Healthwatch City of London December Newsletter

News - 11 December 2025

Our December newsletter highlights our recent events, upcoming events and important information on how to stay safe during cold weather and through weather warnings.

Chat from our Chair 

Welcome to our December newsletter. In this last edition of the year, we have all the details of our Christmas lunch celebration where we are looking forward to coming together, reflecting on this past year, and celebrating the season with some warm drinks and delicious food. As it gets colder, we have also included important information on how to stay warm and well in this weather.
In late November we held our Patient Panel with the Neaman Practice, launching our Enter and View report. We were joined by Partners, Dr Chor and Dr Hillier and Operations Manager, Sinead Downes. It was a successful session as we heard from the team about the changes they have made following our recommendations. More on our report and the session can be found later on in this newsletter. It is great to hear that the practice is finding your feedback so helpful.

As you know, we will be conducting our Enter and View at St Leonard’s in the new year. We have received feedback from you about their Physiotherapy service and the issues surrounding being able to access the service. We will soon be launching our survey on this, if you have any feedback you would like to give now, please email us at info@healthwatchcityoflondon.org.uk
We want to importantly note that despite the news of the closure of Healthwatch, we are not going anywhere, and we are currently working out how we will be able to continue to help residents in the City with their Health and Social Care.

Sadly, we will be saying goodbye to Liesa, who is returning home to Melbourne, Australia after being with us for three years. Liesa has added some reflections of her own before she leaves us.
Importantly to note, we will be closing over Christmas and New Year, on Tuesday 23rd December at 5pm, and will be reopening on Tuesday, 6th January at 9am. We will soon be sending out our annual Christmas opening hours leaflet which will highlight all the services you can still access over the holiday period.

Stay warm and we look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events.
 
Gail Beer


Chair, Healthwatch City of London

Goodbye to Liesa
Our current Communications and Engagement officer, Liesa will be leaving us at the end of December. She has been with us for three years and is moving back home to Australia where she will continue to work in the health and social care landscape, hoping to improve health outcomes. We wish her all the best.

Hear from Liesa:
“Thank you to everyone reading this, to my colleagues and our dedicated Board team. It has been a pleasure and a rewarding experience collaborating closely with residents and partners across the City to help improve Health and Social Care services. I am sincerely grateful for your support and teamwork over the past three years and will take all of the experience I have gained into my next stage".

Christmas opening times leaflet
Each year we release our Christmas leaflet with all of the opening times for your health and social care services. Including, emergency care, GPs, pharmacies and mental health services.
This year, we will be releasing it on Thursday, 18th December. If you’ve signed up to receive our monthly newsletters, it’ll be sent straight to your email as well as be available on our website.
If you’d like to sign up to receive our leaflet and other news from us, email us at info@healthwatchcityoflondon.org.uk and we’ll get you signed up.

Our Christmas lunch celebration
Join us at our buffet Christmas lunch at 12pm on Friday 12th December at the Portsoken Community Centre. It will be a wonderful opportunity to come together, meet your neighbours, celebrate the festive season, and reflect on the year’s work and achievements.
All are welcome, register: here

Key updates to Men’s Health
Men’s health has been in the news recently with the highly anticipated launch of the Men’s Health Strategy and with the focus on prostate cancer screening.
As many of you will be aware from the news it has been announced that the National Screening Committee (NSC) has recommended against mandatory prostate cancer screening for men over 45 on the NHS. The committee, which includes doctors and economists, found that widespread screening could "cause more harm than good." Instead, the focus will shift to screening men with specific genetic mutations, such as BRCA-1 and BRCA-2, which increase the risk of various cancers, including prostate cancer.

The Men's Health Strategy was launched on the 19th of November and aims to tackle the health challenges men face, focusing on key areas where men are disproportionately affected.
These include health inequalities, addressing the health disparities between men and women, especially in life expectancy, mental health, and chronic conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. Encouraging regular health screenings for conditions like prostate cancer and testicular cancer, as well as promoting early diagnosis. Importantly reducing the stigma around men’s mental health and improving access to mental health services, promoting healthier habits, including better nutrition, exercise, and reducing smoking and alcohol use.

The Government will also be investing over £3.6m over 3 years into community-based men’s health programmes and launching a 3 year collaboration with the Premier League to improve men’s health literacy and engagement, particularly around mental health, and suicide prevention.

What do you think about this? please do share your views with us on the announcements by emailing us at info@healthwatchcityoflondon.org.uk

Join us for our Men’s Health event
With all these recent developments and knowing that men do not access health care as early as they should, we will be holding an event targeted at men’s health in February with experts on men's health from across primary and secondary care and mental health.
Come to our event on Tuesday, 3rd February from 12pm to 3pm at St Bartholomew’s Hospital to find out more about men’s access to healthcare and the services available, from key organisations and speakers from the Neaman Practice, including Partner, Dr Chor and the Lead Clinical Nurse for Prostate, Testes and Bladder Cancer from Barts Health NHS Trust. There will also be a wide range of stallholders from local service providers.

