1 April 2026
Bulletin
Introducing NHS West and North London, support for the bowel cancer screening programme and the launch of a pilot in maternity care.

Welcome to this week's primary care bulletin

Key points this week include:
  • launch of NHS West and North London
  • change to bulletin submission process
  • local support offer to GPs for Bowel Cancer Screening Programme
  • launch of the Maternal Reducing Inequalities Care Bundle pilot
Education and training:
  • webinar invitation - Integrating healthcare into youth spaces
If you have any submissions for this bulletin please complete this Google form. Please note the deadline for submissions is 3pm each Monday.

View previous editions.
Launch of NHS West and North London

Today, North West London and North Central London ICBs have formally merged to become NHS West and North London ICB. 

We would like to reassure GP practices and primary care providers that there will be no immediate changes to how you work with us.  

For now, whether you are a GP practice or a provider, please continue to use your existing contacts and communication routes with the ICB. We will let you know if that changes, with plenty of notice for anyone impacted. 

We recognise this is a period of uncertainty and change. As part of this transition, some colleagues will be leaving at the end of April through voluntary redundancy, and we will be running internal recruitment processes before the new structure is in place after the summer. 

We will continue to update providers on ICB change and any impact this change may have on how you engage with us as an ICB, for now the first port of call will still be the North West London ICB Professionals microsite.
  
The change is a nationally mandated reduction in ICB running costs and it may result in future changes to ICB teams, processes and ways of working, but this will be communicated directly to providers as needed. 
 
Visit the new public website here: westandnorthlondon.icb.nhs.uk 
Change to the way you submit entries for the Primary Care bulletin

We are working towards migrating north west London information to the existing north central London GP website and providing one primary care update. This is likely to take a number of months.

In the interim, all bulletin entries must now be submitted via a short Google Form. The form will ask for the title, text, and link you would like included – this mirrors the information previously requested by email, but in a more structured format. This change will help us ensure all submissions are captured effectively and consistency is maintained across entries.

Complete the Google form to submit an entry for the next bulletin. 
Launch of the Maternal Reducing Inequalities Care Bundle pilot

The launch of the Maternal Reducing Inequalities Care Bundle (MRICB) pilot has now started across selected maternity sites in London.

As primary care teams, you play a vital role in early pregnancy support, continuity of care, and reducing inequalities. Although only a small number of maternity sites are participating directly in the pilot, it is important that all primary care colleagues are aware of the programme, what women may ask about, and how you can continue to support consistent, equitable access to maternity services.

To support this, we have developed a short briefing pack outlining:
  • The aims and key components of the MRICB
  • The updated vitamin D supplementation being piloted at participating sites
  • The Pan‑London maternity self‑referral form, available to all women and birthing people
  • What primary care teams - both participating and non‑participating - need to know
  • A set of FAQs for practice staff, including reception teams.
Please take a few minutes to review the briefing and share it within your practice or network. Ensuring clear, consistent messages across London will help women access care early, understand their options, and feel supported during the first stages of pregnancy.

If you have any questions, or would like additional information, please contact the regional maternity team at: england.maternity.londonregion@nhs.net.

Thank you, as ever, for your continued commitment to delivering safe, equitable and person‑centred care for women and families across London.
Local support offer to GPs for Bowel Cancer Screening Programme

Every bowel cancer screening centre has a Health Promotion Specialist (HPS), employed to mitigate and address barriers to attendance in London; with a focus on reducing inequalities, improving uptake, patient communication and access, and partnership working. 

Below are collective examples of initiatives HPS' have supported practices with. These initiatives are evidenced to improve uptake to the bowel cancer screening programme. Please also see the attached case study.

  • Tailored support in addressing non-responders.
  • Attend PCN meetings and provide up-to-date practice screening uptake data and relevant insights about Bowel Cancer screening pathway.
  • Bring the relevant health equity audit to the PCN and exploring targeted and bespoke interventions, developed in collaboration with GPs, in addition to outreach activities within GP surgeries.
  • Staff training about the screening service:
    • Prevalence, signs/symptoms, risk factors and prevention of bowel cancer
    • The role of the Bowel Cancer Screening Centre and the patient pathway
    • Common barriers to screening and tackling health inequalities
    • Supporting patients accessing reasonable adjustments
    • Searches for non-responders to the screening invitation
    • Enable staff to confidently promote bowel screening
  • Adding reasonable adjustment flags to patient records and pulling off patient lists for non-responders.
  • Engagement with patients identified, or accessing support in the local area, to ensure reasonable adjustments are in place for the Bowel Cancer Screening Service.
  • Telephone/conversation scripts and letter/text templates to support discussions with patients about Bowel Cancer Screening.
  • Bowel screening resources in other languages and formats (including easy-read materials).

