London's recovery starts with you

My main problem was food supply. I was extremely angry and upset about the situation and the fact that supermarkets were extremely slow to stop people stockpiling and to organise home delivery. They even cut down on deliveries: Waitrose stopped it altogether within their stores and redirected it to online orders which were oversubscribed for months.

The result was for someone like me who was supposed to shield to go out to buy supplies by myself with no car. I had to go to the supermarket with a back pack and multiple bags. They even stopped my daughter coming with me to help me to carry bags! It made me feel totally let down and very vulnerable. The food parcels sent by the Council looked absolutely disgusting and I had to resort to bartering and exchange home made masks, children's books and a printer for fresh produce.  

This was the source of extreme stress and mental health problems for me and it triggered psychiatric symptoms I already suffered of before.

Air pollution must be a priority! Children particularly are suffering already, and we know exposure to pollution leads to poorer outcomes for covid. BAME individuals are much more likely to be exposed to high levels of pollution and this may be a factor driving their increased mortality during covid (doubtless amongst many other health inequalities). Air pollution is linked not just to poor physical health but also increased rates of psychological distress, including diagnoses of psychosis. 
 

I am a clinical psychologist and I do support access to increased talking therapies but we need to start by tackling the factors leading to poor health

You cannot introduce George Orwell's 1984 solutions. People need to be able to choose healthier life styles. You need to re-think so much. In Redbridge, car parks in open spaces, where people can enjoy exercise, have a charging system that is complicated and puts people off. Change the car parks to free parking for two or three hours to get people out exercising.

It is perceived that most cheap food (usually fast food) is unhealthy. There needs to be greater encouragement of healthy/fresh food preparation and eating - easy access to fresh fruit and vegetable and healthy meat and fish products. Put limits on the numbers of fast food outlets permitted to open in localities. Healthier living will reduce the pressure on the NHS.

Regarding mental health, stop building large blocks of flats where people become isolated. If nothing else, this pandemic has shown that without the help and support of neighbours and communities, people easily become isolated and suffer from mental trauma. 

Londoners most affected by poverty should not be forced to go back to work in unsafe conditions. Ensure financial support for the poorest people who lost their jobs so that they are not forced to accept jobs that are unsafe just to survive, because this increases the spread of the virus and it will cost all of us much more to get rid of it in the long term.

I am afraid this is not a mission. At a push it is a pretty meaningless slogan and no way of knowing what is meant by better , nor whom is "worst affected". If such a message is needed - and I am not sure it adds much at all  - then  go for an achievable aim and set of goals.

Before we can start nosing into people's health we should look into the key actions needed to strengthen their rights to health. 

1) Address high levels of pollution by cracking down on car traffic within the entire ring road. Small areas of pedestrian bliss in affluent neighbourhoods simply won't cut it.

2) Enforce London Living Wage for ALL workers. Time to get this done. It's only £10.75, it should have been done years ago.

3) Regulate rental market via:

a) Fast-track eviction appeal system with statutory rights extended by 3 months. Reminder #1 cause of homelessness is end of lawful tenancy.

b) Public, easily searchable Landlord blacklist for prospective tenants.

c) Publish London-specific guidelines on chargeable rent for landlords and agencies, to be regularly updated based on market fluctuation and inflation.

d) Agency fees only chargeable to landlords, not tenants.

4) Bike sharing model to be adapted to successful European exanples (e.g. Vélib in Paris) with the aim of mass use. Yearly membership capped at £50 a year for registered London residents, inclusive of unlimited 30' trips.

Obesity needs to be tackled head on - local shopping streets need to be looked at for what they are offering - chicken and chips for a pound is hot, cheap food that busy parents living in poverty can afford and feed children quickly ... local high streets are full of cheap, fast food however the impact it has on obesity is huge! We need to make sure that healthier food is available at an affordable cost and that this is available easily and readily in the high street supported by education for parents on cooking etc. 

The pandemic and resulting lockdown has highlighted how essential it is that everyone has access to green space, especially if they do not have their own gardens. It is therefore essential that existing protections on greens spaces are strengthened, and councils and developers are not allowed to build on green space.

Mental health services must improve.  Current waiting times for mental health provision are terrible.  I have had friends with children told to 'come back to A&E if their child shows more suicidal behaviours' with no support put in place.  I suspect Mental health issues are only going to become more prevalent with many more people experiencing anxiety and depression - the NHS need support to provide much needed services xx 

Londoners need more swimming pools and leisure centres and an update to existing ones. Increased population with new flats everywhere means increased pressure on existing facilities.

We welcome this mission and the ambition to reduce health inequalities.

It is essential that all those who need the NHS can physically get to the place of treatment. Hospital transport plays an important part, particularly for those who are less well off and cannot afford taxis or have their own car.

Hospital transport provision needs to be reviewed in the light of direct and indirect effects of the pandemic:

a. We understand that there are plans for a centralised waiting list to catch up with the backlog of cases that were postponed in the Spring which means that patients may have to travel much further than previously.

b. Hospital out-patients are being asked to arrive just in time for their appointment and leave immediately after to reduce the number of people in the same place at any time to reduce the risk of transmission. Patients who have used hospital transport report that they often arrive well in advance of their appointment and wait for a long time to go home.

c. The requirement for social distancing may mean that each vehicle used for hospital transport can take fewer patients per journey.

d. Public transport may not be a realistic (nor safe) option for older, frail people who are unwell. At any rate capacity is reduced and people over 60 no longer enjoy free travel before 9:30 am.

The pandemic has highlighted the importance of social care. There is a risk that there will not be enough social care workers in the near future for several reasons:

a. Social Care service provision relies on immigrants and new rules will soon apply

There are 232,000 jobs in adult social care in London*. 39% of the workforce are NOT British nationals*. Social care workers are not likely to qualify for a work visa under the new point-based immigration system that will come into force in January 2021.

b. There is no slack in the social care system

There are 18,000 vacancies at any time and 48,000 workers left in 2018/19*. The need for new staff is exacerbated by the the fact that until there is a vaccine for Covid-19, some staff will be off sick or self-isolating. If service-users - who are mainly frail, older people - do not receive the support they need, they can deteriorate rapidly, and could need hospital admission within days or even die.

We urge you to take steps to ensure that the social care workforce is adequate to meet the needs beyond Brexit

*The Adult Social Care Sector and Workforce: London 2019. Skills for Care Workforce Intelligence 2019.