Five alternative views of the postcode–hospital catchment data
Each dot represents a postcode, coloured by which hospital is nearest at that level of care. Use the layer control (top right) to switch between Any Level, Level 1 — Special Care, Level 2 — High Dependency, and Level 3 — NICU. Switching to L3 clearly shows how catchments expand and shift as fewer hospitals offer intensive care — hospitals that appear small on the "Any" map can dominate the L3 map when they are one of few NICUs serving a region.
Each postcode is coloured by how far away its nearest Level 3 (NICU) hospital is. Green = very close (under 3 km), shading through yellow to red = far (over 15 km). This directly reveals coverage gaps — areas in red where families face the longest journeys to access intensive neonatal care. Inner London is largely well-covered; outer zones and areas near county boundaries show the greatest distances.
Shows which postcodes have a Level 3 NICU at their nearest hospital (grey — no escalation needed), versus those where the nearest NICU is at a different, more distant hospital (coloured by the NICU destination). Hovering reveals the nearest hospital, the NICU destination, and the extra kilometres that journey involves. The coloured clusters show natural "escalation corridors" within the London neonatal network — useful for understanding patient flow and identifying where transport pressures are highest.
Each hospital is shown as a bubble whose area is proportional to the number of postcodes for which it is the nearest unit at the selected care level. Use the layer control to compare Any Level, L1, L2, and L3 in turn. A hospital that appears small on the "Any" map may dominate the L3 map if it is one of the few NICUs in its part of London — revealing which units carry a disproportionate intensive-care burden. Click any bubble for the exact postcode count.
London is divided into a grid of ~900 m × 900 m cells. Every postcode is assigned to its cell, and each cell is coloured by the hospital that serves the most postcodes within it. Because the colour comes directly from the data rather than geometric extrapolation, there are no spurious cross-river or cross-boundary stretches — each hospital only lights up where it genuinely dominates. Use the level control to compare how the grid shifts between Any Level, L1, L2, and L3 care.