Important update regarding the EMIS (Egton) engineering and service desk support service currently provided to City & Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest GP Practices. As part of the ongoing transformational work within NEL GPIT services, we are pleased to announce that the current engineers will be joining the ICB’s team and will be transitioned to in-house management effective 1st April 2025.

This strategic move aims to enhance the quality and responsiveness of our support services, allowing us to better meet the unique needs of our practices and the patients we serve, delivering a consistent service across the ICB.

As of 1st April 2025, please use the following contact information for all GP IT related support requests and inquiries:
Email: itservicedesk.nelicb@nhs.net  
Phone: 0300 303 6780 (GP IT)
 0300 303 6779 (RA)

We are committed to ensuring a smooth transition during this time and your current support channels will remain operational until the transition date. We will ensure that all practices are kept informed throughout the process as we approach this change date.

We appreciate your cooperation and support as we implement these enhancements to our IT service. 
Our goal is to deliver an improved support service that is aligned more closely with the needs of NEL GP practices and enhances the care you provide to your patients.  This will allow us to build on the major investments delivering upgrades to full fibre broadband, implementing new Wi-Fi, upgrading all devices to Windows 11 and the migration to cloud services supporting a mobile workforce.

If you have any questions or require further information, please feel free to reach out to Paul Yeoman, NEL ICB IT Programme Manager (paul.yeoman@nhs.net) who is leading on this transition.

Thank you for your attention to this important update. Please can you ensure that this communication is shared with all practice staff.

Best regards,
Simon Midlane - Deputy Director of IT Governance & Facilitation