South Westminster Centre for Health Also known as South Westminster Centre

Updated 19 December 2024

Date of Assessment: 29 January 2025 to 10 February 2025. Healthcare Central London Ltd (HCL) delivers services to people living in Westminster, London. Its activity is primarily funded by the Westminster primary care networks through contracts held with NHS North West London Integrated Care Board. HCL provides regulated activities within a wider programme of commissioned work.
Regulated services include community-based diagnostic clinics for dermatology and cardiology at the South Westminster Centre for Health. Local GPs refer eligible people to these services for diagnosis, treatment and onward referral. HCL also delivers a same day ‘additional’ access hub providing consultations for acute problems with a GP or advanced nurse practitioner at South Westminster Centre for Health and 5 general practices (Lisson Grove Health Centre; Marylebone Health Centre; Paddington Green Health Centre; St John’s Wood Medical Centre and Third Floor Lanark Medical Centre). HCL also provides an ‘enhanced’ access hub providing consultations on weekday evenings and Saturdays remotely and face-to-face at South Westminster Centre for Health and Connaught Square Medical Centre. Consultations within the enhanced access service are available with GPs, practice nurses, advanced nurse practitioners and clinical pharmacists.
Information published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities shows that socio-economic indicators tend to be above average in Westminster. However, there are high levels of inequality, for example, homelessness. HCL aims to tackle health inequalities in line with the local Health and Wellbeing strategy. This assessment considered the demographics of the people using the service and how this impacted service delivery. Where relevant, further commentary is provided in the quality statements section of this report.
We found that the service was safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led. There was a culture of innovation through effective community working.
 

Updated 19 December 2024

Most people we spoke with were attending HCL services for the first time and did not have strong views. However, people with more experience were happy with the quality of their care and treatment across the services we assessed. People were positive about not having to wait too long for an appointment at the diagnostic clinics. People attending the access hubs told us that they were reassured to have rapid access to a health professional. Recent survey results from the NHS Friends and Family Test also showed people were satisfied with HCL services. HCL had a remit to develop a cross-Westminster primary care patient participation group (PPG). We spoke with representatives from this PPG who understood the role of HCL and described recent initiatives they had discussed. One member told us they were enthusiastic about transferring ideas about how to engage people back to their own practice PPG. Another member was positive about HCL although they felt there was more the service could do to share detailed feedback gathered from people across Westminster with practice-level PPGs.