Dear colleague,
Chair’s introduction
Welcome to the latest Newham LMC newsletter.
Across Newham, general practice continues to face significant pressures, but it also continues to demonstrate resilience, an appetite for collaboration, and innovation. In recent months as Newham LMC, we have been highlighting many local challenges, and we are using this opportunity to update you on our progress. Some of the issues raised have been used to develop motions for debate at the UK LMC conference which will be held in May 2026.
Please continue to engage with your PCN LMC representatives and discuss your concerns; invite us to your practices or arrange an online meeting to get to know us better.
Thanks,
Tammy
Member spotlight – Dr Anil Shah
As Vice Chair of the LMC – a role I’ve been part of for 17 years now – I’m keen to connect with you. I’m also a GP Principal at The Forest Practice and Stratford Health Centre, serve as Newham PCN Clinical Director, and a Director on the NHC board.
I’ve worked in Newham since I qualified and am driven to protect general practice and support colleagues serving the community. We GPs are the heart of our neighbourhoods and we must champion the work we already do!
I’m keen to hear your thoughts and build a united front against the challenges we’re facing which are getting harder and harder. Please do get in touch or join our upcoming unified voice meetings to share your views.
Best, Dr Anil Shah
Our GP Unified Voice
Our next GP Unified Voice is on Friday 27 March at 12.30 on Teams. If you want to hear about the LMC’s work, or participate in discussions around current hot topics, or if you have any concern or issue you want to flag to your LMC team, please join the meeting at this link.
What has Newham LMC been working on recently?
Local Contracts review
The LMC and the Londonwide team are fully engaged in the NEL Enhanced Services (LCS) review; updates on progress are provided in the NEL newsletters.
We have been seeking clarity on Newham specific services and which ones will be rolled over to next year. We are waiting for written communications from the ICB.
Unfunded non-contractual work
Practices will be aware that some of the work we are asked to do is not part of the core contract. This means we are not responsible for delivering it and we are not funded to do so. In effect, it is unpaid work.
As changes to the contract reduce flexibility and capacity, and make it harder to deliver core services, many practices may need to stop doing this additional work so they can focus on their contractual responsibilities.
To help practices push back safely and effectively on this unfunded work, we are finalising a set of supporting materials. For more information, please speak to your local LMC representative or contact the NEL LMC team via ian.williamson@lmc.org.uk.
As part of the Londonwide safe working guidance, we would like to remind practices that you can use the template letter at this link to set out that a practice, or group of practices, are giving notice to end provision of certain non-contractual services.
Referral to fertility clinic
GPs have been reporting issues with hospital fertility services, including the lack of a consultant-to-consultant pathway with the justification that GPs must refer so that eligibility for free treatment can be assessed by the consultants and overseas team. We have written to Newham University Hospital clarifying that it is not a GP responsibility to determine immigration status or eligibility, or to ask to see proof of ID, nationality or legal status in the UK. Please see Londonwide guidance on how to support patients from migrant communities.
Community dietetics
We are aware that there is a reduced service from community dietetics from the start of February while there are unfilled vacancies. Depending on recruitment this could be for up to 16 weeks, and waiting times are expected to increase. We are monitoring the situation and are seeking an update on the recruitment process. If you are encountering issues on the ground we would like to hear about it. You can contact ian.williamson@lmc.org.uk (no confidential patient information please).
Lablink test results
Test results are arriving with GPs via Lablinks for tests ordered by specialists or community clinics. Examples include from Community MH Teams, ENT, memory and MSK. GPs have been told that this is because these teams cannot be added as requestors, and a technical solution is required. This creates confusion on who ordered the investigation, who is acting on it, and what GPs should be doing with the results. A lot of clinical and admin time is spent to ensure these test results are going to the correct person. We will be raising this at the next interface meeting as an issue that requires urgent resolution.
OMNES
We are aware of continuing issues with OMNES and the quality of their diagnostic reports. Using the NEL Quality Alert system is still the best way to raise concerns about their service. Please follow the process in this site Quality Alerts – North East London and email the Quality alerts team at nelondonicb.qualityalert@nhs.net.
If you are also encountering issues on the ground we would like to hear about it. You can contact ian.williamson@lmc.org.uk (no confidential patient information please).
