London level Coronavirus response
We continue to provide an active voice for London general practice, working with the Mayor’s Office, London Assembly and London Councils to raise awareness of the needs of GP practices and the communities they care for. Particularly in light of the Capital’s response to Coronavirus.
London Recovery Board
Earlier this month City Hall sought our input on the work priorities of the London Recovery Board, chaired by the Mayor and outgoing London Council’s Chair, Peter John. We highlighted that GPs understand the needs of their local communities and have a long history of planning and delivering services to meet these needs, accounting for barriers to access such as language and literacy, and ensuring delivery models are socially and culturally acceptable.
GPs understand their neighbourhoods and promote social inclusion. In many areas the practice is a community asset providing not just bricks and mortar value to the local geography, but essential social capital through the people delivering patient advocacy, community and service collaboration on population health planning, and engaging and supporting some of the most vulnerable community members.
You can read our response here. We will pass back any further comments and have suggested a meeting to discuss collaborative working and how we might take forward the Mayor’s important health inequalities and community development agenda.
London Assembly hearing on BAME Londoners experience of the pandemic
We regularly raise concerns with commissioners and the wider NHS about staff safety, in recent months also raising the importance of considering Public Health England’s (PHE) reviews into the impact of Covid-19 on BAME communities in local plans.
In late August the London Assembly Health Committee took evidence from London public health experts on the experience of BAME Londoners through the pandemic. Concerns raised by witnesses echoed many of those raised with us by practices as we see the growth of the second wave of the pandemic. The full transcript of the hearing can be read here:
Dr Somen Banerjee, Director of Public Health, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, said:
“There is a very real pressing issue… if there is a second wave, how would you respond to disparities around BAME groups? Use the framework of the recommendations as a way of shaping that question. In the second wave, we need live data. We need to be engaging with our communities. We need culturally competent messages going out. There is a real question and the Disparities report is a real asset for us. How the accountability works out is the key question.”
If you have information on how local plans are, or even are not, adapting to meet the needs outlined in the PHE reports please get in touch: info@lmc.org.uk.
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We provide expert guidance for practices in our guidance section, as well as an archive of other materials you may find useful.
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