Agenda item

Ms Vanessa Odlin, Managing Director – Goodall Division at Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, advised that the wellbeing bus pilot had provided partners with significant insight into the needs of the residents in the Heathrow Villages.  Partners had learnt the value and importance of engaging with residents when considering possible interventions. 

Mr Keith Spencer, Managing Director at Hillingdon Health and Care Partners, advised that a survey had been undertaken with residents in the Heathrow Villages to establish whether or not they were able to access the services that they needed.  Despite having access to some services (which other parts of the Villages did not have), residents in Harlington had been most likely to state that they did not have access to the services that they needed.  However, it was recognised that access was still an issue. 

A meeting had been held with residents following the conclusion of the pilot and their feedback had been included in the evaluation report.  The core priorities had been identified as access to GP outreach and pharmacies to be able to get services such as blood pressure checks and weigh management interventions. 

Mr Spencer advised that the most recent GP contract that had been let in Hillingdon had included a requirement to provide GP outreach in the Heathrow Villages but a venue still needed to be identified.  CNWL had offered to provide a small second-hand modular building to deliver services from the hardstanding at 45 Holloway Lane which Heathrow Airport would provide for a maximum of five years.  Consideration had also been given to running transport to the venue from the other villages. 

The Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care had gone with Mr Spencer to meet the residents in Heathrow Villages and had received the plans for the modular building.  However, although the site and building would be provided for free, indicative costs for connecting services and kitting the building out had been estimated at around £1m (this would include facilities such as ventilation).  Mr Spencer would need to look at bringing those costs down and had been speaking to large local companies about making a contribution towards the cost through their corporate social responsibility teams (this action went beyond his formal remit).  He aimed to have a solution on how the funding gap would be addressed by the end of November 2024.  In the interim, consideration was being given to using the church hall to deliver services. 

It was noted that estate had never been an easy issue to deal with in the NHS as there were rules around capping expenditure.  However, Mr Spencer was determined that this would be resolved as it was a big issue for residents. 

As Heathrow Airport had been clear that the use of 45 Holloway Lane would only be available for the next five years, Members queried what longer term plans would be put in place.  Mr Spencer advised that the neighbourhood leads had been asked to work with Public Health leads to develop forward neighbourhood plans to meet the needs of their local populations.  This work would be quite labour intensive and needed to be undertaken much closer to the delivery level, empowering communities locally. 

Action would need to be taken to ensure that the lessons learnt from the wellbeing bus pilot were addressed in any service provided in the future (for example, privacy, toilets, etc).  The service would need to provide patients with privacy and dignity and the risks would need to be managed.  It was recognised that when the risk appetite changed, different options became acceptable (for example, it had been acceptable to provide Covid vaccinations in school halls during the pandemic), but the biggest risk would be having no service at all. 

It was noted that CNWL was holding a community services open day on Wednesday 20 November 2024.  Members queried whether there would be other opportunities to attend similar events or whether there would be a benefit in Members of the Committee receiving a briefing note on the services that were being provided.  Ms Odlin advised that the focus tended to be on mental health services so the open day would be an opportunity to showcase the work undertaken in community health services.  She noted that, if Members of the Committee were unable to attend the open day, they would be welcome to visit some other time.  Ms Odlin would provide the Democratic, Civic and Ceremonial Manager with possible dates for a visit to community services. 

RESOLVED:  That:

1.    Ms Odlin for provide the Democratic, Civic and Ceremonial Manager with possible dates for a visit to community services; and

2.    the discussion be noted.