News and events

We were delighted to welcome two Hertfordshire MPs for insightful trips around two pioneering initiatives set up to support local people recently.

Alistair Strathern, MP for Hitchin, and Kevin Bonavia, MP for Stevenage, met staff at our Urgent Care Coordination Hub in Stevenage and got to take a look closer look at our remote monitoring kit used as part of our innovative Hospital at Home service. Chief Medical Officer, Dr Elizabeth Kendrick conducted the local politicians on a tour of the hub, where they also got to pay a brief visit to our staff wellbeing service.

In the afternoon, the pair visited Lonsdale School in Stevenage where they sat in on a mental health workshop by two of our SEND Mental Health Support Team practitioners and met some of the young people who benefit from this trailblazing service.

 
MPs Alistair Strathern and Kevin Bonavia with Chief Executive Elliot Howard-Jones.

Chief Executive, Elliot Howard-Jones said: “It was a pleasure to meet Alistair and Kevin and enable them to see first-hand the amazing work being done by our teams. 

“Our overall aim with both initiatives is to provide high-quality care and support to people living in and around Hertfordshire, whether you are an older person who needs support to stay safe and well at home, or a young person living with SEND who needs early intervention support to help manage their emotions and wellbeing.”

Hospital at Home cares for patients with complex and often acute healthcare needs, providing them with treatments they would otherwise need to be in hospital to receive – such as IV fluids and medication. Since its launch in 2022, our Hospital at Home service has provided hospital-equivalent care in the comfort of their homes to more than 24,000 patients across East and North Hertfordshire.

While our SEND MHST service works in partnership with schools to provide early intervention mental health support for children and young people with an identified special educational need and disability (SEND) need, an Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP) or who are on the pathway to gaining a diagnosis and/or an EHCP, within schools across Hertfordshire and West Essex.

It was created in 2019, and now supports 56 schools and since it was created has supported 28,000 children, young people, families and staff. In 2025, the team received a Special Recognition in the SEND Best Practice in Health 2025 Awards and was shortlisted in the HSJ Patient Safety Awards for Best use of integrated care and partnership working.