Following the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, His Majesty’s Senior Coroner Dr Fiona J Wilcox’s advised the Government to hold an inquest, also issued a Regulation 28 legal report to various authorities including the NHS. That Regulation 28 report established the importance of long-term health monitoring for fire’s Survivor and Bereaved families.

The Regulation 28 says:

  • that those exposed to the fire were at risk of developing health conditions, particularly respiratory illness
  • that no health screening programme existed for those exposed to the fire.
  • that without appropriate health screening, there was a risk that illness would develop unnoticed and result in poor health outcomes for those affected.
  • therefore, an appropriate health screening programme should be set up.

What is the Grenfell Paediatric Long Term Monitoring Service

As a result, one of the long-term health monitoring services set up in 2019 by the NHS was the Grenfell Paediatric Long Term Monitoring Service. This service is specifically for fire survivor and bereaved children and young people below the age of 18.

This service is offered by the Paediatric department as part of the Connecting Care for Children service. The service provides an annual clinical review at St. Mary’s Hospital (of the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust) with a Paediatric Consultant to discuss general or ongoing health concerns. There is also the offer of an annual respiratory review to discuss any respiratory symptoms alongside a detailed lung function assessment with a Paediatric Respiratory Consultant.

What does the service do

The service:

  • sees patients (children and young people) once a year for 60-90 minutes
  • links in with the patient’s GP and therapist and other specialists where clinically relevant; considers wider child health indicators such as weight, dental support, vaccinations and onward referrals
  • discusses any worries the patient may have and considers any mental health worries
  • monitors for longer term health symptoms
  • discusses respiratory symptoms and offers/arranges detailed assessments with a paediatric respiratory consultant
  • refers on to other health and wellbeing services as needed
  • supports young adults to transition to adult services once they reach the age of 18 years.

What content is usually covered in the consultation appointment with a doctor from the Paediatric Long-Term Monitoring Service:

  • height and weight checks
  • review of previous year – check in about existing or previous health concerns and/or conditions that were discussed in the previous year; discussion around any referrals sent and updates regarding those appointments
  • discussion of health concerns and wider health indicators
  • shared health and wellbeing management plan. 

Contacting the service

Those who are eligible for the service can contact the service via email to discuss how to refer into the service: imperial.grenfellpaeds@nhs.net

Further Information

You can find out more information through these websites links: