Network Contract DES 2025/26
The Network Contract DES 2025/26 requirements and entitlements were published at the end of March. We've published an overview of the main elements which you can read here: Guidance - Network Contract DES 2025/26. The BMA have also published more extensive guidance which can be read here: GP contract changes England 2025/26, and they will be adding to this in the coming weeks 

Practices are still urged to follow the BMA safe working guidance, which is regularly updated. New planned 2025/26 contractual asks, such as patient access to e-consultations for routine care as well as requesting fit notes or medication queries, does not mean GP practices must offer unlimited capacity that jeopardises patient or staff safety. The safe working guidance includes template letters which help practices manage workload and limit capacity to deliver safe, high-quality care.

Missing Years of Pensions Data
The BMA’s recent Freedom of Information request revealed that 56% of GPs in England have missing pensions records up to 2022/23, with 156,896 years of pension data missing in total. This matters because without your pension record being up to date you cannot determine potential tax charges and whether you can increase work without penalty, nor make informed decisions about your pension savings. 

The BMA continue to press Capita, NHS BSA and NHSE to work together to resolve the problem, but you can also take action to make sure your record is up to date by following the BMA step-by-step guidance.

There's still time to book for the Hot Topics GP Update course, provided by the LMC at a subsidised rate. The course, presented by NB Medical, will provide you with an overall update of all the latest developments in the literature to serve as a platform for CPD and help to deliver better patient care. The course is open to GPs, GP Trainees, ANPs and AHPs working in the Humberside region. 

Course fee includes:

• Fully referenced course book 

• 12 months access to the online electronic version of the book 

• CPD tracker 

• NB Medical Web App giving you access to the content from your course day 

Course fee: £55.00. Includes lunch and refreshments. Download the course brochure for full details. Please register online using booking code HUMB-0706 via the following link: www.nbmedical.com/bespoke/access

Yorkshire Health Partners invite you to this session which will provide valuable insights into the latest advancements in metabolic health, with a special focus on lipid disorders and their impact on overall well-being. The expert speaker, Dr Deepa Narayana, will be sharing key information on understanding metabolic disorders, current treatment options, and the latest research in the field of lipid management. Book your place on Eventbrite. 

Other Events
Our website has listings for a number of other events for general practice, run by external providers. 

HNY Area Prescribing Committee
The Humber and North Yorkshire Area Prescribing Committee (APC) was launched in November 2024. It is an Integrated Care System-wide committee made up of clinicians and pharmacists. The APC holds open consultations on decisions which affect patient care. This may include updated formulary chapters, new or updated clinical guidelines or commissioning statements, or changes to formulary status. View and respond online to current APC consultations. APC summaries of decisions can be viewed here. 

A free LMC webinar presented by Wilkin Chapman Rollits Solicitors for Clinical Directors, PCN Managers and Practice Managers in the Humber region. The increase in roles under the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) has brought new opportunities, but also legal complexity, for GP practices and Primary Care Networks. This session will provide clear, practical guidance on key employment issues, including how to determine employment status, the risks of misclassification, and when TUPE applies during service changes. Book your free place. 

Private Provider Interface Guidance Updated 
The LMC guidance on the interface between primary care and private providers has been updated. This issue continues to be a source of unresourced work for practices and we often receive queries on the issue. While locally some progress has been made with provider colleagues, an increasing number of practices are reporting a rise in the number of requests from private providers both locally and out of area. We have also created a template letter for practices to use in communications with private providers. Read LMC Guidance – Private Provider Interface.

GPC Update
The GPC publish regular updates for LMCs, covering contractual issues, policy, news updates and more. Read the latest updates, published fortnightly by the GPC. 

GP Pressures
The latest GP workforce data shows that the NHS had the equivalent of 28,248 fully qualified full-time GPs in February 2025. While fully qualified GP FTE has been slightly rising since July 2023, there are still the equivalent of 1,116 fewer fully qualified full-time GPs than in September 2015. At the same time, there has been a rise in the number of patients, with February 2025 seeing yet another record-breaking number, where GPs are now responsible for about 17% more patients than in 2015, creating significant workload pressures.  

 

Despite these pressures, approximately 29 million standard appointments were booked in February 2025, with an average of 1.41 million appointments per working day. Of these, 44% of appointments were booked to take place on the same day, and 83% of were booked to take place within 2 weeks. 64% of appointments in in February were booked to take place face to face.  

Read more BMA analysis about GP pressures: Pressures in general practice data analysis. 

GPMplus Courses
GPMplus provide a varied range of courses for the whole practice team. Download their current course brochure or visit the GPMplus website for full details including topics, dates and pricing. 

INTERACT 2 – Measuring Loneliness and Social Isolation Research
The Research Team at Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust are working in collaboration with Imperial College London and Hull City Council to lead the way in the fight to tackle loneliness and isolation. This issue has been particularly highlighted because of the national lockdowns and remote working since the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The study aims to ‘measure’ loneliness in Hull and surrounding areas, by inviting members of the community to complete a brief anonymised online survey. Anyone who is 16 years or older can choose to take part. The survey is available in multiple languages and should take no longer than ten minutes to complete. A poster about the survey can be downloaded and more background can be found in this letter. Complete the survey.