Dr Jackie Applebee, who is also Chair of the North East Tower Hamlets and Local Medical Council (LMC) observer on the Care Group Board, won the ‘LMC Member Award: North East London’ for demonstrating outstanding commitment to safe sustainable care and the future of general practice at last month’s London General Practice Awards 2025.
The event, held in Parliament, brought together local medical committees (LMC) from across London.
Dr Applebee spoke to us about how she felt “humbled to win the award and that there is so much good care out there”.
Sharing further insight into what she regards as sustainable care and her hopes for the future of general practice, Dr Applebee, said:
“To me safe sustainable care means wrap around, holistic care in the manner of the old school family doctor. It means continuity, knowing the patient not just for their symptoms, but for the context of their life. Their family, their environment, the community around them, their struggles. All of these impact on their health and the GP is in a unique position to be aware of these factors.
“Safe sustainable care also means knowing when to say no. We [GPs] too often push ourselves to do all the work demanded of us, whether it is ours to do or not. We become tired, burned out and make mistakes. This is not good for us or our patients. We must learn when to say no and to fight for the resources to do the job of family medicine properly.
“The NHS is one of the best things about the UK. It is fantastic that when we are unwell, we don’t have to worry about the cost of being seen and treated. In 1948, when the NHS was founded, people queued round the block to access care that they hadn’t been able to afford previously. In its first year, the new NHS provided patients with 27,000 hearing aids, 164,000 surgical and medical appliances, 6.8 million dental treatments and 4.5m pairs of glasses.
“I hope that General Practice is resourced with finances and people to provide patients with the care that they deserve, and I hope that we are trusted to provide this care as we deem appropriate.”
