#GPnews: NHS England attempts to clear up referral review panel confusion

15:00 Another private online provider of prescribing services has been criticised by the CQC.

As Digital Health reports, Anytime Doctor has been found not to provide safe, effective or well-led care.

It said a key concern was ‘insufficient monitoring of prescribing to prevent patients accessing inappropriate or unsafe treatment’.

14:30 NHS England has welcomed a clarification from the Daily Mail on Wednesday’s front page story about GP referrals being reviewed before going through.

In the story, revealed by Pulse on Tuesday, the Mail was not clear that the final responsibility for patient referrals lies with the patient’s GP.

Daily Mail clarifies Wednesday’s misleading front page story on GP hospital referrals… pic.twitter.com/PEIsH8rAYj

— NHS England Media (@NHSEnglandMedia) September 1, 2017

But in response to NHS England’s tweet, Bassetlaw GP and former NHS Clinical Commissioners co-chair Dr Steve Kell asked NHS England to clarify whether this meant GPs could send the patient through despite an impending review.

So can we refer BEFORE the referral is reviewed? The guidance says prospective review?

— Steve Kell (@SteveKellGP) September 1, 2017

NHS England tweeted back saying they would go away and check.

10:45 This morning we’re having a bit of a GP indemnity special.

With costs rising – and expected to rise a lot more – the time as come for the Department of Health to treat GPs the same as hospital doctors, and cover their indemnity in full.

So argues Dr Preeti Shukla, the BMA’s sessional GP committee lead, in this letter to health secretary Jeremy Hunt.

And the time is nigh, as this month’s Pulse cover feature lays out in black and white. You can read all about that here.

Meanwhile, this morning we can reveal that in lieu of a long term solution, the Government is again resorting to a scheme to cover indemnity for additional out-of-hours shifts this winter. Read the full story here.