Practice News

13th Jun

Lambeth Walk premises update

Lambeth Walk premises update  

We are moving  

From early August, we are moving out of our building on Lambeth Walk when our lease expires.  

There’s no need to worry.  

Our doctors, nurses, and other healthcare staff will continue to provide the full range of services to our registered patients from the Akerman Health Centre near Myatts Fields, and the Hurley Clinic on Kennington Lane, for a period of around 18 months. Then, in early 2026, we will move back into the north Lambeth area, into new long-term premises.  

Patients can continue to make appointments with us in the usual way. Telephone and online appointments will continue to be available, and in person (face to face) appointments will be offered either at the Akerman Health Centre or the Hurley Clinic. In person appointments at the Hurley Clinic will be offered to patients with mobility issues that might make travel to the Akerman more challenging. 

The booking system will work as it does currently – you can request an appointment online or by telephone, and you will be offered an appointment after initial assessment by the team regarding whether you need to attend in person. You do not need to change your GP or learn a new telephone number. You won’t need to change your pharmacist for collecting prescriptions, or change where you go for your hospital appointments.  

Why do we need to move?  

For some years, we have been considering plans for what to do after the lease on our current Practice premises expires. We have worked alongside NHS South East London in considering over 20 potential sites for permanent accommodation in the local area, and detailed plans are well developed that mean we will continue to deliver general practice services to our existing patient list. It is intended that the new permanent location will be operational in early 2026.  

As an interim measure, and to allow this work to progress, we have been able to extend the lease on our Lambeth Walk premises until August 2024.  Extension beyond this date is not possible, since King’s College London and the Maths School, who own the building, have secured funding and plan to expand their provision on this site.  

We have secured interim premises arrangements with the support of NHS South East London and local partners. After considering 16 sites in the local area, we now have plans in place to move temporarily to the Akerman Medical Centre, around 1.8 miles away in the Vassall/Myatts Fields area of Lambeth, with telephone, online and in person appointments, as well as the Practice’s administrative functions taking place from this site after our move from Lambeth Walk. We have also secured use of three clinical rooms nearby, at the Hurley Clinic at Ebenezer House on Kennington Lane, thanks to a generous offer from the Hurley and Riverside Practices. This will enable Lambeth Walk Group Practice staff to carry out face to face consultations with patients at a location close to the current Practice site. For a number of our registered patients, this will be closer to home than the existing Lambeth Walk site.  

Keeping our patients informed 

Between now and the move from Lambeth Walk, we are developing detailed plans that will consider how Practice staff will work across the two sites, how we will manage home visits, and how to make sure  all patients get the right care for them in the right place, according to clinical need. We will continue to keep our patients informed of our plans including via our website. And we will continue to work alongside our Patient Participation Group to ensure that information is shared and that any concerns or questions are identified and addressed.  

Our longer-term plan remains to secure shared premises in the north of Lambeth that will accommodate both Lambeth Walk Group Practice and Waterloo Health Centre. Both our Practices view this as the best solution for us and for our patients. We continue to work closely with NHS South East London to progress this aim, to enable delivery of the best care to Lambeth people now and into the future from high quality premises that accommodate a wide range of primary and community-based services. 

We keep our ‘Frequently asked questions’ section up to date. If your question is not answered, you can get in touch with us by lambethwalkgp@nhs.net  

Frequently asked questions 

Question  

Response  

When is the move to the Akerman Health Centre and the Hurley Clinic taking place? 

Services will start to be delivered from the Hurley Clinic on 2 August. The Practice will start up remote and telephone appointments from the Akerman before then, but this won’t impact on patients  

 

Will the telephone number stay the same if patients need to call the surgery?  

 

Yes 

Will the Practice have access to patient records from the new premises?  

The IT system will be in place to enable to Practice team to access patient records both at the Akerman Health Centre and at the Hurley Clinic. 

The IT system will be the same one that the Practice currently uses; the Practice is confident this can work over two sites. The IT will be fully tested before the move.   

  

If a patient can’t get online, how will they see a doctor?  

Face-to-face appointments will, as now, be available according to patients’ clinical need. For those who don’t need to attend a face-to-face appointment, telephone appointments will still be available, so there is no need to go online if this is difficult. The Practice staff at the Lambeth Walk reception desk at the Hurley Clinic will also be able to help patients in person who have trouble booking.  

 

Will face to face appointments be offered at the Akerman Health Centre as well as at the Hurley Clinic? 

