Dear colleague,
Chair’s introduction
I am pleased to share the latest Newham LMC newsletter, highlighting some of the key developments and issues affecting general practice across the borough.
Protecting practice funding and ensuring that changes to local services are properly planned and resourced remain important priorities. We have secured welcome assurances from the ICB that funding released through changes to local enhanced services will remain within the borough. We also continue to work closely with the ICB to resolve outstanding payment reconciliations and secure greater clarity around the implementation of the new LTC framework and same-day access arrangements.
There has also been positive progress in addressing inappropriate workload transfers from secondary care, particularly the revised antenatal prescribing pathway at Newham Hospital, which clarifies responsibility for initiating urgent treatment. This reinforces the importance of our ongoing interface work and ensuring that responsibilities sit with the appropriate clinical teams.
As neighbourhood arrangements continue to develop, we remain clear that general practice must have a meaningful role in shaping services, with appropriate resources and realistic expectations.
Finally, I would encourage you to join us at our Newham General Practice Unified Voice and Engagement Evening on 11 November. This will be an important opportunity to come together, discuss 
the challenges facing local practices and help shape our collective priorities. If you have not already signed-up following one of our previous emails, you can use this link to register.
Please continue to share your concerns and experiences with your LMC representatives. Your engagement is essential to ensuring that Newham general practice has a strong and effective voice.
Best wishes,
Dr Tamara Hibbert
Chair
Newham LMC
What has Newham LMC been working on recently?
Protecting enhanced service funding
NEL LMCs have formally written to the ICB to seek confirmation that funding levels for local enhanced services will be maintained at least at the current level for each borough in NEL as part of the current Phase 2 review of enhanced services. Following the recent termination notice concerning several local enhanced services, concerns have been raised with the ICB about the wording of correspondence and the lack of assurances that funding will remain ringfenced within boroughs. Removing or recommissioning services could affect patient care, workforce planning and practice finances. The ICB confirmed that where funding is released within a borough following a service change or the decommissioning of a service, that funding will remain within the borough and be available for reinvestment in response to local needs and priorities.
This is a reassuring outcome for Newham general practice.
A clearer interface framework
We have developed a primary and secondary care interface consensus document to give practices a consistent framework for managing disputes and quality concerns. North East London still lacks a joint system-wide interface agreement. Our proposed document was agreed by NEL LMCs and addresses prescribing responsibilities, investigation follow-up and transfer of care, supporting practices to challenge inappropriate workload transfers. We are making progress with getting this reviewed by other parts of the system, especially Barts Health and BHRUT, and will keep you updated.
FP69 list checks: evidence of the impact needed
Londonwide LMCs is monitoring changes in registered practice lists using NHS data. These figures include routine patient movements as well as removals linked to the FP69 process, so they cannot identify FP69 losses alone.
Concerns remain about the effect on practice income and continuity of care. Financial support for practices facing substantial losses is being sought, but no confirmed payment scheme was available at the meeting.
Practices with examples of problems caused by the checks can submit anonymised accounts through the Londonwide LMCs communications team’s reporting form. These accounts will help explain the practical impact alongside the list-size data. Practices arranging meetings with MPs can also contact the team for briefing support.
Londonwide LMCs FP69 resources
Same-day urgent access
The revised same-day access service is intended to connect general practice more closely with NHS 111, urgent treatment centres and the wider urgent-care system. The ICB described the specification as a starting point for further development, rather than an immediate switch to a fully settled model.
The interim message was to continue current delivery while activity levels, local arrangements and proposed performance indicators are clarified. Material changes should allow time for staffing, rotas and appointment systems to be prepared.
PCNs considering a change of provider should explain both the current delivery arrangements and the specification being developed. Collective feedback through PCN clinical directors and the LMC is encouraged, particularly on appointments already provided within practices, non-attendance, duplicate booking and digital connectivity.
The ICB said the proposed indicators were not intended as a mechanism for clawing back all funding. However, precise payment implications and operational requirements still need clarification; the transcript does not establish an unconditional payment guarantee.
Long Term Condition LES
Implementation of the LTC PC QOF programme remains affected by delays to targets, dashboards, templates and searches. Practices still need clear information about what to deliver and how their work will be recorded and recognised.
Quarter-three payments were reported as continuing on the existing 80% upfront basis. Wider decisions on targets, outcomes and income protection were awaiting consideration by the ICB executive management team.
The latest specification was due to be circulated, although targets were not yet finalised. Local work is planned to map existing multidisciplinary teams and establish what additional support is needed.
Training needs extend beyond using the IT: staff also need a consistent offer covering care planning and reviews for people with multiple conditions. Practices and PCNs can feed their implementation and training needs into the local implementation group. A quarterly financial audit template has been shared for recording how leadership and management funding is used.
