Londoners show their support for Our Future Health
Huge numbers of Londoners have joined Our Future Health in our aim to prevent disease and promote good health.
Our first clinic in the region opened its doors in Croydon last autumn in the Centrale Shopping Centre. This was followed closely by our second clinic on Stratford Broadway in November. These fixed site clinics have been booked up since opening, welcoming thousands of Our Future Health volunteers through their doors.
Following on from this, our new mobile clinics began their journeys across London in December, popping up in car parks in Greenwich and Havering before moving on to North Acton and Hackney.
In addition to these sites, thanks to the support of Boots Pharmacies, additional access to clinics was available for those who don’t live near our main sites.
The result has been a huge surge of support from residents of Greater London, whose altruism and eagerness to get involved played a crucial role in helping us reach the landmark figure of 250,000 volunteers in February 2023.
How Our Future Health can shape healthcare for Londoners
Seeing these sorts of numbers of volunteers getting involved with this research is encouraging for many reasons, not least for the future of healthcare for all of us. There is also excitement about the potential for Our Future Health to target and prevent specific diseases within certain communities.
We have consulted closely with health, political and community leaders across Greater London to learn how we can help support local initiatives. Conversations with groups such as the BME Forum and Citizens UK have allowed us to gain a deeper understanding of health priorities. Our Future Health met with local organisations including Croydon Voluntary Action and Croydon Commitment to help spread the word throughout the borough.
Dr Roshan Siva, Associate Medical Director for Research and Development at Croydon Health Services NHS Trust, said:
“By working with our local communities in Croydon and gaining information on our population, we can use important health data to ensure the right health screening checks are offered to the right people, at the right time. Ultimately, this will help clinicians to detect diseases as early as possible, leading to earlier treatment and better clinical outcomes. I would encourage as many of you as possible to volunteer for this exciting programme.”
The Mayor of Newham has also encouraged residents to take part, saying in the Newham Gazette that “we all stand to benefit from this research – I would urge all of our communities to get involved”, and Mayor McKeever of Havering paid a visit to the mobile unit and spoke in the press about his support of the programme.
Find out more about Our Future Health at our free online event on Thursday 16 February
And this is just the start of the journey; more clinics and mobile units will be arriving in other London boroughs in the near future, and to mark this we’ll present an update on our progress in Greater London so far, and unveil future plans for the region on 16 February 2023 from 2pm-3.30pm.
This free, online event is open to anyone interested in improving health outcomes in London, as well as any residents who want to get involved as a volunteer, and will provide opportunities for everyone to help us have a real impact in the region.
Our online event takes place on Thursday 16 February from 2pm until 3.30pm. Tickets are limited, and you can reserve your place here.