Decommissioning of ECG practice scheme
The ICB has advised that the Newham ECG incentive scheme will be withdrawn from 1 April 2026, giving practices barely a month’s notice. While the ECG pathway may continue with other providers in the community, this removes funding from general practice, undermines care closer to home, risks disrupting established pathways, and may contribute to staff deskilling. Newham LMC strongly opposes both the decision and the timescale. We have written formally to the ICB, restating the concerns first raised in August 2025, challenging the loss of funding, and asking that this decision is reconsidered or that practices are given proper notice.
Omnes have informed us that their current wait times are within their 6 week KPI excluding patient delay and site preference.
Practices are reminded that provision of ECGs is not part of the core GMS contract. It is up to practices to assess if they want to continue providing the service once the funding is stopped. Please contact the LMC if you would like to discuss further.
ELFT’s move to RIO
Following concerns raised by practices in Newham and Tower Hamlets, the LMCs wrote jointly to ELFT and commissioners about the proposed move to RiO and the risk of added workload for general practice. A key issue we highlighted was pathology workflows—for example, where community or mental health teams cannot request blood tests, imaging or other investigations directly from their own system, and instead ask GP practices to do this on their behalf, creating extra work and delays. In response, ELFT has advised that it is implementing tQuest within RiO for pathology and radiology ordering for mental health services, with this to be extended to community services once they transition to RiO. ELFT also says it is close to enabling pathology results from Barts Health directly into RiO, and is developing a separate solution for radiology reports, with the aim of reducing the need for clinicians to contact practices to chase results.
ELFT has committed to frontline testing of the new system to proactively identify and mitigate issues before full implementation. The LMCs will work with the provider to ensure general practice’s voice is represented in the testing phase.
North East London sector issues
Many issues affecting Newham also affect other boroughs in NEL and we work closely with our counterparts in other boroughs to address and resolve them at sector level. There is also a NEL newsletter for the sector work. The most recent issue covered the NEL enhanced services review, the new NEL community anticoagulation service, NEL Quality Alerts, Blue Badge requests and other topics. You can read it here NEL Newsletters.
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.
Among the winners was Newham’s own Dr Tammy Hibbert, who won the LMC Member: NE London award. Her nomination said she was:
“… a long-standing and active voice for GPs in Newham, speaking up about the challenges they face. A very effective communicator who is always willing to step into new situations. She explains complex issues in a clear, friendly way and deals with challenging topics calmly and with an excellent command of details and examples.”
Speaking at the event, Dr Lisa Harrod-Rothwell, CEO, Londonwide LMCs said:
“Last year we only just scratched the surface of the ways London’s GPs and practice teams are doing fantastic work for their patients in often very challenging circumstances. This year I am again delighted and humbled to hear about GPs who have been serving their patients for almost as long as I’ve been alive, a team working hand-in-hand with their local community to improve vaccination rates and patients giving up hours every week to help others understand how to use new online services.”
Londonwide LMCs Buying Group member MIAB, providers of specialist GP insurance, kindly sponsored the awards.
The full list of winners, judges, nominees and nominators
Exclusive deals for practices
Our substantially updated Buying Group offer provides a range of opportunities to save money and improve the quality of products and services you use.
- Get excellent prices and next day delivery on consumables, with a supplier who can respond quickly to your practice needs.
- Access a comprehensive online learning platform, plus packages to manage HR, finance, compliance and rotas.
- Let a specialist GP insurer make sure you have the right cover, with knowledge on developing areas like cyber security, AI scribes and contract holding at PCN level.
- Our records digitisation partners can help free up premises space and recent changes with the National Document Repository have improved practices’ options.
- Intelligent, end-to-end call-and-recall automation does more than simply send reminders, it tailors messages and helps to improve QOF.
- The latest in cloud telephony integrates with clinical systems, provides stats on patient contacts and automates many tasks.
- Reward yourself and your colleagues with free and discounted tickets to concerts, theatre shows, sports and more!
Engaging with Newham LMC
We are keen to listen to practices, to understand the issues they are worried about and the challenges they are currently facing – let us know if you would like a call or for an LMC member to visit your practice for a conversation. Please email ian.williamson@lmc.org.uk
Please also visit the Londonwide LMC website for a one-stop shop on our support for practices—details of our services, practical resources (including template letters and guidance), and details of your Newham LMC committee, including meeting dates and previous local and NEL newsletters.