Ben Coleman MP
L-R: Dr Lisa Harrod-Rothwell, Ben Coleman MP and Dr Kyla Cranmer
Ben Coleman was first elected Labour MP for Chelsea and Fulham in 2024 and sits on Parliament’s Health and Social Care Select Committee (HSC). Prior to this he was a councillor in Hammersmith and Fulham for several years.
On 14 March LMC members met him at his office in Fulham and presented him with the Parliamentary Champion Award that he had one at our recent awards event, but not been able to collect on the day. Dr Lisa Harrod-Rothwell, our CEO-Designate and Dr Kyla Cranmer, Chair of Hammersmith and Fulham LMC attended the meeting.
The GPs raised:
- The value of having strong GP input into the Government’s 10 Year Plan, which will be scrutinised by the HSC when it is published.
- The importance of having services designed to meet local needs, with service design led by those who will be delivering care.
- How clinicians across the system feed into decision making, the role of patients and how these processes could be made to work better for everyone involved.
Dr Kyla Cranmer said: “We had a really productive meeting with Ben Coleman who clearly understood the importance of general practice in the future of the NHS, our central role within any organisational changes, and the need for local services to be created by the front line staff who deliver the care rather than a top down approach”.
Danny Beales MP
L-R: Dr Shalin Bhattessa, Dr Adam Pack, Dr Sujata Chada, Dr Michelle Drage and Danny Beales MP
Danny Beales was also first elected Labour MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip in 2024 and sits on Parliament’s Health and Social Care Select Committee.
On 7 March LMC members met him at The Abbotsbury Practice in Eastcote. Dr Michelle Drage, CEO Londonwide LMCs and Dr Sujata Chada, Co-Chair Hillingdon LMC represented LMCs and Dr Shalin Bhattessa and Dr Adam Pack from the practice were also present.
The GPs raised:
- Issues surrounding referrals into Hillingdon Hospital.
- The impact of the employers national insurance hike on GP practices, particularly given North West London has the second lowest ratio of GPs to patients of any ICB area.
- Talked through the typical working day of a GP, highlighting the factors that impede delivering good quality care.
Danny Beales asked the LMC members and GPs about the impact of new housing developments without any increase in GP capacity.
Dan Tomlinson MP
Georgina Rider, Dr Oge Ilozue, Dan Tomlinson MP, Dr Farzana Vanant, Dr Ahmer Farooqi and Benedicta Aidoo
Dan Tomlinson was first elected as a Labour MP in 2024, the first time Chipping Barnet has not returned a Conservative MP since the constituency’s creation in 1974.
On 21 March LMC members met him at the Old Court House Surgery in Chipping Barnet. The LMC representatives were Dr Oge Ilozue, Barnet LMC Chair and Dr Farzana Vanant, Vice Chair, from the practice were Dr Ahmer Farooqi, GP Partner, Georgina Rider, Practice manager and Benedicta Aidoo, Practice Nurse.
The meeting covered:
- The merger of NHS England with the DHSC and defunding of ICB management budgets. The LMC raised the fact ICB cuts may impact their ability to guide local issues.
- The ratio of full-time equivalent GPs to registered patients in Barnet.
- How increased population from new housing developments will impact on general practice capacity.
- The newly agreed 2025/26 GP contract and the need for the completely new contract the Government has committed to redress the substantial real-terms loss of funding seen over recent years.
- The rise in employers national insurance and the impact on local practices.