Tower Hamlets residents are benefiting from improved same-day access to primary care services, following successful pilot programmes. The initiatives, highlighted at a recent Health and Adult Scrutiny Sub Committee meeting on Monday, 6 July 2026, have shown positive results in enhancing patient access and reducing pressure on secondary care.
Jo Frazer-Wise, Neighbourhood Development Director for NHS North East London, reported on the successes of primary care pilots. She stated that the Same Day Access pilot moved into short term commissioned services, reducing pressure on secondary care via close collaboration between A&E, UTC and PCNs.
This has led to A&E directly booking patients into same-day access slots across the borough.
These efforts are part of a broader strategy to improve primary care access, which also includes increasing online access to GP practices and encouraging patient use of the NHS App. Frazer-Wise noted that Access to appointments is above the NEL average as is things like phone answer rate,
and that in the last GP survey, 60% of patients found GPs in Tower Hamlets easy to contact.
However, the pilot programmes were not without their challenges. These included Rapid population growth/increasing complexity/on the day demand
and Financial sustainability of GP Practices
. The Implementation of the Neighbourhood health framework
was also identified as a challenge.
These developments align with the council's commitment to enhancing health and adult social care services, as outlined by Councillor Sabina Akhtar, Cabinet Member for Health, Caring and Inclusive Communities. The successes in primary care access are a key priority for the coming year. Priorities for 2026/27 include Securing recurrent funding for Same Day Access contract post September 2026
and Recruiting 10 sessions of GP leadership to support neighbourhood programme
.
Further details on the committee's discussions can be found in the Public reports pack for the Health and Adult Scrutiny Sub Committee meeting.
