Healthwatch City of London April 2026 Newsletter
Chat from our Chair
As we come to the end of another financial year, it is once again time for the Healthwatch City of London team and Board to review the past year and to plan for the coming year. At a meeting recently held in the Portsoken Community Centre we reviewed what went well, what we didn’t do, what we could do better and what you have told us you are concerned about. As you know we rely on you to give us feedback and use this to inform our priorities for the future. We’ve come up with nine local objectives which will finalise and share with you next month. As always, we will be asking you what you think about our objectives before we finalise
Unfortunately, we had to postpone our Enter and View visit to the St Leonards physiotherapy department but will now carry out the visit in May. Details of the visit and how to give us your feedback are below. It really helps us to hear from you so if you haven’t already given us your feedback there is still time.
We were delighted to hold our first information event on Hypertension (high blood pressure) in the Portsoken Community Centre for our Bengali community, followed by an EID celebration lunch with our colleagues at Imago. It was great for the team to meet so many members of the community and learn more about what they want to see from local health and social care services. Plenty for us to do to further support those living in this area of our community.
I'm delighted to announce that we have started preparations for our annual Health in the City Day in partnership with the Neaman Practice this year we are making sure that the event covers social care as well as health, so save the date of Saturday 27th June in your diaries. We will be planning a similar event at Portsoken later in the year.
I look forward to seeing you at one of our events soon, remember you are all welcome and if you can’t come you can always see what happened by checking on our website.
Gail
Gail Beer, Chair
A review of our Hypertension Event
On 23rd March 2026 we held our health literacy event at the Portsoken Community Centre on hypertension for the Portsoken Bengali Community residents. Ijeoma Imo a Specialist Clinical Pharmacist with the Adult Cardiorespiratory Enhanced and Responsive Service Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust gave a really useful presentation on blood pressure.
Health literacy is a very important part of everyday life where a person is able to access, understand, use and assess the health information and services to maintain good health and wellbeing. Everyone in the society should have the same access to trustworthy information to be able to make informed decisions or choices about their health and lifestyle.
Therefore, we conducted our first health literacy event on high blood pressure for our Portsoken community residents in Bengali and English language. We will also continue our engagement with them and Latin American residents.
A lot of useful information was shared during the event about high blood pressure and its risk factors. Important warning signs were explained, along with guidance on where to seek help. There was also a live demonstration on how to measure blood pressure, and attendees had the chance to get their own blood pressure checked thanks to the City and Hackney Outreach team based at Richmond Road Medical Centre. We closed our event with a delicious south Asian lunch in collaboration with IMAGO to celebrate EID.
Here are some of the advice to manage hypertension-
Look after your blood sugar and cholesterol: keep them under control to protect your heart, especially if you have Type 2 Diabetes.
Stop smoking and limit alcohol: quitting smoking is one of the best things you can do for your health and keep alcohol to no more than 14 units a week.
Stay active and watch your weight: even small steps like a 10-minute daily walk or light exercise can help. BMI is a guide, so listen if your GP says you’re overweight.
Cut down on salt and unhealthy foods: aim for no more than 6g of salt a day and reduce foods like Cheddar Cheese and processed meals.
Eat less sugar and control portions: avoid extra sugar since foods like fruit and milk already contain natural sugars and try to reduce portion sizes.
Here is a link to more information on hypertension- How to lower your blood pressure: 6 top tips - BHF
Our Health Literacy event is in partnership with the City and Hackney Public Health Team, and we will be continuing the event in the next two months.
Right Care Right Person overview
Unfortunately, last month we had to cancel our Patient Panel with James Knock, PC City of London Police.
PC Knock was going to talk to us about the Right Care, Right Person approach that has been introduced by the City of London Police after its successful roll out by the Metropolitan Police and other forces across the country.
We interviewed PC Knock to find out how the new approach is working.
The Right Care, Right Person approach assesses if the police are the most appropriate service to respond when someone dials 999. James explained that since implementation response times to emergencies has shortened, getting the help to residents quicker*.
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.
James also highlighted that the initiative has helped to take the strain off other emergency services and reduces the need to go back and forth between the London Ambulance Service and themselves. City of London Police have defibrillators in some of their vehicles making response quicker.
