Advice and Information

Happy Pride Month from all of us at Healthwatch Brent! 🌈🏳️‍⚧️

As we celebrate the start of Pride, we want to send so much love to Brent’s incredible LGBTQIA+ community. You are a radiant, beautiful, and enormously cherished part of our diverse borough. Keep being true to you and leading with love! We all deserve to equally #BeHeardInBrent and we are committed to ensuring every voice is listened to!

Because we care deeply about your well-being, we want to make sure local health and social care services are truly meeting your needs and treating you with the dignity you deserve. Whether you have had a really positive experience or think things need to change, your voice matters to us. We want to hear your thoughts so we can help champion a healthier, more inclusive, and supportive Brent for everyone.

While many of us look forward to the warmer summer months, periods of high temperatures can pose real risks to our health. Hot weather can cause individuals to become seriously unwell due to overheating, dehydration, heat exhaustion and heatstroke.

To help our community stay safe, healthy, and comfortable, we have gathered the latest guidance from Brent’s Director of Public Health, Brent Council, and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on how to beat the heat and where to find relief locally.

At Healthwatch Brent, we believe that everyone deserves to feel empowered and supported when it comes to their sexual health. We know that one of the biggest barriers to seeking healthcare is often the stigma surrounding certain conditions. Today, we want to talk openly and compassionately about HIV - and to also let you know of the support services available locally in our borough.

This week we marked World Asthma Day, an important opportunity to raise awareness about asthma, improve understanding of respiratory health, and encourage people living with asthma to access the support and services available to them.

Asthma affects millions of people across the UK, including many young residents in Brent. While asthma can often be managed effectively, it is important that people receive the right care, information and support to help control symptoms and improve quality of life.

This April for Stress Awareness Month 2026, Healthwatch Brent is encouraging everyone across our borough to pause and acknowledge the pressures of daily life. We urge us to take meaningful steps — however small — to protect our wellbeing and support those around us.

Endometriosis is a disease that affects 1 in 10 women and those assigned at birth from puberty to menopause in the UK - although the impact may be felt for life.

Symptoms vary person to person, from mild and manageable to severe and debilitating with permanent damage to organs.

And yet, so many people are unaware of the condition and how it impacts a person's life; in fact, Endometriosis UK have confirmed 54% of people in the UK don't even know the condition exists.

All NHS CNWL workshops have been co-created with professionals and young adults with lived experiences. Each session is facilitated by clinical and lived experience trainers. See the various courses available for more.

As this year's #ChildrensMentalHealthWeek draws to a close, we are reminded to take care of our child's mental health all year long.

Where to find help during the holiday season

MEDICAL HELP

If you need urgent medical help, including urgent mental health support, prescriptions and or dentistry call 111. If there is a life threatening emergency call 999.

We know how to care for our physical health and what to do when we're unwell or injured. So, we should take the same approach to mental health when we're not feeling quite ourselves.

We can do a lot for our mental health and overall wellbeing. Knowing some of the symptoms of depression and anxiety is half the battle, and identifying them can help determine our next steps in deciding what care and support we need. It’s important that we should seek professional support where and when self-care hasn't been effective.

Find out how to report safeguarding incidents for adults and children, as well as understanding key indicators of abuse and neglect.

Are you a refugee or seeking asylum in England? Learn about how to access NHS care and what services you’re entitled to.