Contents
In this month's newsletter:
- Places announced for National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme
- Reminder: GP contract changes 2025/26: key requirements from 1 October 2025
- New South Yorkshire Children and Young People’s Asthma Guideline 2025
- NHS England CEO sets priorities for remainder of 2025/26
- Resources for the autumn 2025 COVID-19 programme
- New Operational Improvement Training Programme for Primary Care
- South Yorkshire Diabetes & Eating Disorder Programme Survey
- Your Best Practice - Primary Care and Community Services - Summer 2025 edition
- New T2DAY Searches Now Live to Support Care for Younger Adults with Type 2 Diabetes
- Modules 2 to 5: Menopause in People with a Learning Disability and Autistic People
- Pelvic Health Update
- Autism Health Passport - Awareness Training
- NHS England expands OpenSAFELY platform
- Aurora Wellbeing seeks new Chair of Trustees
- EUROPAC referrals - updated referral form
- Cluster of Legionnaires’ Disease cases associated with the Jasmin Beach Hotel, Gümbet, Bodrum, Turkey
News
Places announced for National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme
The 43 Places joining wave one of the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme (NNHIP) have been announced by the Secretary of State, with Doncaster and Rotherham the selected sites for South Yorkshire.
Each of the sites will be allocated a national coach who will work with them to accelerate neighbourhood health for their local population and spread learning, with an initial focus on improving outcomes for adults with long term conditions and rising risk.
Reminder: GP contract changes 2025/26: key requirements from 1 October 2025
Following the letter of 28 February 2025 about agreed changes to the GP Contract in 2025/26, in August NHS England sent a reminder to GP practices of three key requirements taking effect from 1 October 2025. These are:
- online consultation tools must be switched on for the duration of core hours
- You and Your General Practice must be on practice websites
- GP Connect Access Record (HTML and Structured) and Update Record must be enabled within GP Practice clinical systems.
From 1 October 2025, all practices will be required to have their online consultation system available during core hours for non-urgent appointment requests, medication queries and admin requests. This is to support equitable access across the three contact routes – phone, online and walk-in.
Practical tips, advice and insight from localities that have already successfully implemented this approach can be found in a series of webinars run jointly by NHS Confederation (login required) and NHS England. There are three sessions, which feature GPs and their teams from across England, including Doncaster, Devon and Hereford. They share detailed information including how they manage patient requests throughout the day and how they use data to allocate resources and develop services for the benefit of patients and the practice.
NHS England and the ICB are keen to support practices with online consultation. Please access national materials or contact us for more local support.
New South Yorkshire Children and Young People’s Asthma Guideline 2025
South Yorkshire Children and Young People’s Alliance are pleased to launch the new South Yorkshire CYP Asthma Guideline 2025. The guideline can be found on the new South Yorkshire Medicines Optimisation Webpage here: South Yorkshire Guideline South Yorkshire CYP asthma guideline 2025 V1.1.pdf.b We recommend you bookmark this link for ease of access.
This guideline details local recommendations for the management of asthma in children and young people aged 0-17, and is the first time we have had a joint South Yorkshire-wide guideline for the management of asthma. This guideline supersedes the existing CYP sections of local place-based guidance, which are still available to access for adult guidance. An update to adult guidance will follow.
Please sign up for one of the following webinars using the links below:
Tue 7th Oct 2025 Evening Webinar 7-8pm
Wed 8th Oct Lunchtime Webinar 12-1pm
Tue 14th Oct Lunchtime Webinar 12-1pm
Wed 22nd Oct Breakfast Webinar 8-9am
NHS England CEO sets priorities for remainder of 2025/26
In a letter to ICB and NHS trust leaders, Sir James Mackey thanked colleagues for their efforts in stabilising NHS finances and improving performance despite significant pressures. Looking ahead, he set out key priorities including maintaining financial discipline, reducing long waits in electives, strengthening urgent and emergency care performance ahead of winter, and ensuring equitable primary care access. The letter also emphasises leadership visibility, support for staff, and preparation for longer-term reforms under the 10 Year Health Plan.
Read the letter here.
Resources for the autumn 2025 COVID-19 programme
The COVID-19 vaccination e-learning for the autumn 2025 seasonal programme is now live and can be accessed on the e-learning for healthcare website.
The Patient Group Direction (PGD) and National Protocol to support the programme have also been published. Vaccinating teams should read, understand and be locally authorised to use the document(s) prior to commencing vaccinations. Please share with relevant stakeholders in your network.
New Operational Improvement Training Programme for Primary Care
A new Operational Improvement Training Programme is now open to Band 6–8a (or equivalent) clinical and operational staff. The NHS IMPACT course, free to organisations, is CPD-accredited by the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management (FMLM) and equips staff with practical tools in operational management, team leadership, and service improvement. See the attached booklet for more information.
South Yorkshire Diabetes & Eating Disorder Programme Survey
We’re seeking input from health and care professionals to support the development of the South Yorkshire Diabetes and Eating Disorder Programme.
A short survey (5–10 minutes) is now open to gather views on:
- The prevalence of disordered eating among patients with diabetes
- Training needs across services
- Ideas for how a joint MDT could work in practice
Take the survey here: https://forms.office.com/e/Ph5KDpTTUk
Deadline: 29/09/2025
Your feedback will directly inform service design and staff training plans across the region.
For questions, contact jithin.sebastian3@nhs.net
Please feel free to forward this survey link to your colleagues.