So far, the approach has helped to get the person or people involved in the emergency the right help as soon as possible, has prevented further distress to the person(s) and has allowed the City of London Police to focus resources on preventing crime, protecting life and property and keeping public order.
*we are waiting for statistics from the City of London Police which are currently being collated.
Enter and View at St Leonard’s Physiotherapy Department
As part of our Enter and View programme, we will be visiting the physiotherapy department at St Leonard’s Hospital on 6th May, the service receives referrals from local GP practices, including the Neaman and Goodman’s Fields Medical Practices. Our visit is based on feedback we have received from residents in the City who have accessed the service. If you’ve also recently used these services, we want to hear from you, as your feedback will help us to influence the way the service is delivered. Please complete our survey https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/stleonardsphysio/
Our Enter and View team consist of Healthwatch City of London staff and volunteers who receive training for the visit. The next training session if scheduled for Tuesday 14th April. If you’d like to be Enter and View trained, please do let us know by emailing info@healthwatchcityoflondon.org.uk
Patient Panel Series
Our popular Patient Panels bring together members of the community with an expert in the field to explore and create greater understanding of the subject, enabling feedback to service providers that they can take away. At the end of the sessions, we produce a report with the information on our website and in our newsletters ensuring that we spread the knowledge. You can access these here News and reports | Healthwatch Cityoflondon
Our next two sessions are below:
Shoreditch Trust
Friday 24th April 2pm - 3.30pm The Aldgate Centre, Aldgate High Street, EC3N 1AB
Hosted by the Shoreditch Trust at the Aldgate Centre, hear all about the health and wellbeing services provided by the trust for City residents.
The Shoreditch Trust design and implement community-based civic, health and wellbeing programmes. Their programme focuses on and serves people experiencing health, social and economic inequality: people with long-term health conditions, including stroke survivors and very isolated older people; young people (11-18) not in education, training or work; women experiencing multiple disadvantages in pregnancy and early parenthood.
Note that a free vegetarian meal is available at the Centre before the session between 12 – 2. Register here to learn more about the Trust and join us on 24th April.
The Alzheimer's Society
Tuesday 19th May 10am - 11.30am. Sir Ralph Perring Centre, Golden Lane Estate, EC1Y 0SH
As part of Dementia Awareness Week, the Alzheimer’s Society is joining us to talk about Dementia awareness and also hold a dementia friends information session.
This session is for those living with Alzheimer’s or Dementia, and for friends or family who support them.
Register here.
Health in the City Day
Due to popular demand, our Health in the City Day is back! Save the date of 27th June 2026.
The day will see health and social care providers from across the City have information stalls for you to visit and to ask questions. There will also be wellbeing events to join in and of course refreshments.
If there are any particular areas of interest that you’d like to see represented at this year’s event, please let us know by emailing info@healthwatchcityoflondon.org.uk
Elsewhere in Health and Social Care
Meningitis outbreak
As you will have seen in the news there is currently an outbreak of meningococcal disease (MenB), which can lead to meningitis, in Kent. The overall risk of MenB to people outside the Kent area remains low.
It is important to act quickly if you or someone you know is showing symptoms of meningitis. You can find out more about the symptoms of meningitis on the NHS website
Transmission of MenB requires close and prolonged contact to spread including living in the same household and intimate contact such as kissing or sharing drinks or vapes. The bacteria are not as contagious as other infections such as measles and COVID-19.
For more information about the ongoing outbreak, please visit the UK Health Security Agency website.
Changes to Patient referrals and your right to choose
From 1 April 2026, GP referrals to specialists in England will change to make "Advice and Guidance" (A&G) mandatory, this means GPs must seek expert advice from a specialist before initiating a referral for planned (non-urgent) care and replaces direct referrals for many conditions. GPs will be required to use A&G for 10 local specialties identified by the local Integrated Care Board (the commissioners of services, in our case (North East London NHS) to reduce unnecessary hospital visits. Urgent referrals such as the 2 weeks wait cancer pathway are not subject to the A&G process.
