Dear colleague,
If you have received this newsletter from a colleague and would like to join our mailing list please contact joni.wilson-kaye@lmc.org.uk or click here.
In this month’s newsletter:
- Guidance on FP69s and List Validation
- Clinical Interface Updates:
- NCL LMC interface work presented at UK GPC Conference
- NCL Consensus Document/ Onwards Referral Pathway
- Focus on Mental Health interface issues across NCL including updates on GP Advice Line, Crisis Hub Referral and MHCAS
- NCL ICB’s interface update
- NCL LMCs Strategic Leadership Network (SLN)
- Feedback to DALS
- NCL LTC LCS Newsletter
- Kidney Beam patient self-referral
New PCSE list cleanse approach causing practice stability concerns
In October 2025 PCSE changed from giving practices six months to confirm that patients with an FP69 flag were still living nearby and wished to remain on their list, to only three months. Londonwide LMCs have produced guidance for practices, including resources to communicate with patients and a form for practices to report how they are being affected. They are also escalating the problem to NHS leaders, media, politicians and others in positions of influence.
Latest updates on developments and ongoing issues impacting general practice in NCL
North Central London LMC’s interface work held up as example for LMCs across the UK
At the 2026 UK LMC Conference, held in Belfast from 13-15 May, representatives from LMCs in North Central London were invited to give a presentation on how they drew-up and agreed a consensus document on the interface between primary and secondary care for their ICB area.
Dr Toni Hazell, Chair of Haringey LMC, Dr Farzana Vanat, Co-Chair of Barnet LMC, and Dr Pippa Vincent, Co-Chair of Enfield LMC took over a year of careful negotiation and the implementation is still ongoing. This work represents a substantial step forward in numerous areas and Londonwide LMCs want to congratulate Toni, Farzana and Pippa on their work.
Their presentation is available on our website and is designed to work as a stand-alone document for other areas interested in replicating the NCL approach.
NCL Consensus Document/ Onwards Referral Pathway
Representatives from NCL LMCs have worked with the ICB to feed into the process to review the NCL Interface Consensus Guide and Onward Referral Protocol. Updated details below:
Focus on Mental Health Interface issues across NCL including updates on GP Advice Line
NCL LMCs meet with key staff from North London Foundation Trust monthly to discuss interface issues impacting general practice. Ongoing discussions have taken place during the roll-out of the single point of access (SPA) from the point at which it was first a pilot in Barnet throughout the sector to include all five boroughs.
- Click here for the SPA process map.
- Click here for the SPA working draft Standard Operational Procedures
Going forward we will have representation at WNL ICB’s task and finish group to address issues in the gap in provision for ADHD. More information will follow from this work. 
In response to the previous WNL ICB holding statement we reminded practices that shared care should not mean that the trust is transferring the care of a patient solely to the GP, pointed practices to Londonwide LMCs guidance and invited them to raise any queries or concerns with us.
GP Advice Line
Mental Health Services within NLFT have a long-established 5-day consultant access service for direct GP telephone advice.
The process is as follows:
- The GP Advice Line is available for GPs who wish to speak with a Consultant Psychiatrist regarding any mental health issue or medication management query.
- The phone line operates between 9:00am and 5:00pm, with calls being responded to by the Crisis Telephone Service (CTS).
- GPs contact the CTS advice line and briefly outline the issue to the operator, who will then contact the Consultant via email.
- Calls received are logged and briefly summarised within RiO by the CTS operator.
- The GP Advice Line is primarily intended to support GPs with psychiatric medication advice.
- The line should not be used for urgent or emergency cases.
Contact Number: 020 8702 3620
Median wait time: 11 seconds
Crisis Hub Referrals
Referrals should be made to the Crisis Hub either by email at:
nlft.behcrisis.telephonehub@nhs.net or via the Health Professional Line (HPL) on: 020 8702 3500.
Please note:
- The referral form attached requires updating on the Accurx system for GP practices which will be resolved as soon as possible.
- The current form still references the old 0800 number and contains an invalid inbox address.
24-hour Mental Health Crisis Assessment Service (MHCAS)
Current guidance indicates that clinicians should contact Community Single Point of Access (CSPA) or Crisis Telephone Service (CTS) in the first instance for triage purposes. Patients may also walk into MHCAS directly if appropriate. The guidance also references MHCAS where ED attendance may otherwise have been considered for a mental health crisis.
Further communications regarding MHCAS will be circulated in line with the second MHCAS opening planned for Summer 2026.
Please find here the link to the MHCAS information page on the NCL GP website.
