TLCP August Newsletter 2025

TLCP Quarterly Newsletter – Summer 2025 Edition

Hello from all of us at The Lewisham Care Partnership!

As summer continues, we are here to support your health and wellbeing — whether that is through new services, friendly walking groups, or digital tools to make managing your care easier.

Below is what's happening across our sites.

Walk with a Doc – Join Us!

Our Walk with a Doc programme is going strong! Enjoy a relaxed walk led by Dr. Rebecca Jones, with health tips and conversation along the way.

• Next walk: Friday, 6th September
• Time: 12:30pm
• Meeting Point: Hilly Fields Medical Centre Reception

It is free, friendly, and open to everyone — come along, bring a friend!

PrEP Clinic – TLCP Leads the Way

We are proud to be the first pilot site in Lewisham for the PrEP Clinic, offering medication that helps prevent HIV for eligible patients.

• 30-minute appointments at our St John's site, just book via our website or pop in to our friendly Care Navigators who will be happy to assist.
• Open to Lewisham residents only
• Not registered with TLCP? Not a problem — we can register you just for this service!

HYour Health in Your Hands – The NHS App

Did you know you can:

• Book or cancel nurses’ appointments (GP appointments not available)
• Request repeat prescriptions
• View test results
• Securely access your records

…all through the NHS App?

Support & Contact

• Whether you are a carer, new to the NHS App, or need help accessing services — we are here to help.
• Visit our website
• Speak to our reception team in person or by phone

Need help setting it up? Just ask at reception — we have a Digital Champion at each site who’s happy to guide you.

Healthy.io Home Testing – Still Open!

If you are living with high blood pressure, you may have received a Healthy.io home urine test kit.

• Over 1,400 patients have been invited
• 55.4% have already completed their test
• Testing remains open until mid-August
• This simple test helps detect early signs of kidney damage — right from your bathroom.

Questions? Contact Healthy.io:

• Via their website
• 020 7183 7939

Now Referring: Mounjaro (Tirzepatide)

Access to Mounjaro® (tirzepatide) via the NHS is for those at greatest risk of ill health, or who are experiencing severe ill health due to living with obesity. This means that in order to get weight loss medicines, you must meet certain criteria. You must be overweight with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or more (or 37.5 or more if you are of South Asian, Chinese, other Asian, Middle Eastern, Black African or African-Caribbean origin) and:

• have 4 or more of the following weight related health conditions: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, obstructive sleep apnoea or type 2 diabetes

Or

• have at least 1 weight related health condition and you need to lose weight urgently for a specified life limiting reason such as cancer treatment or organ transplant surgery

A new service is being developed so that eligible patients can access this medication through a dedicated primary care pathway. However, this new service won’t be available by 23 June 2025. We’ll let you know the exact start date as soon as it’s confirmed. Please note that the medication cannot be started through individual GP practices. In the meantime, if you are eligible for weight loss medications, your GP will be able to refer you to a south east London specialist weight loss service who are able to prescribe the medication for you. Please note that the medication cannot be started through individual GP practices.

New Faces at TLCP

We are growing! It’s not just GPs and Nurses — our team includes: GPs, Nurses, we have Health Care Assistants, Pharmacists, Social Prescribers, Care Coordinators, Referral team, Electronic prescription, a call centre with Care Navigators to guide you, a dedicated Complaints and Communication team.

Please join us in welcoming: Konstantina, , Ittehad, Abid, Renae, Malika, Matthew, McKenna, our New Care Navigators at site and in our call centre. Geethanjali Operations Supervisor at Morden Hill site and Dr Rahimah at Belmont Hill to the TLCP team.

We are also bidding a warm farewell to Dr Daniel Wang, Dr. Abiramy Eswaravel, Bernadette, Clara, Josephine, Shereen, Sasha, and Anushka — thank you for your dedication and care!

2025 National GP Survey – What You Told Us

Over half of our patients (55%) rated their experience positively. While we know there’s room to grow, we are committed to improving care across TLCP.

You Said, We’re Listening — and Acting!

The 2025 National GP Survey results are in, and while we know there is room to grow, over half of our patient, 55% of our patients rated their experience positively. We take this seriously and are committed to improving your care. Here are some of what we are doing:

• Your voice helps shape our future — thank you for sharing it.
• We have been listening closely to your feedback through the 2025 GP Survey, Friends and Family and NHS Reviews and while over half of our patients rated their experience positively, we know we can and must do more. We are committed to better access, better communication, and a better experience — for everyone.

Feedback

See some positive feedback that we have got:

“Very efficient, helpful and polite staff.”

“Reception staff were extremely professional and kind.”

Here is what we are doing to improve:

Improving Phone Access

We have and are still reviewing our phone system to make it simpler and clearer. We are working with our teams weekly to monitor and improve call performance — and we are learning from other successful practices.

No More Waiting in Long Queues

Our phone system now has a call-back function — no need to stay on hold. Just press a button and we will call you back!

Better Customer Care

We are delivering customer care training across our teams and offering extra support where it is needed most, based on your feedback.

More Online Appointments

We are expanding the types of appointments available online — including nursing, pharmacy, and physiotherapy — and improving the booking experience through the NHS App.

Total Triage Launching This October

Coming soon: Total Triage, a simpler way to access care. No more waiting on the phone or coming in just to book — you will be able to submit a short form online, or ask our trained staff to help you complete it at reception.

NHS App Support

Digital Inclusion Champions at every site, to offer hands-on tech support, and are helping more patients get set up with the NHS App. We have also added clearer messaging to help you understand what services are available to book.

Reception Team Awareness

We are ensuring our Care Navigation teams at the Call Centre and front of house are engaged in your feedback too, helping us better understand your needs at the first point of contact.

Clearer Communication

Look out for new posters, screen messages, that explain what happens when you contact us — so you know what to expect and when. We have upgraded our website to make it clearer , more user friendly with everything you need to know about us and our services , take a trip there J

We are investing in more listening opportunities — including the Friends & Family Test (available online or at reception) This year has ranged between 75%-83 % positive feedback.

Join Our Patient Participation Group

We’re shaping services with your voice at the centre. Join our Patient Participation Group and be part of TLCP’s success — helping improve services and spread the word about what’s available.

Triage & Navigation

We are improving our access and one of the ways is by shortly updating our total triage, messaging and training staff to guide you to the right care — including physio appointments and other clinical teams.

Your Voice = Real Change

We are using surveys, audits, and feedback forms internally so all our staff are aware of what matters most to you — and how they can improve.

GP Survey – Be the Positive Voice

TLCP cares for 52,000 patients, but only 189 responded to this year’s national survey (out of 819 invites). If you get a survey between Jan–March, please respond — especially if you have had great care. Many patients have stayed with us for over 60 years — let’s celebrate that by making your voice count.

Thank you for your feedback in the 2025 GP Survey — we are listening and taking real action:

• These actions are just the beginning. Your voice helps shape our services, and we are grateful for your input.
• If you have further thoughts, please complete a Friends & Family Test online or speak to our Care Navigation team.

Published: Aug 6, 2025