Your Best Practice - Primary Care and Community Services - Summer 2025 edition
The summer 2025 edition of the 'Your Best Practice' newsletter is available to read now, showcasing and celebrating some of the innovative and amazing work which continues to take place in primary care and community services, throughout the North East and Yorkshire region.
New T2DAY Searches Now Live to Support Care for Younger Adults with Type 2 Diabetes
T2DAY practice searches are now available locally to support monitoring and improving care for patients aged 18–39 with type 2 diabetes.
The searches will help you to:
- Identify patients who have (or haven’t) received key care processes
- See which treatment targets have been met/not met
- Highlight newly diagnosed and people pregnant with diabetes
The searches are available on System One and EMIS. A guide is available here.
Modules 2 to 5: Menopause in People with a Learning Disability and Autistic People
Over the next year, South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (SY ICB) will be raising the profile of menopause and its impact on people with a learning disability and autistic people. Through a dedicated series of training webinars, we aim to equip health and social care colleagues with the knowledge and tools to better understand and support individuals experiencing the menopause.
These webinars will highlight the unique challenges faced by people with a learning disability and autistic people, promote person-centred approaches, and help ensure that menopause is recognised and managed with sensitivity and appropriate care across our services.
|
Thursday 23 October 2025, 12.00 noon to 1.00pm Follow the link to book a place https://stlukes.accessplanit.com/accessplan/checkout/AddItems?coursedateid=13308 |
|
Tuesday 30 September 2025, 12.00 noon to 1.00pm To book a place, please follow the link: https://stlukes.accessplanit.com/accessplan/checkout/AddItems?coursedateid=13305 |
|
Thursday 6 November 2025, 12.00 noon to 1.00pm To book a place, please follow the link: https://stlukes.accessplanit.com/accessplan/checkout/AddItems?coursedateid=13307 |
If you experience any difficulties booking a place, please contact teresa.candido@nhs.net
If you would like further information on our Menopause Programme, please contact anita.winter@nhs.net
Pelvic Health Update
Since 2022 the South Yorkshire ICB (Local Maternity & Neonatal System) have been part of a national project to improve perinatal pelvic health services since 2022. There has been some excellent work going on across South Yorkshire to improve access to services for women during and up to 1-year after pregnancy or birth. We’ve produced a short video to update you on the changes to secondary care services and the patient information that’s available, as well as how you can support women to access them.
We also launched the 'getUBetter' pelvic health app across South Yorkshire, and this is helping 2,000+ women improve their pelvic health with information, videos, and links to local services.
Please take the time to watch this short video, and if you would like to know more about the work or request copies of the getUBetter posters or leaflets, please get in touch with the LMNS team at syicb-sheffield.syblmspmo@nhs.net
Watch the video here: https://bit.ly/3C6VtIm
Autism Health Passport - Awareness Training
Join us for a 90-minute awareness session to learn about the Autistic Society’s Health Passport. In this session, we will talk about the importance of the health passport to support autistic people when accessing the hospital. We will discuss useful information to include and where to access support with completion.
|
Tuesday 21 October 2025, 10.00am to 11.30am Please follow the link below to book a place: https://stlukes.accessplanit.com/accessplan/checkout/AddItems?coursedateid=13350 Tuesday 2 December 2025, 9.00am to 10.30am Please follow the link below to book a place: https://stlukes.accessplanit.com/accessplan/checkout/AddItems?coursedateid=13351 If you experience any difficulties booking, please contact teresa.candido@nhs.net |
NHS England expands OpenSAFELY platform
NHS England has written to GP practices requiring them to instruct their clinical system supplier to make data available to the OpenSAFELY platform, under the NHS OpenSAFELY Data Analytics Service Pilot Directions 2025.
To action this instruction GP practices using TPP or Optum should follow the below steps.
- TPP - Go to Setup > Users & Policies > Organisation Preferences > OpenSAFELY (or search "OpenSAFELY" in the search bar).
- Optum/EMIS - Go to Configuration > Data Sharing Module > Data Distribution > Search for OpenSAFELY.
OpenSafely uses pseudonymised GP data. It will not be able to access information that directly or indirectly identifies individuals. Visit the NHS England Digital website or view the FAQs for more information.
Aurora Wellbeing seeks new Chair of Trustees
Aurora Wellbeing Services is recruiting a new Chair of Trustees to help guide its future and ensure lasting impact. Based in Worksop, Doncaster and Mexborough, Aurora supports people affected by cancer and long-term health conditions through counselling, support groups, holistic therapies and more. This is a unique opportunity to provide leadership and strategic oversight for a valued local charity.
View the attached candidate information pack here for more information.
Updates
EUROPAC referrals - updated referral form
EUROPAC has issued an updated form for health professionals in primary care to refer patients to EUROPAC (European Registry of Hereditary Pancreatic diseases). To find out more about EUROPAC, click here.
Cluster of Legionnaires’ Disease cases associated with the Jasmin Beach Hotel, Gümbet, Bodrum, Turkey
In the last month, five confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ disease have been associated with stays at the Jasmin Beach Hotel, Gümbet, Bodrum, Turkey. Two of the individuals who became cases are residents of Scotland, and three are from England. The five cases stayed at the same hotel between the 22 May and 17 August 2025 and had symptom onset between 5 May 2025 and 19 August 2025. This potentially indicates a rapidly evolving cluster (defined as three cases within a month of each other’s date of symptom onset). Read the full briefing note from UKHSA here.
