Subscribe to updates

You'll receive weekly summaries about Ealing Council every week.

If you have any requests or comments please let us know at community@opencouncil.network. We can also provide custom updates on particular topics across councils.

Health and Wellbeing Board - Thursday, 26 June 2025 2.00 pm

June 26, 2025 View on council website
AI Generated

Summary

The Ealing Council Health and Wellbeing Board was scheduled to meet on 26 June 2025 to discuss a range of public health issues. These included a report on vaping among young people, updates on Ealing Hospital and the new Community Diagnostic Centre, the Ealing Roots and Wings programme, and a report on the experiences of homeless people accessing NHS services.

Vaping and Young People

The board was scheduled to consider the Annual Public Health Report, titled A generation at risk: Vaping and young people. The report highlights the increasing trend of vaping among children and young people, both nationally and in the borough.

The report includes findings from the Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) Smokefree Great Britain Youth Survey 2024, which indicates that around one in five children in the UK had tried vaping in 2024. Extrapolating this data, the report estimates that 5,947 young people in Ealing have tried vaping.

The report notes that, unlike in previous years, most children who vape have never smoked tobacco cigarettes. It also acknowledges emerging evidence of negative health impacts associated with vaping in children, including nicotine addiction and mental health problems.

The report outlines several strategies to address the rising trend of vaping, including:

  • The Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which introduces new powers to regulate the advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of vapes.
  • National guidance and support from organisations such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and Talk to FRANK.
  • Local support for children and young people through the Ealing Smokefree Service and mental health services.

The report quotes an Ealing school child, aged 14, who said:

Every time I see someone do it I always hold in my breath so it doesn't come in my lungs..

The board was asked to note the report's findings and support its promotion.

Ealing Hospital and Community Diagnostic Centre

The board was scheduled to receive an update on Ealing Hospital and the Ealing Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC). The update was to include progress made in 2024/5 and plans for 2025/6.

According to the report pack, in 2024/5, London Northwest Healthcare NHS Trust (LNWHT):

  • Achieved financial balance.
  • Saw 78.1% of patients within 4 hours in its non-elective care.
  • Reduced the number of patients waiting 52 weeks for elective operations and eliminated waits of 72+ weeks.

The report also notes that Ealing Hospital provided significant non-elective support to the Trust and wider North West London to manage demand over the winter. In addition, the hospital made improvements to acute medical cover, end-of-life care, mental health support, and the accident and emergency environment.

Looking ahead to 2025/6, Ealing Hospital was scheduled to focus on reducing the number of temporary escalation spaces used, increasing access to elective treatment, piloting wayfinding initiatives, and implementing a £5.8 million capital scheme to support decarbonisation.

The Community Diagnostic Centre, which opened in August 2024, delivered an additional 57,000 tests up to seven days a week, including three new pathways for adult breathlessness, children and young people's asthma, and post-menopausal bleeding. For 2025/6, the target is to deliver 109,000 tests, with two new pathways being considered.

Ealing Roots and Wings Programme

The board was scheduled to receive an update on the Ealing Roots and Wings programme, a grant programme with peer research training for Black-led voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisations in Ealing that support health and wellbeing. The programme is funded by the NHS Health Inequalities Transformation fund and was developed in response to the Ealing Race Equality Commission report 2022.

Each participating organisation is awarded £5,000, and a Black leader in the organisation is enrolled in a peer research training programme. The programme aims to bring the learning and expertise of the participants into Borough Based Partnership (BBP) decision-making forums.

The report pack notes that in December 2024, 37 organisations applied for the programme, and a panel selected ten successful organisations. As of the meeting date, all ten organisations had received their grant funding, and nine had completed peer research training run by Voices of Colour.

Some insights from participants collected during the training included:

  • Concerns over the level and short-term nature of the funding.
  • The need to properly value the time, expertise, and lived experience of Black African and Caribbean communities.
  • Frustration about the reliance on external consultants to deliver work that local organisations are already doing.
  • Concerns about a lack of cultural understanding in healthcare services, particularly in areas like maternal care and mental health.
  • A need for more community spaces to be available for use by organisations.

The board was asked to note the progress of the programme and consider opportunities to involve participants in decision-making forums and co-production sessions.

Experiences of Homelessness in the NHS

The board was scheduled to discuss a report by Healthwatch Ealing on the experiences of homeless people accessing NHS services. The report involved interviews with 27 people without a fixed address, including 14 asylum seekers and 13 people experiencing homelessness.

Key findings from the report include:

  • 80% of people said they were treated differently by NHS staff because they did not have a fixed address.
  • 60% of people said their mental and physical health had declined over the past year.
  • Many people relied on charities and community groups to access NHS care.
  • 83% of people felt lonely or isolated.
  • 30% of participants did not know how to register with a GP.

The report makes several recommendations, including:

  • Providing clear training for NHS reception and GP staff on who can register and what documents are required.
  • Strengthening collaboration between NHS and third-sector organisations.
  • Creating a task force to improve continuity of care for people who are moved between areas.
  • Supporting social connection and wellbeing in temporary accommodation.
  • Offering pathways into work, training, or volunteering.
  • Ensuring that mental health teams and third-sector organisations work together to raise awareness of available mental health services.

The report includes case studies of individuals experiencing homelessness, such as Susan, a British citizen homeless since 2015 with a history of mental health challenges and substance misuse, and Alphonse, an Eastern European migrant who has been intermittently street homeless for two years.

The report also includes responses from public health officials to the recommendations, outlining current actions and planned initiatives to address the issues raised.

Attendees

Gurpreet Rana
Profile image for CouncillorAndrew Steed
CouncillorAndrew Steed  Liberal Democrats •  Southfield
Kerry Stevens
Robert South
Anna Bryden
Vijay Tailor
Neha Unadkat
Simon Crawford
Chris Hilton
Carleen Duffy
Profile image for CouncillorPolly Knewstub
CouncillorPolly Knewstub  Cabinet Member for Healthy Equal Lives •  Labour •  Hanwell Broadway
Profile image for CouncillorJosh Blacker
CouncillorJosh Blacker  Cabinet Member for a Fairer Start •  Labour •  South Acton
Profile image for CouncillorLouise Brett
CouncillorLouise Brett  Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Safe and Genuinely Affordable Homes •  Labour •  North Hanwell
Profile image for CouncillorKamaljit Kaur Nagpal
CouncillorKamaljit Kaur Nagpal  Cabinet Member for Decent Living Incomes •  Labour •  Southall Broadway
Zayna Ahmed

Topics

No topics have been identified for this meeting yet.

× Meeting image