I am pleased to welcome the commencement of early works this week to begin the construction of a new NHS Health a& Wellbeing Hub on the former St. George's Hospital.
This is a big moment in a long-running campaign to improve the availability and quality of health and social care services in Hornchurch and the wider area, and I hope that when the hub opens (scheduled for March 2024) you and your family will benefit.
My team and I have been working with local stakeholders to campaign for the new NHS Hub since my election in 2017 and we made our first breakthrough when the Prime Minister confirmed in summer 2019 that £17.4 million would be allocated to the project. We have since been working to get it delivered as quickly as possible and we hope that the hub will be given final approval by the Department of Health in the coming weeks.
Our GPs have been working with the Integrated Care Board (ICB), North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT), and Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (BHRUT) in the development of these plans.
The new Health and Wellbeing Hub aims to provide integrated primary, community, mental health and local authority care services under one roof. Some GP services will move to the new Hub, alongside early diagnostic services for cancer, some outpatient services, frailty services for older people, mental health services, health and wellbeing and early prevention services. This will also release capacity at Queen's Hospital.
This site will also be a hugely valuable community resource, with space for local and voluntary organisations. It will have an integrated café, education facilities, and a dementia-friendly communal garden and wetland area.
Early clearance works now taking place include site surveys and the demolition of parts of the older hospital building. This is an exciting moment for our community and I have written to Health Secretary, Steve Barclay MP, to highlight with him directly the significance of this project and the benefits it will deliver to Hornchurch & Upminster so that we can secure final approval.
You can find the full Q&A document I have been provided by the NHS project team further down this webpage.
