Dear colleague,
We are pleased to present the latest Bexley Local Medical Committee newsletter.
We welcome your thoughts in how Bexley LMC can help you. Please feel free to approach any one of the LMC members or if you have any queries or questions, please contact the LMC via Committee Liaison Executive, Aisha, at aisha.riaz@lmc.org.uk.
What has Greenwich LMC been working on recently?
Single Point of Access / Advice and Refer
- We have met with Alex Armstrong, SEL Planned Care Lead at the ICB, who is leading on the Single Point of Access (SPoA) and Advice and Refer rollout across SEL. Though the framework is national, local pathways will be determined locally and Bexley LMC is represented within Interface meetings where this will be discussed. As Bexley GPs also refer into Dartford and Gravesham Trust, we are exploring how LMC can be kept informed of DGT pathways.
Constituent engagement
- LMC members continue to reach out to practices to arrange practice visits so that we can hear about issues that are affecting colleagues working in general practice and feedback as to LMC activity.
- Feedback on national issues can also be fed into GPC through Londonwide or via your SEL GPCE rep, Penelope Jarrett, penelope.jarrett@nhs.net. We will feedback to constituents the outcome of their query.
- As always, please feel free to approach any one of the LMC members or if you have any queries or questions, please contact the LMC via Committee Liaison Executive, Aisha, at Aisha.riaz@lmc.org.uk.
GP Premium
- In the July LMC meeting, Bexley LMC highlighted to ICB colleagues the feedback from practices on the implementation of the GP Premium. While members welcomed the detailed guidance and noted that most indicators are progressing as expected, LMC raised concerns about the operational delivery of the Three Long-Term Conditions and Frailty indicators. LMC highlighted that key implementation details and supporting tools have only recently become available, creating challenges in planning and preparatory work required to achieve targets within the expected timescales. The ICB have informed LMC that there will be no additional implementation support or mitigations during the mobilisation phase of the Premium.
Safeguarding meetings between GPs and Bromley Healthcare – update from Bromley Healthcare
- Bexley LMC has agreed on guidance on practice meetings with the Bromley Healthcare 0-19 service. GP practices are asked to provide contact details and a link name of a staff member at the practice to BHC to coordinate regular meetings. These are an opportunity to discuss concerns relating to families registered at the GP practice and share information between agencies. Practices are asked to schedule regular meetings and share a list of patients to be discussed 5 working days prior to each meeting to ensure appropriate information is available.
SEL Strategic Leadership Network (SLN) of LMC Chairs and Vice Chairs update
SEL/SWL integrated Weight Management Pathway
SEL/SWL ICBs aim to implement a 3 year, neighbourhood based integrated weight management pathway across South London, using general practice for proactive case finding and community pharmacy for delivery, supported by wraparound behavioural services. The target cohort in SEL are patients with BMI ≥35 with early‑onset type 2 diabetes, age 19–49, not on insulin (950 patients in SEL).
While the programme is funded and targeted at high risk cohorts SEL LMCs and Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth LMCs have raised significant concerns about this proposed Pathway, stating they cannot support the specifications in their current form.
Their primary concern is that clinical responsibility, governance risk and workload appear likely to fall disproportionately on GPs, despite assurances that prescribing pharmacists retain responsibility for prescribing decisions. Members feel there is insufficient clarity on who is accountable for complications, escalations, abnormal findings, specialist communications, care coordination and unresolved clinical issues, particularly where the pathway refers to “joint responsibility” and “shared provider-led care.”
Members are working constructively with the ICB to seek clarity on clinical governance and accountability arrangements, operational processes and funding and contracting and commissioning approaches.
Primary Care Strategic Commissioning Framework
Londonwide LMCs has secured LMC representation on the SEL Primary Care Strategic Commissioning Framework Task and Finish Group which will seek to develop a strategic framework for primary care commissioning across South East London (SEL). It is intended that this will facilitate a more equitable, transparent and strategically aligned approach.
