed removal from the MPL. This includes:
This clarification is intended to safeguard GPs from inappropriate or premature removal, especially in cases where clinical activity may fall outside traditional models or where contractual complexity exists.
NHS England has also confirmed that:
It is NHS England’s responsibility to remove a practitioner from the Medical Performers List. GPs cannot remove themselves, nor initiate this process independently.
This distinction is critical for maintaining procedural integrity and ensuring that any removal is subject to appropriate scrutiny, governance, and appeal mechanisms.
If you are a GP in Doncaster or the surrounding area and have concerns about your status on the Medical Performers List, or are unsure how these changes may affect your role, please contact the LMC office for confidential advice and support.
We remain committed to protecting professional autonomy, ensuring fair process, and advocating for clarity in all regulatory matters affecting our members.
General practice plays a vital role in ensuring equitable access to healthcare for all patients – including those who rely on assistance dogs for daily independence and wellbeing.
Assistance Dogs UK (ADUK) is a coalition of accredited charities that train and support assistance dogs for disabled people across the UK. These highly skilled animals enable access, mobility, and confidence in public spaces – including healthcare settings.
However, ADUK has received concerning reports from handlers who have been refused care or asked to leave GP surgeries due to the presence of their assistance dog. Such incidents not only breach legal protections but risk undermining the trust and dignity of disabled patients.
Under the Equality Act 2010, assistance dog handlers have the legal right to access healthcare services without discrimination. This includes:
GP practices must ensure that all staff – including reception, clinical, and management teams – are aware of these rights and equipped to respond appropriately.
To support practices in meeting their legal and ethical obligations, ADUK has published a concise, practical guide for GP surgery teams. The guide includes:
🔗 Download the ADUK Quick Guide for GP Surgeries
ADUK Quick Guide (PDF)
Doncaster LMC strongly encourages all practices to review this guidance and ensure that their policies, staff training, and patient-facing materials reflect a commitment to accessibility and inclusion.
If your practice has questions about implementation, or if you would like support in updating your policies or training materials, please contact the LMC office.
NHS South Yorkshire ICB has issued updated eligibility criteria for new referrals to Adult Tier 3 Specialist Weight Management Services, effective from 24th October 2025 for a 12-month period. These changes aim to ensure equitable access across South Yorkshire and Right to Choose services, in response to rising demand following NICE approval of new weight loss medications. Key updates include the removal of the previous requirement in Doncaster for patients to express interest in bariatric surgery, and the introduction of a prerequisite that patients must have engaged in a recognised weight loss programme within the past 24 months. Practices are advised to familiarise themselves with the revised criteria, as referrals not meeting these standards will be declined. The full letter from NHS South Yorkshire ICB, including detailed guidance and referral criteria, is available for download on our website.
We are pleased to announce the addition of a dedicated ECHO session focused on “Writing a ReSPECT Plan”, designed to support healthcare professionals who are involved in creating or completing ReSPECT (Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment) plans.
This interactive session, scheduled for November 2025, will provide practical guidance, explore best practices, and help clinicians develop confidence and clarity when initiating and documenting ReSPECT discussions with patients and their families.
This opportunity is open to all healthcare professionals who are responsible for completing ReSPECT plans, including GPs, nurses, paramedics, and allied health professionals.
Please share this invitation with colleagues and any members of your team who may find this session valuable.
We are pleased to announce the addition of a dedicated ECHO session focused on “Writing a ReSPECT Plan”, designed to support healthcare professionals who are involved in creating or completing ReSPECT (Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment) plans.
This interactive session, scheduled for November 2025, will provide practical guidance, explore best practices, and help clinicians develop confidence and clarity when initiating and documenting ReSPECT discussions with patients and their families.
This opportunity is open to all healthcare professionals who are responsible for completing ReSPECT plans, including GPs, nurses, paramedics, and allied health professionals.
Please share this invitation with colleagues and any members of your team who may find this session valuable.
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
