Help shape the future of Women’s and Girls' Health in South East London

Women’s and Girls’ Health Hubs

Our efforts to improve health services for women and girls in south east London have progressed with the development of Women’s and Girls’ Health Hubs to better support local communities.

The first two women’s and girls’ health hub launched in Lambeth, Greenwich and Bexley in spring 2025. The hubs bring together doctors, nurses and other specialists to provide a one stop shop for a range of conditions.

These hubs focus on key women’s health services, including menstrual care, menopause support, pre-conception care, and awareness of breast and cervical cancer. They aim to improve access to services through community engagement, local community champions, in-person clinics, and virtual support.

In Greenwich and Bexley the hub offers to girls and women the option to self-refer to services for menopause support, heavy menstrual bleeding, contraception, pre-conception advice, and more — all through a virtual hub. The hub also accepts referrals from GPs and other healthcare professionals. Self referrals can be completed by visiting the hub webpage. The main clinic is located at Market Street Health Centre in Woolwich, however, people may be offered an appointment at another clinic location.

By creating these hubs, we have taken an important step towards ensuring that all women, including those who identify as women and girls, have equitable access to the care and support they need.

Read more details about the hubs and how to access on our website.

How did we listen to you?

In 2024 we worked in partnership with public health, provider and voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) partners to ensure we actively engaged with women and girls across diverse communities in south east London through a variety of channels to shape and inform the development of our hub model. We wanted to understand more about the health needs and barriers of local women and girls to help us close the gap on unfair and avoidable differences in health access, experience and outcomes.

We invited local women and girls' views through an online survey and conversation forum. We received 1,434 responses, and we would like to thank everyone who participated and contributed to our survey and forum conversations.

We also attended several face-to-face community events to complement the insight collated via the online survey and conversation forum. These sessions allowed us to hear from over 250 local women and girls. We focused on listening to young people (16-25) and communities facing barriers to care and experiencing health inequalities, such as South Asian, Black African, Black Caribbean, and Latin American and attended:

• Ageing Well fair - Lambeth
• South East London College - Welcoming Fair, Bexley Campus
• South East London College - Welcoming Fair, Bromley Campus
• Ronald McDonald House
• Lambeth College – Freshers fair, Clapham Campus
• Lambeth College – Freshers fair, Nine Elms Campus
• Greenwich Islamic Centre
• South Asian Heritage Festival – Bexley
• The Latin American Women’s Rights Service (LAWRS) and Indo-American Refugee and Migrant Organisation (IRMO) workshop

We also put on two focus groups in November 2024 with residents to explore issues in more depth and to test proposed solutions. You can see the focus groups conversation presentation here. These discussions showed a strong need for more accessible and personalised care.

Key insight gained from the survey and outreach and recommendations

• There is a strong demand for a full range of sexual and reproductive health services and clear pathways
• Women and girls would welcome an offer of a comprehensive ‘MOT’ check-up
• More integration of point-of-care testing for quick diagnostics and signposting is needed
• Services should focus on those who need them most, guided by data and feedback
• A virtual hub triage function could better direct patients to appropriate services
• Care navigation support (virtual or in-person) to help residents navigate complex health and care pathways
• Extended hours and community-based services to increase engagement
• Focus on building trust and relationships within communities
• Culturally sensitive services and outreach
• Translation and accessible knowledge for specific groups and communities is critical
• Emphasis on digital accessibility for health information and education
• Recognition of the need for both digital and face-to-face options
• Engaging with young people and improving health literacy and education on specific topics can be done, but the channels we currently use may not be the most effective
• Collaboration with schools and youth-based organisations is important for engagement
  
  

Focus groups key recommendations

• Improve the NHS App for easier access to health information
• Address cultural barriers in healthcare services
• Ensure healthcare planning meets the needs of diverse communities
• Increase community outreach and engagement, especially for underrepresented groups
  

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Background

We wanted to change how women's and girls' health is delivered in our communities so that it meets the needs of those who need it most.

As part of a national Women’s Health Strategy*, there has been a commitment to developing ‘women's health hubs’. Women's health hubs aim to:

• join up health and care services in the community
• help more women to have access to information in an easy-to-understand and culturally appropriate way to make decisions about their health and well-being
• support women with 'related health issues' to be seen in the right setting, by the right professional, at the right time.

*While the Women's Health Strategy refers to women, some people who do not identify as women will also require access to and may benefit from care in women’s health hubs. These groups will also have specific needs and experiences which will be considered.

You can find out more about the National Women’s Health Strategy here.

Read more about why this is an important piece of work, the national context, and the services required to be in the hub.