Local MP Julia Lopez Visits New Signature at Hornchurch Care Home

Julia Lopez, MP for Hornchurch and Upminster, has visited Signature at Hornchurch, a new care home run by Signature Senior Lifestyle, to see first-hand the care and lifestyle it offers older people in the area.

Signature at Hornchurch opened earlier this year as the first of three new Signature homes in 2026. It provides residential, nursing and dementia care alongside respite and rehabilitation care.

During the visit, Julia toured the home and took time to speak with residents and members of the care team about daily life at the home

The visit also gave the team the chance to discuss the wider role care homes can play in the local health system. Julia and General Manager Catherine Komuhangi talked about how the home could work with Queen’s Hospital in Romford to help relieve pressure on local NHS services over the winter, when demand on hospitals is at its highest and finding the right place for patients to recover after a hospital stay becomes even more pressing.

Signature at Hornchurch’s wellness studio is already used by community physiotherapists, giving residents recovering from illness or a hospital stay somewhere to rebuild strength and confidence without travelling to clinics elsewhere.

One resident said: “It was lovely to meet Julia and have a proper chat with her. She was genuinely interested in what we had to say and how we spend our days here. It’s nice to know our local MP has seen for herself what a happy place this is to live.”

Julia Lopez, MP for Hornchurch and Upminster, said: “It was a pleasure to visit Signature’s beautiful new residence in my constituency. The facilities and quality of build were first class, and a wonderful example of what a good retirement and good care can look like. I wish the team the very best in establishing this new community.”

Catherine Komuhangi, General Manager at Signature at Hornchurch, said:“We were delighted to welcome Julia to Signature at Hornchurch and to show her what makes our home special. Our residents and team really enjoyed the chance to speak with her, and her kind feedback meant a great deal to everyone here.

“Opening a new home takes a huge amount of work, so to have Julia see what our team has built here in just a few months was a really proud moment. We’re only at the start of our journey and we’re excited about what the future holds.”