General queries

A new patient premium payment fee is applicable as part of the clinical transfer when a practice merger/closure takes place. The Commissioner/Practice need to indicate on the Practice Merger/Closure form if the new patient premium fee should be applied

PCSE will seek instruction from the ICB as to whether or not drugs payments due prior to the merger are to be transferred to the merged practice or whether other arrangements are being made for the closed practice.

When GP practices merge, one site will become the main site. The other site(s) will operate as branches and will need new branch ODS codes. Branch practice ODS codes begin with the main site code, followed by 001, 002, 003 depending on the number of branches there are. 

What is an ODS code and how do I get it?

ODS codes are used by NHS England to identify organisations across health and social care. They are issued by the Organisation Data Service which is part of NHS England. PCSE requires ODS codes in order to set your practice(s) up on PCSE Online.

To obtain your practice ODS code, please contact the ODS Team at NHS England on 0300 303 4034 or via email on Exeter.helpdesk@nhs.net.

Please request the pdf report file from the ODS TEAM which will highlight the address and your new code. Please note: these pdf reports are only issued when new ODS codes are created. You will not receive one for codes that already exist.

What happens next?

Once you have your branch ODS code, please email us at: pcse.datamanager@nhs.net and state that you would like to set up access to PCSE Online for a new branch.

Please include in your email: 

Details of your main practice

• the name of your main practice
• your organisation type (GP)
• the organisation/ODS code for your main practice (GP main practice codes are a letter followed by five numbers)
• the name of the main contact PCSE holds for your main practice
• the email address for the main contact we hold for your main practice
• the main practice/organisation address
• the main practice telephone number
   

Details of your branch practice

• the name of the main contact you would like to set up for your branch including title
• the email address for the main contact you would like to set up for your branch
• the ODS code for your branch
• the name of your new branch practice
• the new branch practice/organisation address
• the new branch practice telephone number

When PCSE has received this information, we will call the branch practice and ask a contact there to verify the information provided. The nominated main contact will then receive an email with details of how to access PCSE Online. If you are the main practice contact and wish to be the main contact for the branch practice also, when PCSE has processed this change, the branch will be added to your existing PCSE Online account and will appear in the drop down list underneath ‘Select Organisation and Address’

Where a practice is changing its address only (and not as part of a merger with another practice) they will need to inform PCSE once the change has been approved by the commissioning organisation.

Please visit the Contact Us page, and select ‘Performers List’ from the drop down menu. Please complete the details requested, and in the message box, please state that you wish to inform PCSE of a change to practice address that is not related to a practice merger. Please also attach/upload evidence from your commissioner that confirms the change of practice address

The GP practice must also make a request either on letter headed paper, supply a recent invoice, or complete a GP practice banking declaration (where both the GP bank and GP address has changed). These documents should include the GP practice code, GP practice name and the new GP address, please send it to the GP Payments team by visiting the Contact Us page, choosing GP Payments as the subject enquiry type and complete a new enquiry.

PCSE will then update our records to reflect the new practice address. Please note: personalised stationery can only be ordered through PCSE Online once NHS BSA notify Xerox of the new address. Please contact PCSE.PracticeChanges@nhs.net with any urgent requests for personalised stationery. The Practice Changes team will check that NHS BSA have been informed of your change of address.

If the practice address is changing due to merger, please click see further guidance on Practice Mergers and Closures. 

The new estimate of profit for the practice should be sent to PCSE with the practice merger closure form by visiting the Contact Us page, choosing the Practice Mergers and Closures notifications as the subject enquiry type and complete a new enquiry or by email to pcse.practicechanges@nhs.net .

Any subsequent changes following the merger should be sent directly to the GP Payments and Pensions team by visiting the Contact Us page, choosing the GP Payments or GP Pensions as the subject enquiry type and complete a new enquiry

Once the new estimate of profit is received and all actions for the merger have completed, the GP Pensions team will update the estimates for the GP’s to ensure that the correct contributions are taken from the practice each month.

The banking declaration form should be sent to PCSE with the practice merger/closure form by visiting the Contact Us page, selecting Practice mergers and closure notifications as the subject enquiry type) or by email to pcse.practicechanges@nhs.net .

The form will be passed onto the GP Payments team to action. The GP Payments team will check that all partners in the practice have signed the declaration, complete a P2P form and send this onto the NHS England Regional Local Team to approve. Once approved it will then be sent onto NHS Shared Business Services for the banking details to be updated.

If you have a query regarding banking changes then these must be submitted by visiting the Contact Us page, and selecting GP Payments as the subject enquiry type.

The full mergers and closures process and all associated forms can be accessed here.