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For the last two weeks, Healthwatch Tower Hamlets were joined by two work placement candidates as part of our work placement programme. Read on to find out what type of work they were involved in and what skills they learned during their time with us.

Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK. Yet the latest data shows that almost one third of people who were sent an NHS bowel cancer screening kit in England last year did not go on to complete it. Early diagnosis is vital, as detecting bowel cancer at the earliest stage makes you up to 9 times more likely to be successfully treated.

With the cost of living crisis affecting communities nationwide, the London Borough of Tower Hamlets have shared information on accessing your local food stores and tips on managing your food bills.

Tower Hamlets Council one of first 75 local authorities to pilot government Family Hubs model to be rolled out across the borough by March 2024

Each month the NHS publishes national and regional data on GP appointments. You can see in the infographic below that in December 2022, GP practices in north east London provided over 860,000 appointments. 46% of the of these appointments were same day, 57% were within one day and 78% were within one week. 65% were face-to-face and 34% over the phone; and 58% of these appointments were with a GP and 41% with another member of practice staff like a nurse.

Care Home Direct Enhanced service. A trend Analysis report on GP services provided to Care Home residents in the eight boroughs of North East London. By Healthwatch Tower Hamlets. May-July 2022.

Improving how the Council and NHS can work with people and the voluntary and community sector to improve health and care services.

Tower Hamlets Health and Wellbeing Board is in the process of developing an updated Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) for the borough. This is an important document that describes health and wellbeing need and the provision of pharmacy services.

Struggling with your mental health? The NHS is here to help you. Find out how you can access local support services in your area.

General practitioners (GPs) are doctors who treat all common medical conditions.

Where necessary they can refer you to hospitals and other medical services for urgent and specialist treatment. They focus on the health of the whole person combining physical, psychological and social aspects of your care.

Your GP should usually be your first point of call for all medical questions and you will need to make an appointment.

You can book appointments with your GP practice online via their website or using the NHS app. If you can’t get online you can call your practice.

A trends analysis report of Royal London Hospital services for the period of January to December 2022.