National Spotlight on Hillingdon’s Joined Up Care

Many people will recognise this current experience: your first point of contact is your GP, who then refers you to another team. At each stage you have to repeat your concerns, leaving a feeling that your care feels disjointed. This happens because there are different organisations in the same area focusing on different parts of healthcare. So when you’re referred by your GP, you’re transferred to a different NHS team or local health provider.

Hillingdon is part of an initiative that builds healthcare around a neighbourhood, where healthcare teams from different organisations work closely together, effectively as one team. They share the same patient records and build strong working relationships behind the scenes, so patients feel known no matter which team they see in their local area.

Through HHCP, the GP Confederation along with CNWL and third sector partners come together to build healthcare around neighbourhoods. On Wednesday they showcased their nationally‑leading work to Dr Bakhai.

Dr Bakhai was impressed by the palpable cultural shift based on trust and the key enablers that allow staff to work closely across health and social care organisations:

• The workforce passport allows staff to work across organisations more smoothly by giving them access to each Trust’s systems, with permissions equivalent to those they have in their home Trust.
• Blinx PACO, an IT solution that brings together electronic patient records from different organisations into one place. This means staff can have a single view of each patient, not missing any key information - this supports high‑quality clinical decision‑making.
• Clear communication and engagement strategy, making sure that changes to healthcare are shared in a way all communities in Hillingdon can understand and respond to. Ensuring residents are kept informed and that their feedback is built into the communications strategy and public‑facing updates.

Amanda Carey-McDermott, CEO - The Confederation Hillingdon (GP): "We are extremely proud of the strength of the partnership in Hillingdon, the things we’ve already been able to achieve together and the big ideas we still have for making a difference to our residents. It always very energising for the team to showcase our work and to have the opportunity to discuss national policy and heat insights from Minal, who is always such an inspiration"

Keith Spencer, Managing Director - Hillingdon Health and Care Partners: “What impressed Dr Bakhai was not a single programme, but a system working differently. In Hillingdon, local health, care and voluntary sector organisations are operating as neighbourhood teams with shared accountability for outcomes. We have established the cultural and workforce foundations, and we are now developing the digital connectivity that will link electronic patient record systems across organisations to support truly integrated care.”