NCL ICB’s update on Interface Improvement
One of NCL ICBs initiatives to improve care across the primary care secondary care interface has been to appointment an Interface Improvement Clinical Lead, Dr Jonathan Levy. Jonathan has been holding individual bimonthly MDTs with UCLH, RFH and Barnet medical directors, chief pharmacists, senior pharmacists and GP liaison officers where they consider case examples to support interface improvement, improve processes and nurture culture change. Examples include:
- GP alerts received of Barnet Emergency Department colleague requesting GP to chase urine MC&S samples taken by ED – Dr Russell Durkin ED Consultant attended Barnet Interface MDT and confirmed ED Consultants routinely review all ED urine MC&S results and action appropriately. Dr Durkin will kindly continue to remind ED clinical colleagues not to request GP colleagues chase urine MC&S results. Dr Dirkin also confirmed that Barnet ED consultants can now refer direct to other departments outpatient clinics thus avoiding asking GPs to make onward referrals.
- GP alert examples received of urology CNSs asking GPs to annually monitor PSAs of non-prostate cancer patients – Royal Free Hospital urologist Mr Ashoke Roy is agreeing discharge letter wording with the NCL Cancer Alliance that makes it clear that it is the patient’s responsibility to initiate requests for annual PSA tests (for those patient’s not considered vulnerable).
- GP feedback that UCLH endoscopy nurses requesting GPs to prescribe fluconazole if they found oesophageal candidiasis – The gastroenterology department now ensures that endoscopy nurses have completed independent prescribing course or seek prescribing support from gastroenterology doctors.
- GP Alerts received regarding Royal Free Hospital Dermatologists asking GPs to refer to other providers for allergy patch testing – New pathway initiated in response to these ensuring onward referrals are managed internally by dermatology colleagues
- GP Alerts received regarding Barnet Maxillofacial surgeons discharging patients with a request for GPs to refer on for temporomandibular physiotherapy – New pathway initiated whereby Max-Fax clinicians refer internally to their department’s own physiotherapy service.
- As we encourage the use of NCL consensus document across all organisations, NCL GPs are encouraged to use the NCL standardised referral form that is on EMIS where there is not another speciality specific form already present and where possible please use advice and guidance to facilitate patient journey and remember to tick the box for conversion to referral where appropriate.
North Central London LMCs Strategic Leadership Network (SLN)
Our NCL LMC Chairs and Vice Chairs (NCL Strategic Leadership Network, SLN) has continued to work to address issues relating to the ICB’s merger and gaps in the transfer of their functions to other organisations. If you are trying to contact a department of the ICB and are not able to please notify us. Other topics of focus at the SLN included:
- Weight Management Pathway
- GP reimbursement scheme
- List size reductions
- Pathways
We will be continuing these conversations going forwards so if you can concern you would like to raise, please do so with either one of your boroughs LMC reps or email joni.wilson-kaye@lmc.org.uk
Feedback to DALS
It has come to our attention that if you use the DALS feedback mechanism at the end of a telephone consultation to score an interpreter a 1 or 2 because of poor performance this does not get followed up by DALS. We would urge you to feedback any poor experience of DALS translation services using the GP Alert process that can be accessed via EMIS.
NCL LTC LCS Newsletter
For the latest ICB information on the NCL LTC LCS click here.
Kidney Beam Patient Self-Referral
The Kidney Beam programme enables patients with chronic CKD to self-refer to access online support in health education on topics including physical activity and diet. Read more.
Surviving the 2026-27 GP contract – webinar recording
A recording of the first run of Londonwide LMCs’ webinar is now available on the 2026-27 GP contract guidance page for those people who were unable to attend either session.
You can find out about the effect on London of the contract changes, with our unique patient population and commissioning arrangements, based on the documentation available at the end of April.
Tell us about your practice’s purchasing needs and win a £20 gift voucher
Our new survey on what you buy, and why you buy it, will help us improve our offer of goods, services and training. Five respondents will also win a £20 gift voucher. The survey covers several areas, you only need to fill out the ones relevant to you – we know how busy everyone working in general practice is!
- Hillcroft Surgery Supplies – Get next day delivery and industry leading stock availability, thanks to their investment in substantial warehouse facilities.
- 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.
- Surgery Connect – Automates more tasks within your phone system, integrates with clinical records and seamlessly bridges in and out-of-hours.
- 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 it 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!
Londonwide LMCs NCL sector team
You can find the details of your LMC Chairs across NCL here. The NCL Londonwide LMCs team are:
- Jamie Wright, Director Primary Care
- Dr Vicky Weeks, Medical Director
- Joni Wilson-Kaye, Assistant Director Primary Care – joni.wilson-kaye@lmc.org.uk
- Sarah Ocran, Committee Liaison Executive – sarah.ocran@lmc.org.uk.