North East London Health and Care Partnership has shared an update on the new health and care centre under development in Ilford, with the site set to provide “easy access to a range of healthcare, social care and community services in a single central location” as well as creating extra capacity for GP services.
In addition, the site will offer blood testing, podiatry services, care for long-term conditions, mental health support, children’s services, and adult social care.
Work on the centre follows a public consultation last year, which saw almost a thousand people take part, and “the vast majority backing the plans”.
Visiting the site to see how it is progressing, the ICS’s director of partnership, impact and delivery for Redbridge, Tracy Rubery, commented: “It was great to see that this fantastic new centre is now taking shape after months of planning and consultation with local people. Providing a range of health and care services in one place, right in the heart of the community, will make an enormous difference to so many people’s lives both now and in the future. It will be a huge asset to people in Ilford and the surrounding area.”
The centre is expected to open in spring of 2024.
In other news on care pathways in the Redbridge area, earlier this year the Remote Emergency Access Coordination Hub (REACH) scheme, designed to reduce unnecessary hospital visits by using other appropriate care pathways, was expanded to Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (BHRUT).
Nearby in North West London, recent re-procurement efforts will see NHS trusts running urgent treatment centres (UTCs) in North West London, with the UTCs to be “brought in-house” at their hospital locations at Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust, The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Trust, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust.
