Community services - Healthcare in London

London is served by 86 CQC-registered community services - healthcare, spread across 50 postcode districts. Every provider on this page appears on the official register — this listing is compiled from regulator data rather than paid placement, so it reflects the actual market, not the advertising one.

Community healthcare services deliver NHS clinical care outside hospitals — district nursing, health visiting, community physiotherapy, podiatry, continence services, and specialist nurses for conditions like diabetes, heart failure and COPD. your chosen provider is registered with the CQC for this work, which typically happens in your home, in community clinics, or in schools and care homes.

If your care involves frequent appointments, weight geography heavily: the district figures below show where provision clusters, and travelling against that grain adds up quickly.

• E1 — 8 providers
• W1G — 6 providers
• NW1 — 6 providers
• SE1 — 5 providers
• EC2A — 4 providers
• SE18 — 4 providers
• SW19 — 3 providers
• NW10 — 3 providers
• W1T — 2 providers
• N20 — 2 providers
• EC3R — 2 providers
• EC1V — 2 providers

Most community healthcare follows geography — the 86 services around London each cover defined patches. Where you do have choice (self-referral physiotherapy or private community nursing), compare response times, whether care is delivered by registered professionals or support workers, and the CQC report's responsive domain, which reflects how well the service manages demand.

Access to your chosen provider's services is usually by referral from a GP, hospital team or social services — though many community services accept self-referral for specific clinics (physiotherapy, podiatry and continence services frequently do). Phone the service directly and ask: the answer costs nothing and often saves a GP appointment.

For housebound patients, district nursing referrals typically come from the GP practice; families can prompt this directly with the practice's care coordinator. After hospital stays, ensure the discharge summary explicitly names the community follow-up you were promised — services work from what is written, not what was said on the ward.

Waiting times vary by service and area. If a wait is clinically risky — a deteriorating wound, worsening continence affecting skin integrity — say so explicitly when booking; community services triage on need.

NHS community healthcare is free at the point of use. Where this category includes independent community providers, they publish their own fees; nurse-led home services are typically charged per visit and physiotherapy per session.

Related costs worth knowing: equipment (commodes, pressure-relieving mattresses, mobility aids) is provided free through community equipment services when assessed as needed — push for the assessment rather than buying privately first, and ask the therapist what the NHS route covers.