Tower Hamlets residents can learn how to get the most out of health and social care in the borough at a new, state-of-the-art outreach and information centre.
Staff at the Healthwatch Hub, housed in a portacabin donated by Skanska and run by independent charity Healthwatch Tower Hamlets, will help residents navigate the health and social care system more easily to improve their care.
The Hub, located at the Royal London Hospital, will also host workshops and focus groups to support patients to find new ways to make services better.
Dianne Barham, Chief Executive of Healthwatch, said:
“The Healthwatch Hub is situated in the heart of the community to ensure local people have easy access to all the information they need to get the best healthcare services in Tower Hamlets. The resource will also ensure that we can better scrutinise and improve healthcare services.”
The new Healthwatch Hub will:
- provide local people with information and signposting advice to help them navigate the health and social care system more easily
- gather the views and experience of patients of services received both at the Royal London Hospital as well other local health and social care providers. This will involve outreach sessions within the hospital and drop-in sessions at the Hub
- co-ordinate patient led visits to wards and services to see how well they are working
- run workshops and focus groups to support patients to develop proposals to improve services
The Healthwatch Hub was developed in response to feedback from residents, voluntary community organisations and the charity’s members.
It will be run exclusively by Healthwatch staff and local volunteers.
The Healthwatch Hub is located in a portacabin on Stepney Way.
Allison Newell, Director of Health and Care Strategy for Skanska, said: “We were very proud to build and deliver the new Royal London Hospital and wanted to continue supporting the local community on completion. When the charity asked us to provide a portacabin to house the new outreach and information centre for Healthwatch Tower Hamlets we were delighted to get involved.”
If you are interested in volunteering with Healthwatch Tower Hamlets contact Beverley Annan on 020 8223 8922 or email: