Dear colleague,
Local issues
NEL ICB and LMC Chairs meeting
NE London LMC Chairs and Vice-Chairs met with the ICB primary care team managers on 21 October. The ICB confirmed their restructure is progressing. They emphasised their commitment to maintaining core functions around quality, performance, and finance, while fostering stronger collaboration with LMCs and the Londonwide LMCs team.
Discussions covered the NHS 10-Year Plan, the commissioning review, and the importance of ensuring general practice remains central to neighbourhood health development. LMCs expressed concern about the lack of inclusion of GP representatives in some local governance structures and sought ICB support to reinforce GP representation at Place level.
Reviews of locally commissioned services (LCS) are underway to reduce duplication and reinvest funds more effectively, alongside continued work on the Long-Term Conditions framework.
Other topics included strengthening the governance around the primary–secondary care interface and addressing rising incidents of violence and racism in primary care. Listening events will be held in each borough in NEL to hear from staff and co-develop joint strategies for support, including with police and other system partners.
MAAR charts
Concerns have been raised for some time about the un-resourced workload of Medication Authorisation and Administration Record (MAAR or MAR) charts. There have been discussions between Londonwide LMCs, NHS England and other system partners, and a Task & Finish group has been meeting regularly to explore long-term digital solutions. A software solution has now been proposed, which we hope will be implemented in the coming months. In the meantime, Londonwide LMCs and NHS England London have issued a joint communication.
Individual GP practices will now need to consider if they are going to continue to provide MAAR charts for community colleagues. We would ask that, if practices are stopping this work, they formally inform their community trust in writing so that alternative arrangements can be put in place for patients (template letter here).
Antenatal prescriptions
Following representations from Newham LMC, midwives at Newham University Hospital have taken over antenatal prescribing for their patients. Inspired by this and following input from City & Hackney GPs, the Homerton is also reviewing their current midwife prescribing, with a view to following the example of Newham.
NEL Primary and secondary care interface group – Key messages
Londonwide LMCs colleagues attended the NEL system interface meeting. A new Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) Interface policy is being tested across London, which proposes that SDEC retains patient responsibility for seven days before reverting care to the GP. Concerns were raised about the arbitrary nature of this timeframe and the lack of clarity around GP responsibilities for secondary care or urgent episodes. The regional team confirmed this is an initial rollout and that LMCs will be invited to contribute feedback at the London level.
Londonwide LMCs also proposed the development of a single, pan-NEL Interface Policy to replace individual local hospital trust versions, ensuring consistent principles and reducing variation across North East London. This proposal received broad support and will be progressed further in early 2026. There was some concern about the future role of LMCs in these discussions, with suggestions that LMC input may become ad hoc under new ICB governance arrangements. Londonwide LMCs reiterated its in-statute role in representing general practice and will continue to engage with the ICB on this issue.
Barts Community Pharmacy Project
In October, NE London LMC Chairs and Vice-Chairs met colleagues from the ICB and Barts to review a Barts-led Community Pharmacy Project, part of the national Independent Prescribing Pathfinder programme, which expands lipid testing and statin initiation within community pharmacies.
While the project supports prevention and health equity ambitions, LMCs raised numerous concerns including duplication of testing, fragmentation of care, follow-up responsibilities and potential workload transfer to GPs, data sharing, and the overall cost-effectiveness of the scheme. There were also concerns raised regarding the unintended consequences of this pilot on patient eligibility for the holistic NHS Health Checks that are currently undertaken in General Practice. The LMC highlighted the importance of ensuring safe, joined-up pathways between pharmacies and general practice and will write formally to Barts to set out these concerns.
Refreshed Londonwide LMCs Buying Group
Our substantially update 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, call-and-recall automation and patient registration automation.
The Londonwide LMC NEL sector team
You can find the details of your LMC Chairs across NEL here.
Best wishes,
Londonwide LMCs