Following a three-year programme of engagement and formal consultation, the NHS North West London Board has approved a new, consistent model for adult community specialist palliative care (CSPC) across all eight boroughs.

The new model (Option A) includes:

• 46 new enhanced end-of-life care beds (all existing 57 hospice beds retained)
• 24/7 access to care at home and a new telephone advice and support line
• a more equitable, culturally competent service
• increased investment: £32m Community Specialist Palliative Care budget in 2025/26
• stronger support for the charitable hospice sector.

The Pembridge inpatient unit, which has not been open since 2018, will now be formally closed. All other Pembridge services will continue.

Implementation will begin shortly. As new services go live, staff across the ICB will be kept informed about referral pathways, service offers and communications materials to support local rollout.

Some other examples of fantastic work taking place across North West London Health and Care over the last month are listed below.

In Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea, we are working on an important project called the Community Defined Metrics initiative. 

This aims to help us understand whether the Health and Wellbeing Strategy is genuinely making a difference for people living in the boroughs of Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea.

Our local councils challenged us to answer a simple but vital question:

“How do we know if the Strategy is actually improving residents' health and wellbeing?”

In response, we teamed up with local authorities, and voluntary and community organisations. Together, and with the input of about 75 local residents we created a set of survey questions based on the Strategy’s 10 key priorities.

These questions will help us track how residents are feeling about their health and wellbeing over time — not just once, but year on year.  We are also making sure the survey is as accessible as possible with:

• easy-read versions
• translations into the five most spoken local languages
• platforms that support automatic translation.

We know people are asked to fill in a lot of surveys, so we will be using existing community networks like Patient Participation Groups (PPGs), Healthwatch, and community registers to help spread the word and avoid overloading residents.

This is a community effort and with your help, we can make sure the Strategy leads to real, visible improvements for everyone.

Hounslow Borough Based Partners Health Partners teamed up with the West London Ghanaian Association to deliver a well-attended cancer screening awareness event in a local restaurant. Around 60 people from the Ghanaian and West African community participated.

Attendees received information on breast, bowel, cervical, prostate, and testicular cancers, as well as healthy lifestyle advice, blood pressure checks, and sign-ups for breast screening appointments. The session also covered local health services and the difference between screening and diagnosis.

Feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

Attendees described the session as “very informative”, “an eye-opener,” and “a good opportunity to talk to professionals.” Many expressed a strong interest in attending future sessions.

The event highlighted the power of community engagement in preventative healthcare and the importance of meeting people where they are. Plans are underway for more health outreach events to support and empower local communities.

The latest performance data provided some encouraging signs - For all the parameters of CKD, north west London performs best out of the London sectors and is either the best or within the top five of the rest of the country – this is a significant improvement compared to previous years.

Harrow Pharmacy Needs Assessment - Harrow has published its draft Pharmacy Needs Assessment, providing a comprehensive overview of current and future pharmaceutical service needs across the borough. This assessment forms part of Harrow’s strategic planning under the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment framework and supports the borough’s ambitions to improve access, equity, and integration of pharmacy services within the wider health and care system. You can view the published assessment online.

Dr Deepen Patel, GP Partner at the Pinn Medical Centre, has been awarded General Practitioner of the Year 2025 at the Global Health Awards, held at the House of Commons on 10 July.

Dr Patel is recognised for his dedication to patient care, innovation, and community engagement. A graduate of Barts and The London School of Medicine, he brings expertise in paediatrics, psychiatry, and musculoskeletal medicine. At the Pinn Medical Centre, he has led AI-driven improvements, multidisciplinary teams, and service development across the primary care network. He also mentors future GPs and champions health education initiatives.