Healthwatch Havering – an independent organisation that aims to represent residents’ views of health services in the borough – has published a report reviewing the services at St George’s Health and Wellbeing Hub in Suttons Lane.
The report is based on an Enter and View visit undertaken in April 2025, where a team of representatives visited the service and made recommendations for improvements.
Among the concerns raised by the Healthwatch team was the “very limited car parking” at the hub, which has led to a “considerable number of complaints”, the site manager told the team.
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According to the report, staff are “required to park in local streets, many of which have time restrictions” – and, while patients are encouraged to travel by public transport, there are “limited” bus services serving the hub.
Healthwatch Havering recommended that more spaces are reserved for staff who travel to the hub from other centres, such as Queen’s Hospital, so that treatment clinics can be provided at specific times.
The hub welcomed its first patients in November 2024, however by the time of the visit in April the site still had an “unfinished appearance”, the report said, due to temporary builders’ fencing still in place around the perimeter.
Th signage at the front of the building was also described as “inadequate”, with the entrance not clearly marked.
Other concerns raised were a lack of changing facilities on the first floor near the midwifery service, and a low balustrade near the mental health services which could be a “potential hazard” for those experiencing a mental health crisis.
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The report noted that the building was “bright, welcoming and spotlessly clean” – but said there were not many patients around at the time of the visit.
It said: “Whilst the team were impressed with the building, which was light and airy, they were very disappointed to be unable to speak to many patients because they simply were not there.”
In response to the report, a spokesperson for North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT) said: “We are working tirelessly with our partners across Havering and the NHS to address any concerns in relation to the building, in a cost-efficient way, while taking into account the different perspectives and needs of those accessing – and providing – services at the hub.”
