Lewisham’s Director of Public Health, Dr Catherine Mbema MBE, recognised with London GP Local Authority Award
Lewisham’s Director of Public Health, Dr Catherine Mbema MBE, has been awarded the London General Practice Local Authority Award – a new honour that recognises outstanding collaboration, partnership working and advocacy for general practice across the capital.
The award highlights Dr Mbema’s commitment to working closely with partners across health and care to improve outcomes for residents. Her work spans prevention, population health, and the development of services shaped around community need, with a strong focus on ensuring primary care and local authority teams work hand‑in‑hand. Dr Mbema has been recognised for her commitment to the Health Equity Team (HET) Program which directly invests in Lewisham General Practice. The HET Program provides opportunities for GPs with an interest in health equity to work in non clinical leadership roles within their Primary Care Networks (PCNs), directly connecting and forming equitable partnerships with voluntary and community sector organisations in this innovative program.
“Since 2022, Catherine identified the potential and promise of funding paid Health Equity Leads in primary care and looked to understand how we could scale a spread a grassroots model identified in North Lewisham PCN. The HET Program has flourished under her leadership and commitment. She has been committed to ensuring that general practice has been given resources to engage in this vital work and we now have two cycles of GPs who are system leaders in Lewisham driving health equity work at hyperlocal and borough levels. I am so proud of what we’ve accomplished so far and thought it was important that Catherine was recognised personally for commitment to this program.” – Dr Aaminah Verity, Health Equity Team Program Lead.
The recognition also reflects the work of colleagues across Lewisham’s Public Health Team. Special thanks was given to Naomi Alexander whose contributions supported the nomination.
This is a significant achievement for Lewisham and a welcome acknowledgement of the collaborative approach taken locally to strengthen primary care and improve health outcomes for residents.
Read more about the award at London General Practice Local Authority Award