The North Central London Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (JHOSC) convened to discuss several key healthcare initiatives and updates. The agenda included an overview of the NHS 10 Year Health Plan, winter planning strategies, and a performance update from the London Ambulance Service. The committee also planned to discuss the terms of reference for the North West London JHOSC.

NHS 10 Year Health Plan and Neighbourhood Health

The committee was scheduled to consider the details of the NHS 10 Year Health Plan and Neighbourhood Health initiatives. The NHS 10 Year Health Plan outlines three strategic shifts:

• From hospital to community: Providing better care closer to home through neighbourhood health services.
• From analogue to digital: Enhancing patient experience with digital innovation, including unified patient records and self-referrals via the NHS App.
• From sickness to prevention: Emphasising preventative healthcare to support people in making healthy choices and preventing illness.

The plan aims to address key issues raised by the public, such as access to GP and dental care, waiting times for emergency services, and the need for seamless healthcare services. It also focuses on improving NHS systems, promoting preventative care, and creating a better working environment for NHS staff.

The discussion was also set to cover how North Central London (NCL) is implementing Neighbourhood Health, focusing on proactive, preventative care driven by data and community needs, with the goal of tackling inequalities. Integrated Neighbourhood Teams (INT) and local health and care networks are expected to play a crucial role in this approach.

The committee was also scheduled to discuss the merger of the North Central London and North West London Integrated Care Boards (ICB). The merger is intended to help meet the requirement for ICBs to reduce running costs by around 50%.

Winter Planning 2025/26

The committee was scheduled to discuss the NCL Winter Plan and North London Foundation Trust (NLFT) Winter Plan for 2025/26. The approach to planning is underpinned by a commitment to collectively developing and testing the winter plan as a system and prioritising how NCL will:

• Improve vaccination rates
• Increase the number of patients receiving care in primary, community and mental health settings
• Meet the maximum 45-minute ambulance handover time standard
• Improve flow through hospitals with a particular focus on patients waiting over 12 hours and eliminating corridor care
• Set local performance targets by pathway to improve patient discharge times, and eliminate internal discharge delays of more than 48 hours in all settings

The NCL Winter Plan includes several initiatives to support urgent and emergency care pathways, such as increasing vaccination uptake, enhancing the Integrated Care Coordination Hub¹, expanding the Mental Health Clinical Assessment Service, and developing principles to support sites in flow distress. The NLFT Winter Plan outlines strategies for managing winter pressures within mental health services, focusing on keeping staff fit, protecting service users from respiratory illnesses, ensuring consistent patient flow, and utilising available resources effectively. Key components of the plan include staff health and wellbeing initiatives, vaccination programmes, infection prevention and control measures, and adverse weather planning.

London Ambulance Service Update

The committee was scheduled to receive a performance update and achievements report for the London Ambulance Service (LAS) for 2024/25. The LAS serves a population of 1.4 million in North Central London, with a significant number of patients receiving face-to-face care and being conveyed to A&E or treated and discharged on scene.

Key achievements from the past year include maintaining a 999 call answering average of 5 seconds, a 999 hear and treat rate of 20.1%, and training over 17,000 London Lifesavers. The LAS has also focused on providing bespoke care to vulnerable groups, implementing electronic safeguarding referrals, and improving the sustainability of its estate.

The LAS Winter Plan for 2025/26 focuses on improving ambulance response times, reducing avoidable ED conveyance, reducing handover delays, and improving staff vaccination rates. The plan also outlines strategies for maximising the use of digital and data, supporting staff wellbeing, and addressing health inequalities.

North West London JHOSC Terms of Reference

The committee was scheduled to discuss the terms of reference for the North West London JHOSC.