If you work in a Barnet practice and would like to join our mailing list please contact sarah.ocran@lmc.org.uk or click here.
Following LMC elections this summer, Barnet LMC started a new three-year term of office on 1 September 2025, with the newly elected LMC being confirmed at its Inaugural meeting in October. We would like to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves as the Co-Chairs of Barnet LMC, alongside our Vice Chair, Dr Hayley Dawson.
Who we are
Your Barnet LMC members for the 2025-28 term are:
- Dr Aashish Bansal, Everglade Medical Practice (principal)
- Dr Hayley Dawson, Oak Lodge Medical Practice (principal)
- Dr Swati Dholakia, Wentworth Medical Practice (Wentworth Avenue) (principal)
- Dr Debra Fine, PHGH Doctors @Temple Fortune Health Centre (salaried)
- Dr Martin Harris, Temple Fortune Medical Group (salaried)
- Dr Ogechukwu Ilozue, Brunswick Park Medical Practice, (principal)
- Dr Joanna Ish-Horowicz, Temple Fortune Medical Group (salaried)
- Dr Malinga Ratwatte, (sessional)
- Dr Rayomond Sacks, Oakleigh Road Clinic, (principal)
- Dr Clare Stephens (sessional)
- Dr Tilna Tilakkumar (sessional)
- Dr Farzana Vanat, PHGH Doctors@Temple Fortune Health Centre (salaried)
- Dr Dan Faulkner, VTS representative
- Dr Nina Sardar, VTS representative
- Mr Ryan Bentley, Practice Manager Observer, The Practice@188 Golders Green Rd
- Mrs Tatjana Brazza, Practice Nurse Observer, The Speedwell Practice
What we do
We are here to support practices and to represent the interests of all local GPs and their practice teams. To do this effectively we are relying on you to please reach out to us with any issues or concerns by emailing Sarah Ocran, Committee Liaison Executive sarah.ocran@lmc.org.uk.
Engagement with our constituents
One of our key priorities is that we hear the issues and concerns that matter to our local GPs and practices to influence our work and that we also feedback directly to our constituents on this work. We will be doing this though our regular local newsletters to highlight the LMC’s work, attending local GP meetings and inviting other stakeholders to our LMC meetings. We will also be embarking on more personal constituency engagement to hear and listen to your concerns about the pressures of working as GPs and in practices.
Barnet LMC membership and contact details
Barnet LMCs’ recent activity
DALS interpreting service
Dr Vanat attended a meeting with representatives from DALs as well as the ICB and NCL LMCs Chairs/Vice Chairs, to address practice concerns (poor quality of interpreting, long waits for interpreters) regarding the ICB contract for the DALs interpreting service.
The DALS team was very responsive to concerns raised and are keen to receive feedback about specific cases so that they can investigate the issues arising. We have been advised that if you can hold on at the end of a phone call for 15 seconds you will be given the option to score the translator from 1-5 (anyone scoring 3 or below will be reviewed by DALS).
Please share this information with your practice colleagues. The ICB has also agreed to see if a feedback system can be set up using ACCURX. You can also provide feedback directly to DALS on their website.
Working with the clinical interface
Dr Vanat actively participates in Clinical Interface Group (CIG) meetings at the Royal Free Hospital to strengthen collaboration with our secondary care colleagues. This work has supported the implementation of the NCL Primary/Secondary consensus principles set out in the consensus interface document, including adding contact details to discharge summaries and clinic letters, addressing challenges in contacting specialties, ensuring fit notes are available in A&E, and planning the future rollout of EPS. Progress has also been made towards establishing a standardised pathway with a single point of access for quality alerts, patient safety concerns, and escalation processes.
To enhance mental health services, Dr Ilozue and her NCL LMC Chairs and Vice Chairs colleagues, meet monthly with Dr Vincent Kirchner (Medical Director, North London NHS Mental Health Trust) and his team. The meetings also include discussions to monitor the roll-out of the single point of access for community mental health. If you want us to raise any issues you are experiencing with the Royal Free and North Middlesex Hospitals, or with mental health services, please get in touch by emailing sarah.ocran@lmc.org.uk.
Engaging with Barnet GP trainees
Dr Ilozue recently gave a talk to the Barnet Vocational Training Scheme (VTS) GP Registrars. Her talk covered the role of Barnet LMC, the changing provider landscape, the 10-year Plan (including aspects of Neighbourhood contracts), Londonwide LMC’s support for GP registrars and sessional GPs and concluded with a question-and-answer session on the BMA Salaried GP contract and Locum Agreement Guidance.
Next year Barnet LMC will be collaborating with Barnet Training Hub and the VTS Programme Directors to conduct a survey of Barnet GP trainees career choices, so we can identify the career intentions of our current GP trainees and explore the factors contributing to and influencing their career choices and their challenges. We collaborate with the training hub and the VTS representatives to conduct the survey each year and have some data from the past few years.
Ensuring pathways are clinically safe
We have been feeding back on clinical pathways and shared care agreements to ensure that they are clinically safe and that practices are resourced. This has included feedback on, the thyroid pathway, insomnia and headache pathways, the cardiology pathways and NCL Child Weight Management Pathways for 0–18-year-olds. Our feedback has led to meaningful changes in pathway design.
Refreshed Londonwide LMCs Buying Group
Our substantially updated Buying Group offer is now live, bringing high quality products, service, opportunities and offers to London general practice at the best prices and with the best possible deals.
The offer now includes a supplier for each of these areas: consumables, insurance, training and practice support and wellbeing (including free and discounted tickets to music, theatre and sports events). In addition, we have four suppliers for digital and tech services covering: cloud telephony, records digitisation and call-and-recall automation.
Londonwide LMCs GP support team
The team offers help and guidance on all practice-related matters including contracts, performance, premises, payments, mergers and retirement and can be contacted via emailing GPSupport@lmc.org.uk.
They are also are collating information which will help practices prepare for a CQC inspection visit. If your practice’s CQC inspection has already taken place and you have any feedback on any particular themes that you would like to highlight, or concerns about your experience, please pass on details via the email address above.
Yours faithfully,
Dr Oge Ilozue, Barnet LMC Co-Chair
Dr Farzana Vanat, Barnet LMC Co-Chair
Dr Hayley Dawson, Barnet LMC Vice Chair