Dear colleague,
Chair’s introduction
The hot summer may be over, but there are certainly plenty of hot topics that remain!
Our newsletters aim to keep Newham practices informed, provide feedback on issues and queries raised with us, highlight patient safety concerns, and promote constructive dialogue across Newham.
Most importantly, we want to support our collective efforts to achieve better outcomes for our patients while strengthening and sustaining the vital role of local General Practice.
Please share our newsletters with all members of your practice teams, so that everyone is aware of the challenges currently facing General Practice, as well as practical advice and information that may help practices manage workload and patient expectations.
As ever, please do get in touch with me or your Newham LMC PCN representative if you have any concerns, questions or issues that you would like us to raise on your behalf.
We look forward to seeing many of you at our next engagement and Unified Voice event, and to continuing to work together to ensure that Newham General Practice has a strong, united voice.
Best wishes,
Dr Tamara Hibbert
Chair
Newham LMC
Member spotlight – Dr Lyra Chacko-Bakshi
I’m a GP Partner at Balaam Street Surgery in Plaistow. I’m an International Medical Graduate (IMG), did my GP training in Kent, and have now spent over 14 years in NHS primary care — most of it here in Newham.
Alongside general practice, I’m a GP Trainer, teaching Years 1 and 5 medical students, PAs, and pharmacists at PCN level, and I train the OOH team at Newham GP Co-op. I’m also Co Vice Chair of RCGP NEL & NCL, and one of the five Directors at Newham GP Co-operative.
Outside of work, you’ll usually find me with a cup of tea, a good film, or a nature documentary on. I have a growing interest in wellbeing themes more broadly.
I sit on the LMC because I want to make sure the realities of frontline general practice — the workload, the workforce pressures, the bits that don’t show up in policy documents — are properly represented. Always happy to be stopped in a corridor or emailed directly if there’s something you think I should know about.
What has Newham LMC been working on recently?
DOAC monitoring: keep delivering it, but under protest
There is a long-running standoff over funding for DOAC monitoring. The LMC’s assessment, backed by the BMA’s own list of services that should attract funding beyond the core contract, is clear: DOAC monitoring is not core GP work and should be commissioned separately. Tower Hamlets had its local funding withdrawn in April, and London region ICBs now appear to be coordinating to avoid paying for this work anywhere in the capital.
Londonwide LMCs are escalating this at London region level and will keep you updated on progress.
List cleansing: watch your list size, and tell the LMC if patients are dropping fast
NHS England is running an aggressive list-cleansing exercise using AI-driven criteria that haven’t been fully explained, and it’s hitting London harder than the rest of the country due to more mobile patient populations. Some practices are reporting losses of more than 10% of their list.
When FP69 removal lists come through, get your admin team to make a genuine effort to contact those patients before they’re removed, since keeping legitimately registered patients on your list protects both continuity of care and income. If your practice is losing large numbers, report the scale back to the LMC office, specific anecdotes and numbers are genuinely useful in making the case to NHS England and to the local MPs who are now being briefed on this. It’s also worth telling patients directly (for example via posters or PPG engagement, similar to flu campaigns) that any list-verification email or text they receive is genuine and needs a response, since several patients have mistaken these for scams and ignored them.
Londonwide LMCs FP69 resources
2024-25 and 2025-26 Payment reconciliations and clawbacks
The ICB reported that following submission from practices of validated data, an initial review suggests that the financial position is significantly better than initially anticipated. The main potential clawback related to childhood immunisations, but practice returns have demonstrated that the historic CEG data did not properly account for exception reporting.
The remaining clawback is therefore expected to be closer to the historic overpayment in 2024-25 rather than the much larger figures previously anticipated. The ICB expects to complete the revised reconciliation work by the end of September.
A number of outstanding issues remain and the LMC will work to resolve them with the ICB over the next few weeks.
Same Day Access (SDA): going live 1 October
The ICB clinical lead confirmed that the new SDA specification was intended to go live from 1 October 2026 and move into the NEL framework contract. The immediate specification is expected to involve limited operational change, but the ICB sees it as the starting point for a much wider redesign over the 3.5-year contract period.
The LMC raised a number of concerns: inconsistent SDA opening hours poorly aligned with local needs; lack of communication with PCNs despite the imminent 1 October implementation date; the tariff has not been uplifted for several years; a long list of KPIs; and uncertainty about funding for interoperability/digital infrastructure.
The ICB confirmed that they intend to undertake engagement with providers, Places and LMCs during the first six months and thereafter develop the specification iteratively. The ICB also wants to move away from onerous manual returns and multiple templates towards a more standardised data source for contract monitoring and outcomes.
Save the date: 11 November 2026 – GP engagement event
Following the previous successful event, there is to be another on 11 November in Newham – please watch out for further communications about this.
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 seasonal flu vaccination, LTC proactive care QOF, PCIT templates and searches, 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.