2 September 2020

Over the last few months Harrow Healthwatch has been collecting data on how Covid-19 has affected residents in the borough, specifically, to find out more about what is working well and what needs improvement. Based on the data obtained from the survey, the Healtwatch made some recommentations.

Tanya Paxton our Borough Director for Harrow, has explained some of the changes and initiatives CNWL has taken within the borough to help its residents, patients and service users.

She says:

“This is a good report and we are very happy to discuss it. We have already responded to a number of the recommendations:

  • We have increased social prescribing within the mental health hubs, with a 12 month pilot, with a Social Prescriber being sited with each of the three hubs, adverts recently out.
  • We opened our Community Mental Health Teams (CMHT) to seven days a week working, to increase availability through Zoom and face-to-face and to reduce need to attend A&E
  • We offered home visits to all those patients who didn’t wish to travel or required medication and did not wish to attend sites during lockdown and continue to do this
  • We offered food parcels to all vulnerable
  • We did welfare checks, virtually for all patients
  • We always offered people a choice of attending or having a virtual meeting, explaining the PPE requirements and gave patients an allotted time to attend to reduce the traffic in our waiting rooms.”