A north west London health chief has hailed the opening of three community hubs as the “beginning of an exciting journey”.

Central and North West London NHS is opening the new centres at Park Royal Centre and at Roe Green - both in Brent.

Residents will be welcomed by mental health specialists such as nurses, psychotherapists and pharmacists who will work closely with the local primary care network of GPs.

Ann Sheridan, managing director of central and north West London NHS, said: “This is the beginning of an exciting journey.”

While the government wants to consolidate the primary and secondary sectors of health services over the long term, this new model will allow for “more accurate monitoring by the same health stakeholders”.

Also, patients will no longer be redirected to staff who are unable to carry out personalised follow-up over the long term. The care will therefore be more adapted to the needs of the patients, which is even more important when it comes to mental health.

In addition, the clinics to which patients were referred to, were sometimes far from their homes. These local hubs will therefore represent a significant saving of time and money for populations that the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted economically.

Councillor Ketan Sheth, chairman of North West London Joint Health Scrutiny Committee said “This is a welcome development, promising to see people sooner and indeed, anything which makes it easier for patients to be seen quickly and joins up their care is very welcome.

“I look forward to hearing more, seeing them in action and watching the results.”

This article has been edited to say there are THREE hubs rather than the two previously reported.