Yes, there are eight rooms at the Akerman and three at the Hurley. The Practice staff at the Akerman will be carrying out online and telephone appointments as well as face to face. 

Will most patients need to travel further for their appointments?  

Currently around 25%of Lambeth Walk appointments are face to face, and this is unlikely to change. We intend to do our online and telephone appointments from the Akerman, but there will be face to face appointments also at the Akerman Health Centre for some patients. Those who cannot travel will be offered an appointment at the Hurley Clinic or receive a home visit as they do now. The journey by public transport from Lambeth Walk to the Akerman Health Centre would involve a bus (159) to Vassall Road, and then a walk. The Hurley Clinic is around a 6-minute walk from the Lambeth Walk Group Practice building, and for some of our patients this will be closer to their home than now.  Our team will do what we can to make sure that individual needs are met. 

 

Where is the Hurley Clinic? 

 

Kennington Lane, around a 6-minute walk from Lambeth Walk Practice 

Who will patients see at the Hurley Clinic?   

The same team patients see now at Lambeth Walk Group Practice will be working across two sites – the Hurley Clinic and the Akerman Health Centre  

 

Will there be a constant Lambeth Walk presence at the Hurley Clinic? 

Lambeth Walk staff will be at the Hurley Clinic each day; there will be a staff Lambeth Walk reception desk at the Hurley Clinic each day also. 

The Practice will have three rooms at the Hurley Clinic, and these will be used for pre-booked face to face appointments only. Telephone appointments will not be carried out from the Hurley Clinic so that these rooms can be used most effectively to see patients.  

 

Will nurses have appointments at the Hurley Clinic as well as the doctors? 

 

Nurses will operate from the Hurley Clinic but not every day. They will book patients in for the days when they will be working there.  

How is the Practice considering the impact of the move to the Akerman Health Centre and the Hurley Clinic on different groups of patients? For example, those with limited mobility? 

The Practice is very much considering the impact of the planned changes on patients, to work out the best way to minimise any negative impacts on particular groups. As part of this, the team at Lambeth Walk has been listening to patients concerns. The plan to use consulting rooms at the Hurley Clinic is to minimise the distance that patients with mobility issues will need to travel. The Practice’s impact assessment will help to ensure that the needs of all groups are considered. It can change how the Practice supports patients with specific needs through the move, but it won’t alter the need for the Practice to vacate the premises at Lambeth Walk by 2 August. 

 

People with autism or learning disabilities will find the move hard. Will they be allocated face to face appointments? 

 

The Practice will treat each patient according to their individual need 

Will patients need to change their nominated pharmacy for picking up prescriptions?  

You can continue to use your usual pharmacy for collecting prescriptions, arrangements in place with local pharmacies for prescriptions will continue. 

If patients have an appointment with Lambeth Walk at the Akerman Health Centre, would they need to be referred to King’s College Hospital rather than Guy’s and St Thomas’ if they need to be seen by a specialist, as the Akerman is closer to King’s?  

 

No. As now, patients can choose which hospital their GP refers them to. So, if patients prefer to go to St Thomas’, they will still be able to do this. Patients can choose which hospital they want to be referred to by their GP and this will not change.   

If a patient registers with another local GP practice, what happens about hospital referrals and appointments? Will they need to start over again?  

 

If patients decide to register at another GP practice, they will still be able to continue with their hospital services, for example if they’ve been going to St Thomas’, they will still be able to go there. The records will transfer to the new GP practice so they would know about this too. 

Is the move to the Akerman Health Centre and the Hurley Clinic permanent or will the Lambeth Walk Group Practice continue to look for premises in the local area?  

 

The Practice intends to stay in the local area, and the plans are to move to long term premises in the north Lambeth area in early 2026, sharing premises with Waterloo Health Centre.  

Can the Practice move sooner than 2026 if suitable premises are available locally before then, or will they be tied into an agreement?  

 

The Practice could move sooner if suitable long term premises for the planned colocation with Waterloo Health Centre were available   

Did you consider using empty properties nearby to house the Practice temporarily while more permanent premises are found?  

The Practice has been working on this for some time with NHS South East London Estates team. Before arriving at the plan to move temporarily to the Akerman Health Centre and the Hurley Clinic, we considered around 16 locations for temporary use. This search included asking partner organisations including Lambeth Council if they have any suitable premises nearby for temporary use. 

