GP practices have been asked by NHS England to ‘restore routine services’ following an ‘incredible’ Covid booster drive.
A letter from NHS England said that it was ‘now important that all services across the NHS, including in primary care, are able to restore routine services’ that had been ‘paused in line with the Prime Minister’s request to focus all available resource on the Omicron national mission’.
The letter said: ‘This further guidance follows that issued by NHSEI, BMA and RCGP, in December 2021, and recognises that as we approach the end of January, we anticipate there will be lower demand for boosters given the high uptake levels to date.’
It went on to ask GP practices to focus on three priorities up until 31 March, ‘while continuing to use their professional judgement to clinically prioritise care’:
- ‘continued delivery’ of GP services;
- management of symptomatic Covid-19 patients in the community; and
- ongoing delivery of the Covid-19 vaccination programme.
According to the letter – signed by NHS England medical director for primary care Dr Nikki Kanani, interim director for primary care Dr Ursula Montgomery and outgoing primary care director Ed Waller – GPs have vaccinated 6.8 million people during the booster campaign, or 53% of all boosters administered.
‘This is an historic achievement and the work of general practice is greatly valued, appreciated and noted,’ the letter said.
The BMA and RCGP’s interim guidance for practices during the booster campaign had said GPs needed to decide for themselves what workload to pause to make time for the jabs.
Meanwhile, NHS England’s new letter said: ‘Importantly, we value and support your professional clinical judgement in balancing the above priorities, with the help of your local system.
‘In applying those professional clinical judgements, the needs of your most vulnerable patients will continue to be paramount, as will your concerns about the potential impact of unmet or deferred care needs and the impact of this for your patient population.’
A version of this story was originally published on Nursing in Practice’s sister publication Pulse.