If you think there is a health issue that needs to be addressed at the event, please email us at info@healthwatchcityoflondon.org.uk

Right Care, Right Person
The City of London Police have recently adopted the Right Care, Right Person approach, which assesses if the police are the most appropriate service to respond.
While some mental health related incidents may need the police, other services may be more appropriate. Health and social care staff have the experience and training to provide the relevant physical and mental health support.
The aim of the approach is:

  • to get the person or people involved the right help as soon as possible
  • to prevent further distress to the person
  • to allow the police to focus resources on preventing crime, protecting life and property and keeping public order

You can hear more about this approach in out Public Board meeting in January, for details of how to join, read below.

Public Board Meeting with City and Hackney Safeguarding Adults Board New Independent Chair and City of London Police
Join us for our first Public Board meeting of the year with Claire Solley, the new Independent Chair City and Hackney Safeguarding Adults Board (CHSAB) who will be talking us through the new CHSAB Strategy for 2025/28, and by James Knock, from the Adult Intervention & Mental Health Team at the City of London Police who will outline the Right Care Right Person initiative. We’ll also be updating you on our plans for the New Year. The meeting will be held online on Friday 16th January from 2pm – 3.30pm. To join us book via Eventbrite
 
Patient Panel on Adult Community Rehabilitation and Wheelchair Service
As part of our work on making Adut Social Care more accessible On Thursday, 29th January, we will be holding a Patient Panel with the Adult Community Rehabilitation Team & Wheelchair Services. Donna Underwood, Head of Service will be joining us to present on the services they provide, how you as City residents can access them and answer any questions you may have.
More details will be announced soon. For updates on all of our events, visit our website: www.healthwatchcityoflondon.org.uk/events

Our Patient Panel with the Neaman Practice
We recently held a Patient Panel for the launch of our Neaman Practice Enter and View Report. We were joined by Partners from the Neaman Practice, Dr Chor and Dr Hillier and Practice Manager Sinead Downes, who responded to our recommendations and the changes they have recently made. They have taken meaningful steps to improve communication, access, and patient experience following the Enter and View visit, and remain committed to working collaboratively with residents and us. Challenges still remain, particularly around lift accessibility and communication system limitations, such as the lack of text messaging, the practice is proactively reviewing processes, expanding digital options without excluding those who are not online, strengthening triage and reception services, and increasing transparency around prescriptions, records access, and the use of AI.
You can find the full summary of the Patient Panel session on our website
You can read the full Enter and View report on our website
We’d like to thank The Neaman Practice for their continued engagement with us and City residents.
 
Patient Panel with Together Better and new Befriending Service
Last week we held a Patient Panel with Yasmin Kauser and Ragini Khurana from Together Better and the new befriending service run by Volunteer Centre Hackney. It was great to hear about the great services they run, what is available for you and how you can join. 
There was lively discussion surrounding the Befriending Service, which recruits and trains volunteers to support individuals experiencing loneliness or looking to expand their social circles. Trained befrienders visit weekly, make phone calls, and accompany their match on outings, with the first meeting always accompanied by staff.
Befrienders must be referred to the programme through GPs, health professionals, or us, and volunteers complete 90-minute training and are encouraged to commit for at least six months. Relationships are carefully monitored through monthly check-ins and ethical guidelines to ensure safety and positive connections, and anyone interested in being referred or volunteering can contact their GP or the service directly.
If you are interested in becoming a befriender, visit here
Our full report on the session will be soon made available on our website

Yellow Cold-Health Alert for London: Stay Safe and Prepared
Last week, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issued Yellow Cold-Health Alert for London. It’s important to know what this means to make sure you can keep you and your family safe.
This alert has a matrix score of 9, indicating potential significant impacts on health and social care services.
What does this mean?
The cold weather could lead to:

  • Increased deaths, particularly among people aged 65+ or those with health conditions, as well as impacts on younger groups
  • Higher demand for health services
  • Workforce disruptions affecting service delivery
  • Challenges in maintaining indoor temperatures of at least 18°C, increasing risks for vulnerable individuals

Here are some useful resources to help you keep warm and well during this winter.

Save the Date: Winter Cost of Living Support event
Following last winter’s success, the Cost of Living Support Hackney event is back this winter, hosted by The Cost of Living Project, CoCreate Hackney, and Community Closet.
This event aims to support City and Hackney residents, particularly those vulnerable and under-supported, including the homeless, digitally disconnected, and anyone who prefers in-person communication.
There will be advice on debt and benefits, tips to reduce bills and live well for less, information on free local activities, food, and digital support and warm clothing, bedding, and food will be available.
Date: Friday, 30th January 2026
Venue: New Kingshold Community Centre, Ainsworth Road, E9 7LP

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