Greenwich Launches Five-Year Health Strategy, Opens Integrated Care Unit

Royal Greenwich has published a new five-year Health and Wellbeing Strategy covering 2023 to 2028, centred on improving mental health, promoting healthy weight and reducing persistent health inequalities across the borough. The 2024-2025 Annual Public Health Report identifies addressing those inequalities as the most pressing challenge facing local health services, according to council documents.

New care model at Eltham Community Hospital

The most tangible change for residents is a new integrated care model scheduled to launch in November 2026 at Eltham Community Hospital. The unit will provide up to 20 beds for hospital discharge, admission avoidance, and short-term rehabilitation, supported by wrap-around GP provision. For Greenwich residents, this means a local alternative to longer hospital stays or delayed discharges, with the aim of freeing up acute beds and helping people recover closer to home.

The Healthier Greenwich Partnership, which brings together the council, NHS and voluntary sector, has established two funding strands, an Enabling Strand and a Delivery Strand, to support community organisations that are working to tackle health inequalities. The Enabling Strand was accepting applications through 2025, providing small grants to grassroots groups. The council says the partnership is designed to ensure that local organisations, rather than just statutory services, play a role in improving health outcomes for residents.

Ongoing assessments and market reviews

Alongside the new strategy and hospital unit, the borough is conducting a Greenwich Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment to identify gaps in pharmacy services. Separate revised sustainability assessments are underway for care homes for people aged 65 and over, and for the home care market for adults aged 18 and over, according to council reports. These reviews are intended to ensure that local care provision remains viable and meets residents’ needs as the population ages.

For Greenwich residents, the cumulative effect of these measures is expected to be gradual. The Health and Wellbeing Strategy runs through 2028, and the Eltham unit will not open until November 2026. In the interim, the funding programmes and market assessments are designed to identify where the health system is weakest and to direct resources accordingly. The council has emphasised that tackling the gap between the health outcomes of different communities remains the overarching priority, and that residents will see the impact most clearly when the new care beds become operational and when community organisations begin delivering projects funded by the partnership.