Publish date: 4 August 2025
Today (4 August) Ruth Cadbury MP for Brentford and Isleworth visited the Heart of Hounslow to discuss the borough wide uptake of child development reviews in Hounslow and the work being done to support children and families during the early years.
Ms Cadbury was joined by Chief Executive Maria O’Brien and Chief Operating Officer for Local Services Dr Christopher Hilton. During the visit, she met with the Hounslow Health Visiting Team and was taken on a tour of the neighbourhood community health hub, which houses multi-disciplinary healthcare teams from primary care, mental health and community healthcare.
The Health Visiting team shared insights with Ms Cadbury on the importance of child development reviews for two year olds in the borough. The reviews form an essential part of early year’s healthcare support and ensure young children are on track with their development. They can also help to identify at an early stage if a child may have additional healthcare needs.
The Health Visiting team also highlighted positive performance on how they are working diligently with Hounslow families to ensure uptake of the reviews. One of the key challenges the team faces in their community outreach is the frequent relocation of families in and out of the borough and overcoming language barriers. During a round table discussion the Health Visiting team highlighted how they support families using a whole system approach to deliver a package of care that meets the healthcare needs of each child and parent living in the borough and strengthens early years prevention.
Photo: (Left to right - Samsul Alam Business Manager for Hounslow Community Healthcare, Dr Christopher Hilton Chief Operating Officer for Local Services, Ruth Cadbury MP for Brentford and Isleworth, Saanamari Couturier Clinical Service Manager - Health Visiting Team, Sunita Arora Community Nursery Nurse, Shireen Moodley, Divisional Manager, Hounslow Children’s Services and Maria O'Brien Chief Executive)
Reflecting on the visit Chief Executive Maria O’Brien said:
“I’m pleased to have welcomed Ruth to the Heart of Hounslow today to show what an effective neighbourhood based model for delivering healthcare in the local community looks like. It was wonderful to hear from our health visiting staff on how they are providing exceptional care in the community to support early year’s development across Hounslow, in innovative ways.”
Ruth Cadbury MP for Brentford and Isleworth said:
“It was a pleasure to visit the team today and to see first hand multi disciplinary healthcare being provided in the local community all under one roof. Listening to the health visiting staff speak about their efforts to support early years development highlighted their commitment to addressing health inequalities and giving every child the best start in life.”