353: NHS Primary Care Bulletin - 21 August 2025

This article summarises the NHS England Primary Care Bulletin for 21 August 2025, the weekly email update for teams in general practice, dentistry, community pharmacy, and optometry.

This week’s bulletin highlights significant developments in primary care, including new contract frameworks for general practice and key upcoming changes to the GP contract. Additionally, there are important updates regarding seasonal vaccination preparations and the introduction of new technology aimed at improving prescription management.

General practice

New standard GMS, PMS and APMS contracts and contract variations published

NHS England has released new standard General Medical Services (GMS), Personal Medical Services (PMS) and Alternative Provider Medical Services (APMS) contracts along with accompanying contract variation notices. These documents reflect the amendments made to contract regulations in July 2025 and have been distributed to Commissioners for notification to GP practices.

GP contract changes 2025/26: key requirements from 1 October 2025

A reminder has been issued regarding three critical requirements of the GP contract changes set to take effect from 1 October 2025. Practices must ensure that online consultation tools are activated during core hours, that the "You and Your General Practice" information is available on practice websites, and that GP Connect Access Record (HTML and Structured) and Update Record functionalities are enabled within clinical systems. Guidance for implementing the "You and Your General Practice" initiative has been published.

Primary care

Independent Review of Physician Associates and Anaesthesia Associates

FAQs on actions for NHS organisations, along with updated letters regarding the Leng Independent Review of Physician Associates and Anaesthesia Associates, can be accessed here.

Clinical guideline: Discontinuation of Levemir® (insulin detemir) Flexpen® and Penfill®

In light of Novo Nordisk’s announcement regarding the discontinuation of two Levemir® (insulin detemir) products, an updated Medicines Supply Notification (MSN), MSN/2025/036U and related clinical guidance were published on 14 August 2025. Prescribers are advised to initiate insulin switches for current Levemir® patients in line with this guidance. Integrated Care Board (ICB) pharmacy leads are required to complete a planning template by 31 October 2025 to ensure effective management of this switching process, with a target to complete all switches by September 2026. For further queries, contact england.digitaldiabetes@nhs.net.

Seasonal vaccinations site campaign guide Autumn/Winter 2025/26

The seasonal vaccinations site campaign guide is now available on FutureNHS. This guide offers essential information to assist both new and existing sites in preparing for and delivering a successful flu and COVID-19 vaccination programme for the upcoming season.

Timing and payment for flu vaccinations 2025/26 – reminder

The authorised start date for the 2025/26 flu vaccination programme is 1 October 2025. However, some exceptions apply: pregnant women may receive vaccinations from 1 September, GPs can begin vaccinating eligible children from the same date, while community pharmacies will start on 1 October. Clinical judgement may allow GPs to administer vaccinations earlier in exceptional cases. Providers administering flu vaccines outside the authorised dates will not be compensated.

Community pharmacy

Hundreds of thousands use ‘Amazon-style’ prescription tracker in NHS App

In the first ten weeks since its launch, nearly 400,000 individuals have utilised a new prescription tracking feature in the NHS App, significantly reducing unnecessary calls and visits to pharmacies. This "Amazon-style" tracker has been engaged over 715,000 times since May, highlighting its utility for patients in managing their medication status.

For interest

UK Emergency Alert system test: 7 September

The UK Emergency Alert system will undergo testing on Sunday 7 September 2025. These alerts are crucial for informing the public of life-threatening emergencies near them. For further details, visit the Cabinet Office website.

Upcoming webinars and events

• Various dates: RCN general practice nursing forum webinars

• 3 September, 10.30 – 12pm: AI Ambassador Network meeting: Co-designing AI policy, AI in specialist therapy and more. Join the AI Ambassador Network to register.

• 4 September, 2 - 3pm: BMJ Best Practice and state-of-the-art care for asthma in adults

• 4 September, 5-6pm: General Practice Webinar

• 10 September, 12 - 1pm: Realising the potential of primary care provider collaboratives: Surrey Downs Health and Care.

• 10 September, 12.30 – 1.30pm: GIRFT webinar: From first contact to secondary care: optimising pathways for patients with spinal conditions

• 30 September, 12 - 1pm: Realising the potential of primary care provider collaboratives: Birmingham and Solihull Community Care Collaborative.

Catch up

Missed a recent national webinar? View slides and recordings below:

• General Practice webinars

• Primary Care Network webinars

• Recovering Access to Primary Care webinars

Content in this article is drawn from the NHS England Primary Care Bulletin. Patient.info edits and formats the updates to provide a clear, accessible archive for professionals. For the original email, click here.