Significant investment in existing NHS buildings across the capital will transform health services for thousands of patients in some of London’s most underserved communities

Thousands of Londoners are set to benefit from major improvements to six neighbourhood health centres, as part of the government’s landmark rollout of upgraded centres across England — backed by up to £50 million in investment.

The six London sites — Jubilee Gardens Primary Care Centre in Ealing, Hornsey Neighbourhood Health Centre in Haringey, Alexandra Avenue Health and Social Care Centre in Harrow, The Centre Manor Park in Newham, Erith Health Centre in Bexley, and Downham Health & Leisure Centre in Bromley — will be transformed through targeted investment in existing NHS estate. Rather than starting from scratch, the programme maximises the potential of buildings already embedded in local communities, rapidly refurbishing and repurposing underutilised space to bring a wider range of health services together under one roof.

Once the improvements are complete, patients will be able to access urgent treatment, GP and pharmacy services alongside a growing range of support including mental health, physiotherapy, and community nursing — all closer to where they live.

The centres are targeted at areas with higher levels of deprivation, ensuring investment reaches the communities that need it most.

Will Huxter, Regional Director of Commissioning for NHS England London, said: “These improvements to six of London’s neighbourhood health centres represent a real step forward for the capital’s communities. At the heart of this programme is a simple but powerful idea: that the neighbourhood is the right place to deliver genuinely improved health for local populations.

“By investing in high quality estate — making the most of the buildings that already sit at the heart of our communities — we are creating the conditions for joined-up, proactive care that works around people’s lives. For Londoners in some of our most deprived areas, that means faster access to the right support, closer to home, and services that look beyond the immediate condition to address the wider factors affecting their health.”

Each of the six London sites will see underutilised or redundant space transformed into modern, fit-for-purpose clinical facilities.

At Jubilee Gardens in Ealing, existing office and records space will be converted into around five new clinical rooms, building on the centre’s existing GP practices and community services.

At Hornsey in Haringey, a long-vacant former pharmacy unit will be brought back into use, with expanded services and improved facilities for the existing dementia care centre.

Alexandra Avenue in Harrow — which already delivers over 120,000 additional patient appointments per year — will gain 14 new consulting rooms, dramatically improving the utilisation of a building where bookable space is currently used just 11% of the time.

The Centre Manor Park in Newham will be refurbished to create a new community hub on the ground floor and five additional consultation rooms on the first floor.

Erith Health Centre in Bexley will see underused sessional space repurposed to strengthen its already integrated model of care, supporting multidisciplinary teams working across the neighbourhood.

And Downham Health & Leisure Centre will benefit from first floor conversion and reconfiguration of administrative space into new clinical rooms.

The improvements to London’s six sites form part of the first wave of 27 upgraded centres nationally, due to be completed by 2027. They are the first of 50 centres backed by a total of £200 million in government investment, with the government committed to upgrading or opening 250 neighbourhood health centres across England by 2036 — with the first 120 complete by 2030.

The programme is a central part of the government’s 10 Year Health Plan, which sets out a fundamental shift from hospital to community care, reducing pressure on the NHS, cutting waiting lists, and improving access to services where people live.