360: NHS Primary Care Bulletin - 9 October 2025

Introduction

This article summarises the NHS England Primary Care Bulletin for 9 October 2025, the weekly email update for teams in general practice, dentistry, community pharmacy, and optometry.

Main themes of the week

Key updates this week include the launch of the General Practice Staff Survey 2025, an increase in funding for the Foundation Trainee Pharmacist Programme, and the availability of a recording for a webinar on urgent dental care. Additionally, there are important reminders regarding online consultation requirements in general practice and recent changes to COVID-19 vaccine eligibility.

General practice

Contract requirement for online consultation systems

All GP practices must now ensure that their online consultation systems are available during core hours for non-urgent appointment requests, medication queries, and administrative requests. Many practices have successfully adopted this approach, which has shown to enhance both patient and staff experiences. Resources for implementation include a frequently asked questions page, recordings of joint webinars, and case studies showcasing successful practices.

Updates on GP Connect and You and Your GP

NHS England has communicated the three key requirements for GP practices that took effect on 1 October 2025. These include ensuring that You and Your General Practice is featured on practice websites, and that GP Connect Access Record (HTML and Structured) and Update Record functionalities are enabled within clinical systems.

General Practice Staff Survey 2025 now live

The General Practice Staff Survey (GPSS) is now open and encourages general practice staff to share their experiences and insights. This year’s survey includes new questions on socio-economic background to better understand its impact on staff experience. The survey will remain open until 28 November 2025, with invites sent directly to staff from picker_surveys@picker.org.

Reminder on NHS OpenSAFELY data protection notice

Practices are reminded to instruct their clinical system suppliers to make data available to the OpenSAFELY platform as per the NHS OpenSAFELY Data Analytics Service Pilot Directions 2025. Detailed steps for compliance can be found here.

Primary care

Changes to COVID-19 vaccine eligibility

Recent changes to COVID-19 vaccine eligibility have been made in line with JCVI recommendations. Eligible groups include individuals aged 75 or over, those aged 6 months to 74 years with a weakened immune system, and residents of care homes for older adults. Guidance has been updated for the National Flu Booking Service to clarify this.

Delivering the vaccination strategy

NHS Confederation has developed a resource hub with essential information for healthcare leaders on overcoming barriers to vaccination programme delivery.

Upcoming webinar on childhood immunisation schedule

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) will host a webinar on 3 December 2025, detailing changes to the routine childhood vaccination schedule, including the introduction of a varicella vaccination programme. Registration is encouraged for health professionals involved in immunisation.

Call for evidence for the 10 Year Workforce Plan

A call for evidence is open until 7 November 2025 to gather insights for the 10 Year Workforce Plan. Contributions highlighting best practices and innovations in primary care are sought to inform the future of the NHS.

Improving training for NHS App usage

Efforts are underway to enhance training and support for the NHS App. Staff in general practice and community pharmacies are invited to share their insights through a quick form.

NHSmail renamed NHS.net Connect

NHSmail has been rebranded as NHS.net Connect, with no changes to email addresses or login details. The new service aims to provide an improved user experience. More information is available on support.nhs.net.

National Education and Training Survey open

The National Education and Training Survey (NETS) is available for healthcare students, trainees, and apprentices until 2 December 2025. This survey is crucial for gathering feedback to improve healthcare education and training environments.

National infection and antimicrobial resistance data symposium 2025

The National Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) data symposium is scheduled for 11 November, focusing on the use of data for improvement work. Register here.

Community pharmacy

Pharmacy technician development programme

Open to all pharmacy technicians, the pharmacy technician development programme runs from October 2025 to March 2026, aimed at enhancing clinical and leadership skills.

Increase in funding for Foundation Trainee Pharmacist Programme

Funding for the 2025/26 Foundation Trainee Pharmacist Programme has been increased to £27,295 per training site, with automatic payments to eligible sites. Further details can be found here.

Dentistry

Urgent dental care webinar recording available

A webinar covering a new incentive scheme for urgent dental care is now accessible for viewing. Watch the recording to learn more about this initiative aimed at increasing urgent dental care capacity.

Get involved

Preparing for winter in general practice webinar

A webinar to help general practice teams prepare for winter pressures will take place on 21 October. This session is open to all staff and will feature strategies for effective patient care during winter months. Register to join.

Black History Month e-learning courses

Two free e-learning modules focusing on healthcare issues affecting the Black community are available. The first, on 'Diagnosing breast cancer in Black women', can be accessed via the RCGP website. The second focuses on sickle cell disorder and is available through the NHS Learning Hub.

Upcoming webinars and events

• 12-13 Oct: The Pharmacy Show

• 14 Oct, 11:30-12:30pm: NHS App Update webinar

• 15 Oct, 10–12pm: Embedding Healthy Speaking Up Cultures learning event

• 15 Oct, 6.30-7.30pm: RCGP webinar on managing paediatric respiratory infections

• 21 Oct, 1-2.30pm: Preparing for Winter in General Practice

• 5 Nov, 9.30am-12pm: Antimicrobial Stewardship for Nurses

• 6 Nov, 5–6pm: General Practice webinar

• 11 Nov, 12:30–2pm: National Infection and AMR data symposium 2025

Catch up

For those who missed recent national webinars, slides and recordings are available here.

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.