This includes the levelling up of investment across general practice and addressing unwarranted variation in primary care funding between boroughs. Through LMC leadership it is intended that GPs are actively engaged in co-designing recommendations to the SEL Strategic Commissioning Committee for their consideration and approval which enhances long term practice financial sustainability.
Transfer of ICB functions – GPIT
Londonwide LMCs met with SEL ICB senior leaders to discuss plans to transfer several ICB functions to provider organisations, including the GP IT service, which is proposed to be hosted by Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (GSTT). This is part of the wider structural transformation of health systems required as part of national policy which requires ICBs to shift their role towards strategic commissioning and will see a number of their current functions transferred to providers in future.
The ICB stressed that the programme is still evolving and welcomed feedback from GPs and LMCs. When detailed service specifications are made available further engagement is planned, including discussions with the SEL Strategic Leadership Network (SLN) to identify, address and mitigate risks to practices and the wider system.
SEL Anti psychotic Long Acting Injections pathway review
For 2026/27 there is a total of £3.5m Mental Health Strategic Investment Fund funding available across SEL to support embedding mental health in neighbourhood health. One of the priorities set out by SEL ICB for 26/27 is the expansion of the multi-morbidity model to include people with SMI, with a proposed first focus on service users on antipsychotic long-acting injections (LAIs).
Londonwide LMCs are engaged in ongoing discussions with commissioners on a review of the LAI pathway highlighting the present absence of financial modelling and the GP/Pharmacy impact assessment and issues with existing pathways. It is anticipated that pilot programmes for testing options for the LAI pathway will be part of MH SIF plans and Londonwide LMCs has been clear that Borough LMCs must be part of the discussions around development of these pilots which should only commence if identified risks are mitigated and consider a wider range of options.
Londonwide LMCs updates
Workforce Training & Innovation (WTI)
Londonwide LMCs Workforce-Training and Innovation (WTI) directorate provides key training courses for GPs and their practice team.
Here is a list of upcoming taught days & courses.
GP Support Team
Bromley practices can access confidential support and advice about practice specific issues via Londonwide LMCs GP Support Team GPSupport@lmc.org.uk. For further information upon what the GP Support Team can help you with, please see this link.
New PCSE list cleanse approach causing practice stability concerns
In October 2025 PCSE changed from giving practices six months to confirm that patients with an FP69 flag were still living nearby and wished to remain on their list, to only three months. Londonwide LMCs have produced guidance for practices, including resources to communicate with patients and a form for practices to report how they are being affected. They are also escalating the problem to NHS leaders, media, politicians and others in positions of influence, including securing national media coverage in The Independent using examples from LMC members’ practices, followed by holding a briefing for MPs at the start of August,
Thank you to those who completed our Buying Group survey
Thank you to everyone that took part in our Buying Group survey, we plan to run another one in the autumn. We will be contacting the winners of the survey prize draw in the next couple of weeks and sharing details in our Londonwide LMCs newsletter.
- Hillcroft Surgery Supplies – Get next day delivery and industry leading stock availability, thanks to their investment in substantial warehouse facilities.
- Practice Index – Pick and choose what you need out of their learning platform, or software to manage HR, finance, compliance and rotas.
- Hippo Labs – Have your call-and-recall work smarter, reach more patients and improve QOF attainment. Hippo Labs automatically customises many types of message.
- Equity Energies – Reduce energy costs, save time, become greener and remove the administrative burden of managing utilities by having experts do it all for you.
- Surgery Connect – Automates more tasks within your phone system, integrates with clinical records and seamlessly bridges in and out-of-hours.
- MIAB – You existing policies may have more gaps than you think, particularly in developing areas like cyber and ARRS employment. Rely on MIAB’s specialist expertise to ensure you are fully covered.
- Restore Information Management – Whether it you need a room full of records doing or a steady flow of new registrations, Restore take the hassle out of digitising patient records.
- Tickets for Good – Reward yourself and your colleagues with free and discounted tickets to concerts, theatre shows, sports and more!