August News

This month's newsletter is full of news and updates, including special events from our partners: 

• Our Annual Report
• GPs - collective action
• Healthwatch Barnet - new reports out  
• Healthy Heart 
• Free prescriptions - care leavers
• Maternity consultation - what's next?  

As always, you can contact us if you would like to share your views on health and social care in Barnet.

Our Annual Report

Over the last year, we’ve been hard at work championing the voices of local people and advocating for improvements to services. Read our Annual Report to find out more. A few highlights:

• 1,024 people shared their experiences of health and social care with us.
• 13,611 people came to us for information and signposting, directly and via our website.
• For our Community Connectors project, we carried out 960+ blood pressure checks, gathered residents' feedback and published a report. We're working with statutory partners on implementing our recommendations.
• We carried out seven Enter and View visits, in locations including care homes and primary care walk-in centres. The services are now working to implement our recommendations.
• Our Heathy Heart team supported 900+ residents to better manage their cardiovascular health, focusing on our peers in Barnet's African, Caribbean and South Asian communities.

GPs - collective action

GPs across England voted in favour of collective action, beginning 1 August.

In North Central London, GP surgeries are open as usual - Monday to Friday, 8am to 6.30pm. If you have an appointment, just attend as planned. To book, contact your GP in the usual ways – by phone, online or in-person. The NHS has produced a guide on ways to access care, including via NHS 111 and your local pharmacy. There are also NHS Walk-In Centres in Edgware and Finchley.

The BBC covered the collective action, explaining the range of measures GPs could bring in, including limiting the numbers of patients they see or not carrying out assessments for hospitals. The British Medical Association told reporters that the impact is likely to be a ‘slow burn’ rather than a ‘big bang’.

Also, did you know that, last year, Barnet residents completed a survey about their local GP surgery? You can see the results here.

Healthwatch Barnet  - new reports out

In the last few weeks, we published three reports - on the Finchley and Edgware NHS walk-in centres and Catherine Lodge care home.

The Finchley and Edgware centres provide drop-in appointments for people with minor injuries and illnesses. During our visits to both centres, we observed key examples of good practice, including the waiting rooms being clean and well kept on the day of our visit. Many of the patients and visitors who we interviewed described staff as ‘helpful’, ‘friendly’ and ‘nice’. It’s also positive to see that both centres are working to implement our recommendations in areas including refreshments, signposting and accessibility.

Catherine Lodge is a care home for older people. During our visit, we found numerous examples of good practice. These included the residents and relatives we spoke to describing staff as friendly, responsive and kind. Interviewees also gave us good examples of personalised care, a wide range of activities and effective use of volunteers. We’re pleased to report that the home has accepted a number of our recommendations and suggestions. For example, following our visit the home is arranging a discussion with residents regarding accessible gardening activities.

Healthy Heart

This month, we’re celebrating traditional, healthy Caribbean food, and how this can help to maintain heart health: 

• BBC Good Food have shared Top tips for healthy Caribbean cooking and their website has a multitude of recipe options to get you inspired.
• Barnet Council's ‘Go Bean’ campaign is promoting the value of eating more beans – which of course are a mainstay of Caribbean cooking. Visit the Your Health Barnet website to access their resources.
• Check out the African & Caribbean Eatwell Guide for info on the nutritional benefits of foods such as cassava, plantain and sapote.

Our Healthy Heart team have had a busy few weeks, working with dozens of their peers in Barnet’s African, Caribbean and South Asian communities to promote heart health. For example, we were delighted to partner with Club Nova Vida on an Angolan Women’s Well-being Day, and Age UK Barnet on their Boost Your Wellbeing morning. We attended an inaugural event with the local Nepalese community, and are excited to be planning future collaborations with this group. Contact us for more details of our Healthy Heart workshops.

Care leavers

Care experienced young people in North Central London, who currently pay for their prescriptions, now have the right to access prescribed medication for free. Are you:

• Aged 18 to 24?
• Registered with a GP?
• A care experienced young person in Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey or Islington?

If so, to apply for the Prescription Prepayment Certificate, you can contact your Personal Advisor at your Local Authority’s leaving care service. They can help you fill in a form and apply on your behalf – see here for more info.

Maternity consultation - what's next? 

Earlier this year, the NHS in North Central London ran a public consultation on changes to maternity, neonatal, and children’s surgical services.

The NHS Integrated Care Board have now published interim findings, alongside their plans for next steps. The key proposal is to close the maternity and neonatal unit at the Royal Free Hospital and provide upgraded services at Barnet, North Middlesex, University College London and Whittington Hospitals. Earlier in the process, Dr Jo Sauvage, chief medical officer at the NHS NCL Integrated Care Board, told reporters that half of the cots in the Royal Free neonatal unit were not in use on any given day.

More than 3,000 people responded to the consultation, which was covered by the BBC earlier this summer. The majority agreed that changes are needed, to address the challenges facing services. However, many residents expressed concern about the impact of proposed closures in their local area. In responses, a key theme was the importance of maintaining the close working relationships between maternity units and their neighbouring departments, such as paediatrics and sickle cell.

Final decisions about any changes are expected by late 2024 or early 2025. If you have questions for the Integrated Care Board, or wish to discuss their next steps in more detail, get in touch here.

For now, the NHS has confirmed that any changes will not happen for some years, and in the meantime all services will continue to run as usual.