The Inner North East London Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee met on Wednesday 14 January 2026 to discuss a range of health-related topics. Key areas for discussion included an update on the closure of Richard House Children's Hospice, a comprehensive health update from NHS North East London, and a review of the committee's finances. The committee also considered a scrutiny report, which included a forward plan for future discussions.

Richard House Children's Hospice

The committee was scheduled to receive information regarding the closure of Richard House Children's Hospice, which had entered administration on 18 December 2025. The report detailed the transition arrangements being put in place by NHS North East London (NEL ICB) in collaboration with Haven House Children's Hospice. These arrangements included the continuation of 24/7 end-of-life nursing care, respite and crisis support, counselling, and sibling support for families previously served by Richard House. The report also noted that a group of parents was keen to reinstate the hospice's services, but acknowledged the difficulties presented by the administration process. The NEL ICB's priority was to ensure a safe transfer of families and to work towards a sustainable model for children's hospice provision in north east London, with new commissioning arrangements planned from April 2027.

Health Update

A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to a health update from NHS North East London, presented by Ralph Coulbeck, Interim Chief Executive. The update covered organisational changes within the NEL ICB, including the appointment of Dr Nnenna Osuji as the new Chief Executive. It also detailed the ongoing staff consultation regarding a proposed new operating model, which aimed to reduce running costs by approximately 50% in line with government and NHS England directives. The report outlined the timeline for this consultation, which was extended to 21 January 2026, with final decisions to be made after all feedback had been considered.

The update also provided information on managing winter pressures, highlighting a coordinated system response, strengthened community care, and a focus on mental health and crisis response. Initiatives to reduce corridor care, enhance safeguarding, and support vulnerable groups were also mentioned. Vaccination and workforce resilience efforts, including ongoing flu and COVID-19 campaigns, were discussed. The impact of recent industrial action by resident doctors was also addressed, with an emphasis on ensuring services continued to operate safely.

Achievements highlighted included the success of north east London teams at the London Personalised Care Awards, recognition for Dr Ishi Bains as GP of the Year, and the introduction of a unified service for urgent access to palliative and end-of-life care medicines. The launch of the North East London Population Health Management Platform, Optum Pathfinder, was also noted as a significant step towards using data for proactive, population-level decision-making.

Provider updates were also included, with reports from the North East London Collaborative, focusing on the Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism Collaborative and the Community Healthcare Collaborative. Specific initiatives mentioned included a deep dive into intensive and assertive community mental health care, planning for mental health services in 2025-26, and partnership working between Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals Trust (BHRUT) and North East London Foundation Trust (NELFT) to establish a single community children's nursing team. Updates from Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and Barts Health NHS Trust were also scheduled.

The meeting also covered the system strategy and the medium-term planning process, outlining the new NHS Planning Framework and the phased approach to creating medium-term plans aligned with the NHS 10-year plan. The refreshed System Strategy was approved by the Integrated Care Partnership on 8 January 2026, with Strategic Commissioning Plans and Integrated Delivery Plans due to be submitted to NHS England by 12 February 2026. The NEL Outcomes and Equity Framework, designed to guide goals and priorities and address health inequalities, was also detailed.

Finance Overview

The committee was scheduled to receive a finance overview from Henry Black, Chief Finance Officer. The report detailed the Integrated Care System's (ICS) reported position at Month 7 (October) of the 2025/26 financial year. It indicated a planned breakeven position at year-end, but at Month 7, the system deficit was £69.8 million, an adverse variance of £41.8 million to the plan. The report attributed this variance primarily to providers, with the exception of East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT), which reported a surplus.

The overview also presented the NEL ICS Efficiencies for Month 7, showing a shortfall against the planned delivery of efficiencies totalling £16.2 million. The report highlighted key pressures at a system level, including efficiency slippage and run rate pressures across pay and non-pay areas, particularly in relation to agency staff, bank staff, substantive staff, high-cost drugs, and extra beds to meet demand. Pressures were also noted in mental health, learning disability, and autism services, as well as in relation to the independent sector and non-contract activity. The report indicated that NHS England had not provided £14 million in deficit support funding for months 4 to 7 due to the current financial position, increasing the likelihood of not delivering the annual plan unless recovery opportunities were identified.

Scrutiny Report

The committee was scheduled to consider a scrutiny report from the Town Clerk. This report was the second of the municipal year and invited members to review the Forward Plan and suggest items for consideration in the 2025-26 cycle. The report stated there were no strategic, financial, resource, legal, risk, equalities, climate, or security implications arising from it. The committee was invited to note the report and appendices and to make suggestions for the Forward Plan. The appendices included the draft Forward Plan for the 2025-26 cycle, which listed previously discussed items such as Primary Care, updates on the Cass Review and sexual health, the NHS 10-year plan, and the closure of Richard House Children's Hospice. Members were also invited to suggest new items, including the transfer of services to ICBs, improving outcomes for Black women in maternity services and Black men in prostate cancer treatment, NEL Community Health Services, the constitutional status of INEL and ONEL, the takeover of Operose Practices, and a review of NHS Talking Therapies.