 

What is the longer term plan for premises for Lambeth Walk Group Practice?  

The long-term plan is for Lambeth Walk and Waterloo Health Centre to share premises in the north Lambeth area. NHS South East London is working with a specialist NHS property agency to deliver this by early 2026. Information will be shared as soon as this is possible. The lease for the premises from 2026 will be for 25 years, which gives the local NHS and the Practice a long period of time to have continuity plans on place after this.  

 

Is the plan to merge with Waterloo Health Centre?  

 

No, the plan is to move to shared premises, not to merge. Patients will remain registered with Lambeth Walk Group Practice 

What impact is the move having on staffing and employment? 

The Practice has had some changes in clinical staff and is now recruiting to vacant positions. It is hoped that the prospect of permanent premises will help with this. There is good retention of administrative and reception staff. The Practice will continue to have six doctors and the wider team to support patients  

 

Will patients need to change their usual pharmacy? 

Arrangements in place with local pharmacies for prescriptions will continue, There will be no change.  

 

Have there been any attempts to challenge or persuade King’s College Maths School to locate somewhere else to enable the 

 Practice to stay at Lambeth Walk?  

 

There have been lots of discussions with King’s College and the Maths School who own the building. They have secured funding to expand, and they have explained that they cannot delay this any further. They have already allowed the Practice to stay on for an extra year beyond the original end of the lease at Lambeth Walk, and the Practice has been grateful for this  

 

How will the Practice communicate updates and progress with plans?  

The Practice will keep patients updated with Patient Participation Group meetings (with text invites), and via the website. Updates will be provided when there is significant or material progress or development to share.  

 

 

13th Jun 2023

Dr Quinn

It is with great sadness that we announce that Dr Quinn will be leaving the practice. Dr Quinn's last day will be on Thursday July 6th 2023. Dr Quinn is a highly valued and respected member of the team and will be greatly missed by both the practice team and our patients. I know you will all join us in wishing Dr Quinn all the best for the future.

30th May 2023

Lambeth Together Health and Care Plan 2023-28.

Our Health, Our Lambeth Lambeth Together health and care plan 2023-28 - Lambeth Together

Above is the link to the Lambeth Together Health and Care Plan 2023-28.

25th May 2023

Premises Update Meeting Minutes 24th May 2023

Wednesday 24th May 2023

Lambeth Walk Group Practice Patient Meeting

Subject: Practice Premises

Venue: via Zoom

Time: 6-6.30pm

Hosts: Dr May and Dr Mitra – GP partners and Sarah Cross – Practice Manager

WELCOME

  • Meeting called at short notice to update our patients on the current situation with our premises.
  • Due to the short time frame we were unable to secure our usual meeting premises and therefore opted to hold the meeting online
  • Attending patients were advised that everyone had been muted and so to please ask questions via the chat box. These would be answered by Dr Mitra and Dr May following their explanation of the current situation.
  • 96 patients attended the meeting.
  • Minutes will be made available on the website and at reception.

 SUMMARY

Dr May provided the following summary:

  • The current lease on the practice will run out at the end of July 2023.
  • The practice and the NHS have been working on plans for a new site for a number of years.
  • There have been plans in place but for a number of reasons these have, disappointingly fallen through.
  • Plan is to find somewhere local that works – we don’t want to be too far away from where we are now.
  • The new site needs to have suitable access.
  • We need enough space to accommodate all our current services including our regular trainees.
  • The building is owned by the Department for Education, leased by Kings College London, and subleased to the Kings Maths School who are our Landlord.

 

Dr May provided reassurance that we will continue to exist as a practice and provide services for our patients.

PLANS:

  • NHS Estates are aware of the importance of finding somewhere for the practice to provide our services.
  • This may necessitate a short term solution before we find something more permanent.
  • The practice is meeting with all the necessary estates team members on a weekly basis to find a solution
  • WE WILL REMAIN IN OUR CURRENT LOCATION FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE EVEN THOUGH OUR LEASE IS DUE TO EXPIRE.

 

We wanted to thank everyone so much for attending and for your helpful suggestions regarding potential local opportunities. We value everyone’s support and will provide regular updates via the website as and when we have any further information.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

27th Aug 2021

This practice is supporting health and care planning and research by sharing your data with NHS Digital.

For more information about this and to opt out see: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/data-collections-and-data-sets/data-collections/general-practice-data-for-planning-and-research/gp-privacy-notice

You can also collect an opt out form from the practice.