If you would like specific information about how your practice or PCN may be supported, please directly contact the HPS in your respective locality.

Ahmed Abdo

  • BCS Centre: Imperial Hospital
  • Localities covered: Westminster; Kensington & Chelsea; Hammersmith & Fulham; Ealing (70% of wards – see Excel); Hounslow
  • Contact:
    • a.abdo@nhs.net
    • wlbcsc@nhs.net

Benzeer Siddique & Andrew Prentice

  • BCS Centre: St Mark’s Hospital
  • Localities covered: Brent; Harrow; Ealing (30% of wards – see Excel); Hillingdon
  • Contact:
    • benzeer.siddique@nhs.net
    • andrewprentice@nhs.net

Chanise Campbell-Ramsay

  • BCS Centre: Lewisham and Greenwich Hospital
  • Localities covered: Bexley; Bromley; Lewisham; Greenwich
  • Contact:
    • c.campbell-ramsay@nhs.net

Dusan Jovovic

  • BCS Centre: King’s Hospital
  • Localities covered: Lambeth; Southwark
  • Contact:
    • djovovic@nhs.net
    • kch-tr.bcshp@nhs.net

Mark Stewart

  • BCS Centre: King George Hospital
  • Localities covered: Barking; Havering; Redbridge
  • Contact:
    • mark.stewart2@nhs.net
    • bhrut.bcsphealthpromotion@nhs.net

Leena Khagram

  • BCS Centre: Homerton Hospital
  • Localities covered: City & Hackney; Newham; Tower Hamlets; Waltham Forest
  • Contact:
    • leena.khagram@nhs.net
    • huh-tr.nelbcsp@nhs.net

Tom Smith

  • BCS Centre: UCLH
  • Localities covered: Camden; Islington; Enfield; Barnet; Haringey
  • Contact:
    • tom.smith13@nhs.net
    • uclh.BowelScreeningAdmin-Medicine@nhs.net

Lisa‑Lyna Abangma

  • BCS Centre: St George’s
  • Localities covered: Croydon; Sutton; Merton; Wandsworth; Richmond; Kingston
  • Contact:
    • lisa-lyna.abangma@stgeorges.nhs.uk
    • bowelscreeningpromotion@stgeorges.nhs.uk

Cancer Screening Pathway

A FIT (Faecal Immunochemical Test) is sent to people aged 50-74 every two years. People aged 75 + can request a kit. Invitations to be screened and the FIT Kits are sent from the London Hub via post. The London Hub will send the patient’s results to them by letter and inform their registered GP practice of the results electronically. The patient will then remain in the screening pathway until they are no longer eligible.

Bowel Cancer Screening Resources // Bowel Cancer Screening: Information Leaflets// Campaign Resources // NHS BCSP Information for Patients // Video: How to use the bowel cancer screening FIT kit

Symptomatic Pathway

Patients who present with symptoms of bowel cancer will enter a different pathway from those who are on the screening pathway. The FIT used has a lower threshold for determining a positive result (10µg Hb/g faeces). The pathway begins with a general practice consultation, after which – if there are concerns about potential bowel cancer, the primary care clinician requests a FIT (faecal immunochemical test) For the patient. Once the result is received by the practice, the clinician manages as appropriate (which would include urgent referral to a specialist in secondary care in the event of a positive result).

Screening & Symptomatic Pathway Map - March 2025

For more information please see the PCN DES guidance (Part A, clinical), section 2.1.11 which focusses on cancer referral and screening.

Education and training
Webinar invitation - Integrating healthcare into youth spaces

The NHS Violence Reduction Academy would like to invite you to a webinar exploring how NHS primary care services improve access and engagement with young people. The event will showcase the incredible work delivered by frontline practitioners and clinical experts of Health Spot, a GP service embedded within Spotlight youth centre and other services in East London.

Health Spot aims to put young people in control of their healthcare by offering friendly, confidential, non-judgemental appointments with a GP experienced in supporting young people’s health needs. The model aims to provide accessible, person-centred care for young people who might otherwise not engage with healthcare services. This is enabled by additional support from youth workers and other specialists – a key mechanism to building trust and rapport.

The event will showcase this unique approach to service delivery, as well as provide tools for areas considering similar integrated models. We will also welcome questions from the audience as part of a Q&A session at the end.

The webinar will take place on Microsoft Teams on Tuesday 14 April - 10am - 11:30am. 

Please follow the link to register.