By Matthew McKenzie – Carer activist

London Carer Organizations Network Update

The meeting focused on introductions and updates from various organizations supporting unpaid carers across London. Matthew McKenzie facilitated the session, introducing participants from different boroughs and organizations, including

• NHS England
• Healthwatch (local advisory committee involvement)
• North Central London Carer Support Project (covering Barnet, Haringey, Camden, Enfield, and Islington)
• The PSE (supporting South East London local authorities: Bexley, Bromley, Lambeth, Lewisham, Greenwich, and Southwark)
• Richmond Borough Mind
• Richmond Carers Centre
• Kingston Carers Network
• St George’s, Epsom and St Helier Hospital Group
• Sutton Carers Centre
• Carers Hub Lambeth (supporting unpaid carers, with hospital carers leads at King’s College Hospital and Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospital)
• Lewisham carers services (Imargo service manager)

Apologies from

Bromley Wells
Bexley Carers Support
Greenwich Carers
Ealing Carers Partnership
Tower Hamlets Carers Centre

NHS England updates including Universal Care Plan Updates

A representative from NHS England highlighted good news about the Hospital Discharge Toolkit, which had been originally developed in London by Debbie Hustings. The toolkit has already been adopted across much of southwest London with strong results. Recently, all NHS regions were asked to contribute work on hospital discharge, focusing particularly on carers’ experiences. When this went up to the Executive Quality Board at the national level, the London toolkit received recognition. The recommendation that came back was that all regions should develop something similar they could adopt London’s version directly or tailor one for their own needs. The representative stressed that this kind of recognition is significant because it helps the toolkit be taken more seriously and provides momentum for further rollout

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