At the beginning of August, I visited Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust’s (CLCH) team in the heart of London’s West End. During my visit I was struck by the trust’s commitment to innovative care in the home and in the community for the very diverse populations it serves – and by its commitment to supporting its own workforce and to quality improvement.
Despite the name, CLCH extends far further than central London. The trust works across 11 inner and outer London boroughs as well as in Hertfordshire, supporting more than two million patients. It has more than 4,500 staff, 84% of whom are female and 53% Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds. The trust provides more than 90 clinical services, including community nursing, speech and language therapy, and falls clinics.
Working across such a disparate area presents many challenges to the way the trust addresses health inequalities and meets the needs of the different communities it serves. I was pleased to hear about the strong grasp of data and effective relationships CLCH holds across four Integrated Care System’s (ICSs), 11 place-based partnerships and 84 primary care networks, where the trust works closely with local authority partners, primary care colleagues and other NHS providers.
I was fascinated to hear about the homeless health service run across Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham and Wandsworth, providing support to a group who often manage complex physical, mental and substance-related issues. Director for partnerships and integration Anne Whately emphasised the importance of relationship-building and trust in the work her team does, supporting people with highly individual needs to access healthcare services in a flexible, person-centred way. I could clearly see the passion, enthusiasm and care Anne brings to her role supporting an often-marginalised community. The benefits for this community, and for neighbouring acute trusts, were clear.
I also got an insight into the innovative work CLCH is doing setting up ‘virtual wards’ for effective home support to support people with conditions such as frailty or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, who would otherwise be admitted to hospital, or cared for in a hospital bed. As the new NHS England national director for virtual wards, CLCH’s chief executive James Benson is excited to champion the positive results the trust sees from the project in terms of patient and carer satisfaction, staff wellbeing and cost reduction.
While James and the team recognised the challenges arising in adopting new ways of working, I left CLCH inspired by its commitment to improvement. It continually champions new ways of working to better support its patients, and advocates for the vital role community services must play now and in the future for the NHS.
About the author