The main aims of this change are to reduce unnecessary trips to the hospital and to manage patients within the community.
We have had reports from residents that they have not been given a choice of where to receive treatment. If a GP needs to refer you for a physical or mental health condition, in most cases you have the legal right to choose the hospital or service you'd like to go to. You can also choose a clinical team led by a consultant or named healthcare professional, as long as that team provides the treatment you require.
All the information about this is on the NHS website. We will raise this with the Neaman Practice at our next quarterly meeting, but if you’ve experienced lack of choice for your care, please do let us know by emailing info@healthwatchcityoflondon.org.uk
Availability of RSV Vaccines
The RSV vaccine helps protect against infection with RSV, a common virus that can make babies and older adults seriously ill. It's offered on the NHS if you're pregnant, aged 75 or over, or live in a care home for older adults.
The RSV vaccine helps protect against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections.
RSV is a common cause of coughs and colds. Most people get it several times during their life.
It usually gets better by itself, but in some people (especially babies and older adults) it can cause illnesses, such as:
- pneumonia (a lung infection)
- bronchiolitis (a chest infection that affects babies)
These illnesses can cause serious breathing problems. They may need to be treated in hospital and can be life-threatening.
From 1st April people who are over 80 years of age and older adults who are care home residents are now eligible. For older adults in care homes, there is no age limit to get the vaccine due to higher risk from RSV.
Your surgery may send you a letter, text or email inviting you to get a vaccination, but you do not need to wait to be invited if you're eligible. Visit your GP or some pharmacies offer the free vaccination.
New wing opened at the Breast Cancer centre at St Bartholomew’s Hospital
The first patients have now been treated in the new Smithfield Wing at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, marking a major milestone in the development of a specialist breast cancer centre. The neighbouring Giltspur Wing is scheduled to open in May. Together, the two new hospital wings will provide purpose-built, modern facilities designed around patients’ needs.
Once fully operational, the dedicated Breast Cancer centre at St Bartholomew’s Hospital is expected to deliver more than 2,000 breast cancer surgeries and around 75,000 outpatient appointments across all specialties each year.
Patients will benefit from:
- Improved access to advanced breast surgery and reconstruction
- Shorter stays in the hospital
- More supportive care, including fertility, recovery and wellbeing services
- More equitable access to the very best care
- A significant increase in overall experience of care
- Faster diagnoses
- New opportunities to join research and access cutting edge treatments
You can read the full story on their website Smithfield launch marks new era in breast cancer care | Barts Health's latest news
Combatting social isolation in the City
Age UK City of London are the charity for older people in the Square Mile.
Their focus is on enhancing wellbeing and building social connections so that people can enjoy growing older in the City of London. Each year they help hundreds of City residents to maintain an active independent life, develop new friends and interests and make the most of living in the heart of London.
Regular weekly sessions are held in the Barbican and on Golden Lane, Middlesex Street and Mansell Street estates, plus other locations in and around the Square Mile. To find out more, check out their services and activities or email Alice on Alice.Westlake@ageukcityoflondon.org.uk
Befriending Service in the City
Volunteer Centre Hackney provide a Befriending service for isolated or lonely City residents.
The programme matches you with the right person, based on your interests, schedule, language, and whether you’d like to meet in-person, or speak on the phone or online. What you end up doing together is up to you! Some play pool, watch films, or listen to music. Others go out to cafes or for walks in the park. Some chat on the phone or online.
Any health or social care professional can refer you to the service, which they can do via the website Community Befrienders - Volunteer Centre Hackney
Useful events in the City
Give and Take Day
The City of London Recycling Team are putting on another Give and Take Day event in April at Portsoken Community Centre.
Declutter sustainably and discover pre-loved treasures for free at the Recycling Team's next Give and Take Day. Donate good-quality items from 10am–12pm, then return 1–3pm to pick up something new-to-you (1–2pm City residents only). You can also bring batteries, lightbulbs and vapes for recycling.
Full info here: https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/events/give-and-take-day-18-april
City of London Library of Things
The city Library things have come up with a new service where people can take library things on rent instead of buying. For more information visit City of London Library of Things | Why buy when you can rent?
