The Brent Health and Wellbeing Board is scheduled to meet on 20 November 2025 to discuss a range of topics, including winter planning, updates from Healthwatch and the Brent Children's Trust, and the publication of the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment. The meeting will cover strategies for addressing health inequalities and supporting vulnerable residents in the borough.

Winter Planning 2025/26

The board is expected to receive an update on winter planning and community services for 2026. The report, Winter Planning, highlights that the severity of pressure on health and wellbeing systems is due to increasing demand, limited capacity, workforce shortages and ongoing challenges in primary and social care.

The winter plan focuses on:

• Efficient discharge pathways from hospitals.
• Preventative action through flu and Covid-19 immunisation programmes.
• Strengthening support in primary and community teams.
• Enabling access to primary care services.
• Improving patient flow in hospitals.
• Communication with residents about local health and care services.
• Support for residents experiencing homelessness and housing problems.
• Reducing variation in inpatient care for mental health service users.

The report notes that the Brent Integrated Care Partnership (ICP) and Brent Council were granted approximately £6.2 million in funding to address discharges and winter pressures. A number of schemes have been funded to improve patient flow and enable people to recover closer to home.

The report also mentions the challenges of raising awareness of the national booking systems for Covid-19 vaccinations and increasing the take up of flu vaccinations, particularly among vulnerable groups and children.

The report states that London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust (LNWHT) demand modelling has indicated attendances and admissions are predicted to increase by 4% compared to last year.

The report also notes the importance of the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping strategy 2022 – 2025 and the need to provide emergency spaces for anyone sleeping rough during periods of extreme cold.

Brent Children's Trust Progress Update and Family Wellbeing Centres Annual Report

The board is scheduled to discuss the Brent Children's Trust (BCT) progress update and the Family Wellbeing Centres (FWCs) annual report.

The Brent Children's Trust Progress Update covers the period April 2025 to October 2025. The BCT aims to strengthen integration and collaborative working between the council and health service partners through a shared goal of improving the health and wellbeing of children, young people and their families in Brent.

The BCT has identified five priority areas of focus that will drive the work programme for 2024-2026:

1. Drive a strengthened programmatic approach to vaccinations and childhood immunisations
2. Strengthen the strategic oversight of the THRIVE programme delivery.
3. Set the strategic direction of continuous improvement of Early Help and Intervention services.
4. Set the strategic direction of continuous improvement of services for Looked After Children (LAC) and Care Leavers.
5. Set the strategic direction of continuous improvement of services for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

The Family Wellbeing Centres Update and Annual Report provides an update on the progress of the Family Wellbeing Centres (FWCs) for the 2024/25 financial year. The FWCs offer a wide range of support to families and link to the Borough Plan priorities, including prosperity and stability, thriving communities, the best start in life and a healthier Brent.

The FWCs provide a universal 'front door' for families to access a wide range of early help and preventative services, including some targeted support. The FWC Core Service Offer includes health and wellbeing, education and childcare, parenting and relationship support, and activities for children of all ages and stages.

The report notes that the FWCs focus is on prevention and early intervention, using a whole family approach to stop problems escalating and requiring higher tier and more costly support.

Healthwatch Progress Update

The board is scheduled to receive a six-monthly update on progress against the Healthwatch work programme, following the Healthwatch paper presented in April 2025.

The Healthwatch Brent Six Month Update report notes that in July, the recommendations of the Dash report included the transfer of Healthwatch England's functions to a new directorate within the Department of Health and Social Care and of local Healthwatch functions to Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and local authorities for health and care, respectively.

The report also notes that in early September, the Communications and Engagement Officer left the Healthwatch Brent team, reducing Healthwatch Brent's capacity to 1.6 Whole Time Equivalent (WTE).

Healthwatch Brent's work contributes to strategic priorities of 'Thriving Communities' and 'A Healthier Brent'. It also supports key priorities from the 2022-2027 Joint Health & Wellbeing Strategy, including 'Healthy Lives', 'Staying Healthy' and 'Understanding, listening and improving'.

In April 2025, Healthwatch Brent presented its workplan for the 2025-2026 financial year, focusing on:

• Community engagement
• Adult social care
• Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA)
• Pharmacy First
• GP access and complaints
• Participating in key Health and Care meetings
• Health awareness / tackling inequalities

Brent Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA)

The board is expected to receive an update on the completion and publication of the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA).

The Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment report states that the borough currently has adequate pharmacy provision, with 80 community pharmacies including nine distance-selling pharmacies ensuring good access across all localities.

The report notes that pharmacies are a key provider of services in local communities and therefore contribute to several of the priorities in the Borough plan, including a healthier Brent, and thriving communities.

The purpose of the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) is to consider the provision of pharmacies and to identify any gaps in their provision. The report states:

Pharmaceutical services do not include all services which could be provided from Community Pharmacies and the PNA does not preclude local decisions about other services which may be locally commissioned or provided but it does not govern such decisions. PNAs are used by the NHS to make decisions on which NHS funded pharmaceutical services need to be provided by local community pharmacies. PNAs are also used in decisions as to whether new pharmacies are needed in response to applications by businesses.