I joined Whittington Health as CEO in June 2025. Over the past few months, I have spent time getting to know our teams, our communities, our partners across North London and my colleagues. It has also been a joy to meet many of my colleagues working in General Practice, and whilst we may not have met yet, I wanted to get in touch with all of you.
Many of you in Haringey and Islington will know Whittington Health through the services we provide, but I wanted to write to you directly because our partnership with primary care really matters to me, both professionally and personally.
I have worked in social care for much of my career. I understand the unique role that the health and social care system plays in people’s lives, often at their most vulnerable moments. I also know the pressure that primary care services are under, locally and nationally. And I know the difference that committed professionals can make when they work as one system.
That is why I am proud of the way we work together in Haringey, Islington and across North Central London.
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The Multi Agency Care and Coordination Team in Haringey is a strong example. More than 25 professionals from health, social care and the voluntary sector working as one team. Supporting thousands of residents living with frailty or complex conditions. Helping people stay well at home and avoid unnecessary hospital visits.
In Islington our Proactive Frailty and Complex Care Team is a patient-centred approach involving a co-ordinated process with GP involvement baked in, designed to determine a frail older person’s medical conditions, mental health, functional capacity and social circumstances. From this, the team can formulate a clear plan for treatment, rehabilitation, support and long-term follow up.
Wherever we work in the local health and care system I know we share the same goals. We want children to thrive. We want adults to live longer and live well. We want services that are joined up, compassionate and centred around people’s needs.
Alongside the Council and our GP Federations, we have been confirmed as integrators for neighbourhood working. That formal role reflects something that has been developing here for years.
To deliver that ambition in today’s environment, we also need to be honest about the context we are operating in. Whittington Health is facing significant financial challenge. Demand is rising. Costs are increasing. We need to deliver a solid, balanced financial plan and live within our means. This means us having to find savings and efficiencies of around £30million per year.
A savings target like this will require us to prioritise. It will mean looking carefully at how services are delivered and, in some cases, making changes to the level or model of provision. These are not decisions we take lightly. They are about protecting quality and ensuring we can continue to serve our communities for the long term.
I am clear that this financial reality should not weaken our partnership or destabilise our relationships. It makes it more important. By working together, being clear about our constraints, and focusing on what makes the greatest difference, I am confident we can navigate the choices ahead and continue building strong neighbourhood services for Haringey.
I also understand that you are facing similar financial challenges and others, not least responding to the unprecedented demand for your services.
I know that your representatives meet with my colleagues via the clinical interface group where we are keen to hear how we can try to remove any friction in our relationship, we will certainly do everything we can to be a good partner. I hold my hands up and say that I accept that we haven’t got things right in the past few months and have failed to inform, discuss proposed changes with you or to listen to your feedback before making them.
To that end, we would be happy to make this meeting monthly if you think this would add value.
We will be working much more closely with our partners, including primary care, over the coming year to better co-ordinate care for our most complex rising risk patients at neighbourhood level as we work together in the Haringey neighbourhood test bed and in Islington initially via further developing our INC meetings.
As our work continues to move care out of hospital and into communities and to work as hard to prevent ill health as to treat it I wanted to take this opportunity to thank my GP colleagues for the support that we receive and to say how excited I am to have the opportunity to strengthen and deepen our relationships to benefit local people.
Selina
Selina Douglas
CEO, Whittington Health NHS Trust
Selina.Douglas1@nhs.net
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