Healthwatch City of London August Newsletter
Chat from our Chair
Welcome to our August newsletter, as ever we are packed with news and updates for you so please do read on. Many of you will be away on holidays or perhaps even a staycation and we at HWCoL are also taking a break. Whilst our events and activities are pared back, we are none the less planning our autumn events, and what a packed autumn we have in store for you.
Our ever-popular patient panels will return in September giving you the chance to listen to experts, including the North East Cancer Alliance on the importance of early detection of womb and ovarian cancer, and our resident dietitian from the Neaman practice about the services offered locally.
Other big events include the update on progress with implementing our recommendations from the Bart’s Enter and View. Bart’s have very kindly agreed to host us at this event, and we will be joined by St Bartholomew’s Hospital CEO, Professor Charles Knight.
Mary Elford, Chair of Homerton NHS Foundation Trust, will join us at our next board meeting in September to share Homerton’s plans for the future, and at our AGM in October Dame Marie Gabriel, Chair of the North East London Integrated Care Board, will be sharing her insights on the impact of the changes outlined in the Government’s 10 Year strategy.
Finally, looking ahead to November, we will be back at St Barthlomew Hospital for our Men’s Health event. We plan to show case what’s available for men to manage their health, take action to prevent disease and identify when help is needed.
We have two more sessions that form part of our adult social care information programme with the City of London Corporation; one in August and one in September. It’s a great opportunity to hear about the services you can access and also have the chance to join the City’s Adult Social Care group, which we are managing on their behalf. More information on these sessions is in this newsletter.
So, as we continue in the background to work on your behalf and to get ready for the autumn, please do add our dates to your post-holiday calendar and remember to tell us if there is anything you want to hear more about.
Gail Beer
Chair, Healthwatch City of London
Healthwatch City of London Annual Report 2024/25 ‘Making it Matter’ is now published.
Our annual report is now live, and we are really pleased to be able to share the work we have undertaken with you and on your behalf to make a difference in the way care is planned and delivered. This year we have built on our work in previous years listening to what you care about.
The launch of our three main reports, ‘Digital Apps: A help or a hindrance? Understanding and accessing digital healthcare apps’, ‘Barts Health NHS Trust Cardiology Department Enter and View report’ and ‘Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS): A review of PALS services available to City of London residents’, the continuation of our ever popular Patient Panel series, the Health in the City Day and our AGM have enabled us to engage with more residents than ever. This has consolidated our position as the people’s champion and ensured that you are listened to. Although these big reports are important it’s often the smaller things that have greater impact such as our work with GP practices, hospitals and pharmacies. Although great to reflect the most important element is the planning and delivery of this year’s work plan, so keep an eye out for upcoming projects.
You can read the report on our website here
Staff announcement
Caitlan Barrow, our Volunteer and Projects officer, has decided to leave Healthwatch City of London to pursue her passion of working with animals. Caitlan has been with us for a year and a half, during which time she has managed the Digital Apps report, the PALS report and the Barts Cardiology enter and view.
Our thanks to Caitlan for all her hard work and we wish her well in her new career.
Job Vacancy
Communications and Engagement officer.
We are looking for a passionate and dedicated Communications and Engagement Officer. The role, which is a 1-year fixed term contract, will manage and deliver our communication and engagement plan alongside our residents and stakeholders and manage our volunteer programme.
Please see the full details of the job on our website.
Our Autumn programme starts with two very different areas of interest, we do hope you can join for both and if not read the write ups. If you have something you would like us to include, please do contact us.
Ovarian and Womb Cancer
Join us and the North East London (NEL) Cancer Alliance to find out more about the symptoms, prevention and treatment of ovarian and womb cancer.
NEL Cancer Alliance and leading gynaecological cancer charity The Eve Appeal have launched a second phase of their ‘You Need to Know’ campaign, to raise awareness of ovarian cancer symptoms and improve early diagnosis, as with all cancers the early diagnosis and treatment supports better outcomes.
The campaign encourages women in north east London to speak to their GPs if they experience persistent bloating or other unexplained changes in bowel movement or eating habits.
The session will be held on Wednesday 3rd September 12pm 1:30pm at the Golden Lane Community Centre, EC1Y 0SA.
Please visit our website to register
Diet and Nutrition with the Neaman Practice
Join us for a Patient Panel with Joe Alvarez, First Contact Dietician where he will discuss the importance of diet and nutrition as well as the service offered at the Neaman Practice.
The session will be held at the Golden Lane Community Centre from 10:30am to 12pm, on Friday, 3rd October. Please register on our website
Our upcoming events
Save the date! Our Board meeting in Public
We’ll be holding our Board meeting in Public on Friday 5th September, joined by Mary Elford, Chair of Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust who will be speaking about her role as Chair at the Trust. Homerton Hospital are responsible for much of the community care within the city. We will also be quizzing Mary on Homerton’s future role in the City of London and how she sees services developing when the governments planned NHS changes come into place. We will be interested to know how they will be engaging and listening to local people. You’ll have the opportunity to ask Mary and us any questions you may have.
We’ll be giving an update on our work, the recent government announcement on changes to Healthwatch and the DASH report, the review of patient safety across the health and care landscape, from Dr Penny Dash, commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care.
More information will be announced soon, updates on the event will be on our website
St Bartholomew’s Hospital Enter and View Response
In October, Professor Charles Knight MD FRCP, Chief Executive at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, and David Curran, Director of Nursing will be welcoming us to Barts and updating us on their response to our Cardiology Department Enter and View Report and telling us more about developments within the hospital itself. Join us on Thursday, 9th October, from 11:30am to 1:30pm.