Newham Payment reconciliations for 2024-25 and 2025-26
The LMC remains actively engaged with the ICB in the Newham data validation and reconciliation process. Some progress has been made in reviewing payment calculations for 2025-26 and it looks like the position has significantly improved overall. Significant work has been undertaken to validate achievement, identify discrepancies, and ensure practices are treated fairly before any payments or clawbacks are finalised.
Outstanding issues remain, including clarification of some High Intensity User (HIU) data, PCN payment arrangements, pulse check payments, and repayment plans for practices facing larger clawbacks. The LMC continues to work to resolve these matters and reach an agreed final position. We are aware that the ICB will shortly be in touch with practices in relation to the 2025-25 payments, so please keep an eye out for communications from the ICB. And contact your LMC reps if you have any queries/concerns.
Newham University Hospital Antenatal Prescribing Pathway Update
Following concerns raised by GPs about delays and responsibility for prescribing urgent medications during pregnancy, Newham University Hospital (NUH) and the North East London ICB have introduced a revised antenatal prescribing pathway.
Under the new process, maternity services will continue to request and review antenatal investigations. Where urgent treatment is required following abnormal results, NUH obstetric and gynaecology clinicians will now issue the initial prescription directly, rather than asking GPs to prescribe. This includes medications such as antibiotics for urinary tract infections, aspirin for high-risk pregnancies, iron supplements and antihypertensive treatment. Prescriptions will be collected from the hospital pharmacy.
The updated SOP has been circulated and aims to improve patient safety, reduce delays in treatment and clarify clinical responsibilities between primary and secondary care. Responsibility for acting on maternity-requested investigations and initiating urgent treatment now rests with NUH clinicians. Practices receiving requests for initial antenatal prescribing should redirect these to the requesting NUH team.
Neighbourhood developments
The future shape of neighbourhood services, contracts and funding remains unsettled. Existing PCN boundaries do not always match neighbourhood or locality boundaries, creating extra meetings and uncertainty about how projects will reach individual practices.
No confirmed decision to replace PCNs or require their reconfiguration was established in the meeting. Possible contractual approaches and the responsibilities of organisations coordinating neighbourhood services were still being developed.
Continued GP involvement offers an opportunity to shape pathways and funding arrangements. However, participation in planning should not be confused with agreement to deliver additional unfunded services. Practices and PCNs need clarity about resources, responsibilities and the effect of proposals on existing work before committing to delivery.
Examples of duplicated work or difficulties caused by mismatched boundaries can help inform the ongoing local conversation.
Help shape same-day emergency care at Newham Hospital
Newham Hospital’s same-day emergency care (SDEC) service is expected to undergo transformation over the next two years. GP input is being sought to help shape referral pathways and how the service works with general practice.
GPs interested in contributing should contact the LMC team. Further background and the project contact are included in the interface meeting notes circulated with the meeting papers.
Renal prevention project: pathway and workload questions remain
The renal team’s FIND project aims to identify opportunities for earlier intervention when hospital blood tests show deterioration in kidney function.
The approach is still being developed. Questions remain about its geographical coverage, communication between services and whether any work would transfer to practices. These arrangements need to be clear before the implications for general practice can be understood.
There is also concern about whether the revised long-term conditions service adequately supports Newham’s established prevention priorities following the decommissioning of earlier services. Further conversations with renal and public health colleagues are needed to align the prevention strategy with funded delivery.
Newham LMC Unified Voice and Engagement Evening – 11 November 2026
Newham LMC and Londonwide LMCs are inviting GPs, practice managers and PCN colleagues to a general practice engagement evening on Wednesday 11 November 2026 at the Old Town Hall, Stratford. The event will provide an opportunity for colleagues across Newham to hear about key developments, network, share concerns and help shape local priorities for general practice.
Topics will include commissioning intentions for 2027/28 and the review of Local Enhanced Services (LES), particularly the Long Term Conditions (LTC) framework; ongoing work to address primary and secondary care interface issues and workload transfer; and an update on how Dr Tamara Hibbert and the Newham LMC are representing and supporting local practices.
The event runs from 7.00pm to 9.00pm (registration from 6.30pm), with refreshments provided. Places are limited and colleagues are encouraged to book early at the following link.
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 GP Reimbursement scheme, Phase two local enhanced service review, NEL Same Day Access specification and more. You can read it here NEL Newsletters.
Get new deals with the Londonwide LMCs Buying Group
Our Buying Group suppliers not only offer great deals to practices looking to switch, they also aim to offer the best value to existing customers in the Londonwide LMCs area, including explaining new products and features as they get rolled out.
- Hillcroft Surgery Supplies – Get next day delivery and industry leading stock availability, thanks to their investment in substantial warehouse facilities.
- X-on Health – Brings together cloud telephony, AI-powered care navigation, voice agents, ambient voice technology, and data to improve access and reduce practice pressure.
- 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.
- 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 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!
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.