Northumbria Healthcare GP Update
      8 September 2026  
  Dear colleague,
We hope you enjoyed the last of the summer as we now start the transition into autumn. Below are your updates for September.
 
  Hepatology advice and guidance at Northumbria
Please note hepatology is a different speciality from gastroenterology, we have a dedicated hepatology service which is specific to liver issues – eg Non acutely Deranged LFT and Significant NAFLD (F4 of Fibroscan) and Cirrhosis

Please can you avoid sending gastroenterology requests to this service and vice versa
 
  Suspect a TIA - please refer firect to Brainsafe and don't use advice and guidance
We have identified a number of patients with suspected TIA being submitted to the Brainsafe service via the Advice and Guidance (A&G) pathway. As A&G requests are not monitored or actioned with the same urgency as direct referrals, this creates a risk of delay in assessment and treatment for patients with time-critical conditions.

To ensure patients receive timely assessment in line with national standards, all suspected TIA cases should be referred directly through the urgent TIA referral pathway and not via A&G. We would be grateful if practices could share this reminder with both clinical and administrative staff involved in referral processing to help prevent avoidable delays and potential patient safety incidents.

 
  Eligibility criteria for wheelchair services
There has been an important change to the eligibility criteria for paediatric referrals to wheelchair services. ...more
 
  GP Excellence Through Collaboration
We’re pleased to share the date of our next GP Excellence Through Collaboration Event which will be held on Wednesday 11 November 2026 at Northumbria Health and Care Academy in Cramlington. ...more
 
  Contact us
If you have a query or if there is something that you would like to be included in future editions of this newsletter please email emily.lavin@northumbria-healthcare.nhs.uk

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