Below is a summary of COVID-19 vaccination programme updates provided by the BMA this week.

Temporary suspension of 15 minute wait                                

A temporary suspension of the 15 minute wait for the mRNA vaccine has now been announced to allow for an increased amount of vaccinations to be carried out following successful lobbying by the BMA

CQC inspections                                                                                      

To support acceleration of the booster programme, the CQC are postponing all on-site inspection activity for the next three weeks with immediate effect - except in cases where there is evidence of risk to life, or the immediate risk of serious harm to people.

The Department of Work and Pensions are making legislative changes meaning that from Friday 17 December 2021 self-certification for sickness will be extended from 7 to 28 days for people accessing Statutory Sick Pay, and there will be no requirement for a fit note to access other benefits. 

After extensive work, the BMA have published guidance on the firearms licensing process, setting out the BMA position on firearms licensing and providing information to GPs on what to do when someone applies for a firearms licence, including responding to the police and conscientious objection. 

Inappropriate workload shift to General practice by other Providers is not new, it is a long-standing issue which has grown over decades to become ingrained into everyday practice. 

The practices we serve across Salford and Trafford have reported a significant increase of workload shift over the last 12 months exacerbated by the Covid pandemic, due to services being paused, with variable rates of services’ reinstatement between Providers, as well as through the introduction of new systems by Providers to ‘build back better’, resulting in a further shift of work inappropriately to General Practice, perhaps unwittingly.