We’re currently finalising details and will advertise as soon as possible. For up-to-date information, check our events page
Our Annual General Meeting
We are delighted that from Dame Marie Gabriel, Chair Integrated Care Board (ICB), will be joining us at our AGM. As we enter a period of change and reorganisation within the NHS following the government announcement of its 10 year plan Marie will be helping us better understand what the changes mean for us and them and what difference we will see.
We will be keen to know how the ICB intend to scrutinise healthcare when the Dash report changes are implemented late in 2026.
Join us on Friday, 17th October, 10am to 12pm at St Giles Church, to register visit here
Adult Social Care Information Sessions
Most of us at some point in our lives will need Adult Social care services. We tend to think of these services as being for those who need a lot of support, are very frail or need complex care. However, for many our interaction with social care may be fleeting as we might require support for a short while, need low intensity support or may see our requirements fluctuate or change over the years. Join City of London Adult Social Care team and Healthwatch City of London to learn more about the services you can access to help you live independently and safely or just to plan for the future. From making changes to your home to understanding how support is funded it really is important to know what’s out there to maintain our independence.
The Adult Social Care information events will give you the opportunity to hear more about home adaptations, the sensory project, the housing assistance policy, occupational therapy support and much more. It will also give you the opportunity to have your say on the services.
Join us at the Portsoken Community Centre on Tues 19th August or at the Golden Lane Community Centre on Thursday 11th September, from 1 – 2.30pm.
Bengali interrupters will be present at the Portsoken Community Centre.
Please note that these events are for residents of the City of London only.
Register on the Healthwatch City of London events page
The sensory project
The City of London adult social care team have commissioned Enabled Living to carry out a pilot into specialist assessments for sensory needs such as hearing, visual and dual impairment. If you have a certificate of visual impairment or an audiogram showing levels of hearing loss, ASC will be referring you to Enabled Living who will contact you to discuss registration. The team will create a support plan following your assessment and work with you to determine what you require.
If you have any questions about these events, or would like to see a particular topic covered please email us at ascadvisory@healthwatchcityoflondon.org.uk
Meetings we attend for you
How we make your voice heard
Part of our role is to make sure that the City of London hears local people when they are planning and delivering services, to do this we attend a number of meetings in North East London and the Corporation of London scrutinising how the City voice is heard. Below is a briefing on our recent meetings.
The City Neighbourhood Forum in June
The meeting, which was attended by both residents, Healthcare providers and Charities, was designed for residents to discuss the local priorities for the City and to decide which priority will be the main focus of the City Action Group.
The three priorities, which come from the City of London Health and Wellbeing Strategy were:
- Financial Resilience
- Mental Health
- Making Social Connections.
After a presentation from the Ellie Ward, Head of Strategy and Performance, Department of Community and Children’s Services, group discussions took place.
It was decided that two priorities will be the focus for the Action Group and the Forum, these are Mental Health and Making Social Connections.
We are awaiting the date of the next Action Group and will keep you updated.
Health and Wellbeing Board
At every Board meeting, we provide and present a report, updating the Board on our recent work, at the most recent meeting, we also spoke about the DASH report. The Board shared support for the work we do and the impact we make.
Other key topics included the new Health and Social Care strategy from the City of London Corporation. Population Health Hub spoke about their match funding programme, where they’re looking to imbed health equity. The Adult ADHD service updated the Board on their service and shared their current long wait times, with individuals having to wait six years for a diagnosis.
Elsewhere in Health and Social Care
City of London Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) consultation 2025 is OPEN
The City of London is required to produce a Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA). This assessment identifies the pharmaceutical service needs of residents within the City and advises on decisions relating to pharmacy contracts and services.
Our Chair, Gail has been a member of the group overseeing the production of this report. The draft PNA outlines the pharmaceutical services currently available in the City of London and assesses whether these meet the existing and future needs of the local population. Your feedback is important to help ensure the information presented is accurate and that the conclusions drawn are appropriate.
The consultation will close on Tuesday 19th August 2025, and the final PNA will be published by Saturday 1st October 2025.
If you haven’t yet had a chance to take part, we invite you to:
- View the consultation here: City of London PNA Consultation
- Complete the survey here: PNA Survey
If you have any questions or would like to share feedback directly, please feel free to contact pna@healthydialogues.co.uk
Families in the City - Best Start Family Hub Phase 1
The way services for children, young people and families in the City of London are delivered is changing in response to national government reform. The City of London Corporation has created a programme called ‘Families in the City’ to deliver this change.
This includes the development of a City of London Best Start Family Hub which is being delivered in phases. The first phase will go live at the start of September. Find out more and about how you have your say by joining our Family Design Lab here
Family Action's new Food Club for City of London
Family Action is to launch a new evening session of Food Club. The Aldgate service provides good-quality food at a low price.
Fridays, 5pm-7pm. Read more
Can you help the NHS identify our area’s mental health and community health priorities for the next five years?
East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT) is developing a new five-year strategy and asking for your help.
Visit this page for more details and to get involved
You’re invited to take part in the Stoptober 2025 – Gloji Survey!
Take five minutes to share your thoughts and help shape local support for smokers.
Everyone who takes part can enter a prize draw for a £25 shopping voucher.
Take the survey →
