A group of west London GP practices will form part of a support team offering long-term health screening for victims of the Grenfell tower fire over the course of the next five years.
NHS England has announced a £50m fund to offer support and treatment for people with physical and mental health issues following last year’s tragic incident.
Under the plans, a partnership of local GP practices, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust and community outreach will invite patients for regular health MOTs which will assess all of their health needs.
The service which will be available for survivors from the tower block fire, bereaved families and friends and the local community.
It will provide:
- A fast-track community health service for respiratory screening for adults and children
- Full physical health checks
- Additional monitoring for long term conditions
- Extra support for increased diabetes risk, weight gain management and drug and alcohol dependency
- Ongoing screening and treatment for mental health trauma
NHS England said this comes as since nearly 4,000 residents have already been screened by GPs and mental health practitioners since the fire in June 2017.
GPs have also been carrying out Grenfell-specific clinics, recognising increased health needs with longer appointments.
Speaking at the NHS Providers Conference in Manchester today, NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens said: ‘For those people who were affected by this horrendous tragedy, their pain is not over and many continue to face real difficulty.
‘NHS staff and the local community have been working hard from day one to support the Grenfell community. The NHS was there when people needed us and we’re determined to stay the course.
‘That’s why we are now introducing a new dedicated service to ensure those affected continue to have their health needs fully met.’
