Cllr Lucinda Knight

Speaking last night on the importance of reopening the Gordon Hospital’s 51 Acute Mental Health Beds. Reopening these beds shouldn’t come at the cost of other community mental health services. As one size will never fit all with mental health.

Team Holland back on the cricket field for one of our favourite events of the year - the @RBKC Summer Activity Day! From climbing walls and Tai Chi to face painting, cricket and more, there was something for everyone. A huge thanks to all who made it happen 🏏☀️

This isn’t the end of the road—but it’s a meaningful step forward. After much hard work, 10 beds (5 crisis, 5 step-down) will reopen at the Gordon Hospital (closed since the pandemic) and the MHCAS will stay at St Charles in RBKC. Right up until the last moment, we thought there was no chance any beds would return to the Gordon—what felt impossible has been made possible through sheer persistence. It’s not everything we fought for, but it will make a real difference—easing pressure on A&Es, supporting an overstretched St Charles and restoring crisis care capacity in Westminster. This is also a moment to recognise the bigger picture: acute and community mental health care must work hand in hand together. We cannot be pushed to a point where our acute mental health bed capacity is so stretched it becomes unsafe—especially as we face a growing mental health crisis. Thank you to every single person on our committee, in the voluntary sector, in our community—and to our incredibly dedicated council officers—who kept going when it felt like we were getting nowhere. And to @ConciaAlbert for her brilliant leadership. This is a powerful reminder of what we can achieve when we work together—across boroughs and parties—with shared purpose and persistence.

Another brilliant intergenerational morning at the Reed Centre today—huge thanks to Kate Deighton and the fantastic @time_givers team for bringing everyone together 💕

Deeply moving to be at @StMarysTrust Ukrainian School this morning for their concert ahead of the 3rd anniversary of the invasion. The children sang about their love for their country, their people and those they have lost—holding onto hope and the fight for freedom. Despite the difficult weeks they’ve faced and the uncertainty hanging over their country’s future, their strength and spirit shone through. Thanks to @CllrCatherineF dedication, council funding and @FelicityBuchan past support in government, the school can continue providing vital services, including psychological trauma support for those who have endured so much. A truly special event to have been a part of 💛 🇺🇦

Exciting times joining @platformLDN1 primary school cricket tournament in Holland Park today. Well done to all those involved and @AarienAreti @jthalassites and I even got to show off some of our amateur skills 🏏 A fantastic program developing London’s children in and through cricket 👏🏼

View from the new balcony that has been installed at the @earlscourtdevco Padel Social Club today. Feeling a little bit more like spring! Food stalls to follow soon. Such a fantastic spot 🎾🎾👏🏼

A great contribution by @benwesson at our recent NWL Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Meeting, on the introduction of GP same day hubs across NW London 👏🏼

Tomorrow the Padel Social Club at @earlscourtdevco are hosting a drop in event of taster padel sessions & coffee from 11am-2pm to celebrate all the inspiring women in our community and to get more local women into the sport. Come on down, please spread the word 🎾🎾 🎾

On Thursday the NWL JOSCH will be meeting with leaders of the NHS and ICB to discuss their recent pause on the introduction of ‘Same day access hubs’. We are very much looking forward to hearing what comes next? And how they plan to engage, consult and co-produce this offer with GPs and patients going forwards. The public are very much welcome to this meeting, please see the details below from @ketansheth3

Breaking: ICB backs down on same-day access plans due to GP and patient backlash. So happy to hear ICS leaders have listened to the voices of patients and GPs and pressed pause on these changes. They have committed to allowing more time to work with PCNs, GPs and patients to clarify their plans. And they are not approaching this with the presumption that there is a particular model PCNs across NWL should adopt, nor that all PCNs should adopt the same model. I hope this means the ICS will consult properly this time and engage with as many residents, GPs and patients as possible, to ensure this new model of care is one that is co-produced with those that know primary care best. The matter will still be coming to the NWL JOSCH next Thursday in Brent and members of the public are very much welcome to attend. pulsetoday.co.uk/news/breaki…