Lambeth LMC newsletter – February 2026

Dear colleague,

Many of you contact us about problems at the interface between primary and secondary care. This is a particular challenge for us in Lambeth as we have two very large acute trusts and a large mental health trust covering our area. Our problem is that we are but a small portion of their work. There is an interface meeting between ourselves and Southwark LMC on the one hand, and GSTT/KCH on the other, brokered by the ICB. This has focused on the “PCARP” priorities.

This is important and useful, but only covers a subset of our problems. Our progress is slow, but please be assured this is important to all of us, and we keep making the arguments. Please continue to keep us informed of your difficulties.

We continue to talk to the Public health Commissioners. The PHIS will not be significantly changed this year. We have re-iterated the administrative problems associated with these contracts, and they have indicated willingness to have some flexibility. We will pursue this.

Our other local contracts (PMS, LGPIS) are largely agreed at a high level, but much needs to be worked through in terms of the implementation and operationalisation of these. This work importantly includes, but is not limited to, the Ardens dashboards.

All of the above were discussed in our formal February meetings. We also asked about the ICB Change programme. This has the potential to create gaps in the teams we interact with. We are reminding commissioners to consider this in relation to how our local schemes are implemented.

London General Practice Awards 2026

On Thursday 5 February Londonwide LMCs held the annual London General Practice awards event in Parliament. Ben Coleman, MP for Chelsea and Fulham, hosted the event and presented two of the awards. This builds on previous engagement with Mr Coleman, who is also a member of the Health Select Committee. In attendance were around 200 representatives from LMCs, practices across London and key allies such as MPs, press, commissioners and local government representatives.

As your Chair I was pleased to receive the LMC Member Award for South East London. It was kind of colleagues to nominate me and although I was recognised individually, I feel it really is a reflection on the whole team we have on Lambeth LMC.

There is no better example of the quality of people our LMC attracts than seeing longstanding former member Dr Emma Rowly-Conwy receive her Long Service Award. Emma’s nomination statements included:

“Dr Rowley-Conwy has had an extraordinary career dedicated to the service of patients, the development of primary care, and the support of colleagues over decades, she has gone above and beyond in supporting her colleagues and the wider community, demonstrating compassion, professionalism, and leadership.”

Also recognised from Lambeth was Dr Alison Varey of Clapham Park Group Practice, who was commended in the Patient Safety category. Alison’s nomination praised her leadership on: “A new system for blood pressure control that enables the clinical team to process a much higher volume of blood pressure readings by shifting away from the traditional appointment book approach, allowing for a more agile and responsive recall process where patients can be followed up based on current capacity and clinical need.”

Londonwide LMCs Buying Group member MIAB, providers of specialist GP insurance, kindly sponsored the awards.

The full list of winners, judges, nominees and nominators

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Yours faithfully,

Dr Penelope Jarrett
Chair, Lambeth LMC