This piece was published in September 2025 to mark East and South East Asian Heritage month.
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Long service award
Dr Michelle Drage, former CEO, Londonwide LMCs (left) presents Ethie Kong with her award in February 2025.
At the London General Practice Awards held on February 6, 2025, Ethie was the winner of the Long Service Award.
The nomination for this award was made by Dr. Halai, a fellow GP who worked alongside Ethie. “Her consulting room was just next door to mine; we’ve been separated by a wall for 10 years,” Ethie shared. “We worked together, and I’m her mentor, although we no longer work together. We’re still in touch and continue to support one another.”
Ethie expresses her gratitude for the recognition. “I’m very glad that I was considered and given the award because it tells me that my work has been recognised. I was so pleased that day to receive the award. I want to tell the younger GPs and the many generations to come after me that general practice is a good career.”
“Mama Kong”
Dr. Etheldreda ‘Ethie’ Kong, a seasoned general practitioner shares her journey and the profound connections she has forged within her community. “I’ve been a GP for almost 38 years. I was a GP in Brent because I am a ‘Brent girl’,” Ethie laughed. “However, after working in Harlesden, which is a really deprived area, I thought I needed a change in my career. So, I prepared my patients and my partners and decided that in two years’ time, I am leaving. Not because I don’t love them [the practice] but because I felt I needed a change.”
“I’m still in touch with my ex-practice and I still go to Christmas events or someone’s retirement event. Since I live locally in Brent, I always pop into the practice, and I also meet ex-patients in supermarkets,” she said.
Ethie transitioned to Westminster Borough, joining Crawford Street Surgery in April 2018. “I’ve been there eight years, and I love the population. Some conditions like mental health and homelessness are more prevalent in Westminster as Westminster has deprived areas as well. So, it is not a hundred percent affluent. But I am adaptable, that’s my job as a GP.”
“In my current practice, we have a practice manager, receptionist, practice nurses, healthcare assistants, salaried doctors and then partners. The great thing I love about our team in Crawford Street is the multidisciplinary team (MDT) meeting that we have once a month and informal meetings in between. These meetings include extended team members who are not employed by the practice but attached to the practice. Through our working together closely, I make no distinction between them and those employed by the practice because we’re all together serving our patients.”
Ethie emphasises the importance of teamwork and support within the practice. “I believe in getting people together and eating together. Before the COVID-19 pandemic came, we had our monthly formal meeting in person, then I would get everybody lunch so that we could sit down, eat, and discuss our patients in a safe environment. It was so good and showed appreciation from my part because everyone works so hard and they are always busy, running around. When COVID came, we had to resort to virtual meetings.”
She also highlights the moral support within the team. “Sometimes they call me ‘mama Kong’,” Ethie chuckled.
As the clinical lead for the MDT at her practice, she plays a pivotal role in coordinating care. “Like in any team, you need a leader. Our MDT meetings are made up of our surgery members, district nurses, community matrons, care navigators, a health coach, palliative care, and social services, when they can. We also invite Parkinson’s and dementia nurses when it is appropriate for them to join in.”
“We have done meetings where we asked patients to join in, and if the topic is too sensitive, we ask their carers or relatives to join in as well. So, it becomes truly a joint decision to disregard any misunderstandings and to educate and support the patient.”
She continues, “I’m very supportive towards the team because they know we always cover each other’s backs. Whatever decision we make, we make it together, after discussing and planning the care of the patient. That way, everybody knows what part they play in the patient’s care. So far, our team is very happy, and our patients are well looked after and are happy.”
Advocating for diverse communities
Ethie has long been an advocate for addressing health disparities and fostering community involvement. Reflecting on her experiences as a child, she shares insights into the challenges faced by minority communities.
“As an immigrant child growing up, I could see that language and cultural barriers can sometimes be a hindrance or lead to miscommunication,” Ethie explains. “East Chinese, East and Southeast Asian communities are very quiet people, and because of that, they’re often thought to be okay and not in need of help. But that’s not true.”
“Through my role as a clinical leader, I discovered that there is one piece is population health community involvement and using communities as an asset and as a voice.”
Her commitment to community health was further reinforced by Ernest Ezeajughi, the former mayor of Brent, who encouraged her to create a Brent Chinese community group. “It’s called Chinese because of Chinese ethnicity, but I expanded it to the East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) communities,” she said.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ethie witnessed the rise of racism against ESEA communities, often referred to as the ‘Wuhan virus’ or ‘Kungfu virus.’ This spurred her to act. “I thought to myself, it’s time to pay back to my community. I was already the clinical lead at Westminster looking into population health and researching the conditions affecting the black population. That’s when the community work began.”
Ethie emphasises the importance of educating communities about general practice and NHS services. “A lot of people have misunderstandings or myths about the services. So, we need to explain to them how things work and have health talks on long-term conditions. I go into the black communities to talk about prostate cancer and other communities on diabetes.
“For the ESEA communities, the statistics prove that in London there is low uptake in cancer screenings. So why what are the barriers that prevent them from taking up cancer screenings? Why is there low uptake in certain vaccinations? I want to know the answer. If there are any misunderstandings, I want to be able to clear it for them. That’s how I’m getting involved with primarily the ESEA communities, as well as the BME communities.”
On April 12th, at Chalkhill Community Centre, Ethie, alongside Brent Council and the Cancer Alliance, held an ESEA event to highlight cancer awareness and screening. Doctors and nurses volunteered, providing health chats and confidential one-to-one sessions, allowing individuals to discuss their concerns and receive professional advice.
“Some people say sarcastically that I am a workaholic, I say, no, I am not a workaholic because I do not get ‘burned out’. I enjoy my work and my chosen profession as a GP. I have come to Crawford Street, and I have improved the quality of care, and we are one of the good performing practices in Westminster. And if I am not too arrogant to say, or too proud to say, is one of the best practices in Northwest London ICB,” Ethie smiled.
“In general practice, we adapt to the new ways of working, but to me, the beauty is that we still maintain the core of general practice. You evolve and you adapt as you go along, but never as a GP will I forget my fundamentals because general practice is family medicine to me, which means to care for the family.”