The North Central London Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee met on Friday 17 July 2026 to discuss the merger of two Integrated Care Boards and the quality account of Whittington Health NHS Trust. The committee also reviewed its own membership and terms of reference, and its work programme for the upcoming year.

NCL JHOSC Membership and Terms of Reference

The committee was scheduled to note its membership and terms of reference for the 2026/27 municipal year. The terms of reference outlined the committee's role in engaging with NHS bodies on strategic, area-wide issues concerning the coordination, commissioning, and provision of NHS health services across Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey, and Islington. It also detailed the committee's responsibility to respond to proposals for changes to specialised NHS services commissioned on a cross-borough basis and to formal consultations on substantial developments or variations in health services affecting the North Central London area. The terms of reference also emphasised the committee's independent operation from parent authorities' cabinets and health overview and scrutiny committees, while promoting joint working and avoiding duplication of effort.

West and North London ICB Update

A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to considering an update on the merger of the North Central London (NCL) and North West London (NWL) Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), which would now be known as the West and North London ICB. The report pack indicated that this merger was driven by the national requirement to transform ICBs, aiming for a sharper focus on population health, outcomes, and equity, and to create a clearer, simpler, and more consistent organisation. The new ICB would serve 4.5 million residents across 13 boroughs with a commissioning budget of £12 billion. The update highlighted challenges such as a significant portion of the budget being spent on hospitals and crisis services, leading to unsustainable models and unequal life chances across the region. The ICB's purpose was to strategically commission healthcare services that improve the health and lives of residents, adding value by understanding local needs, making informed decisions within budget, and using commissioning levers to drive consistency, equity, and improved outcomes. The report also detailed the ICB's priorities for its first year, including delivering operational commitments and financial plans, setting up the new organisation for success, investing in high-impact population health interventions, and developing a clinically-led strategy. The formation of the West and North London Integrated Care Board on 1 April 2026 was noted, with the expectation that the new structure would be fully in place after the summer. The report also outlined the ICB's retained statutory duties, continued partnership working, and arrangements for All Age Continuing Healthcare and Complex Care, as well as SEND arrangements.

Whittington Health NHS Trust Quality Account

The committee was also scheduled to consider and comment on the Whittington Health NHS Trust Quality Account for 2025/26. This report detailed the Trust's commitment to delivering outstanding safe and compassionate care in partnership with patients, with a vision of Helping local people live longer, healthier lives. The Quality Account reviewed key achievements from 2025/26, including high patient experience scores, strong staff survey performance, zero MRSA blood stream infections, and significant reductions in other bloodstream infections. It also outlined the Trust's quality priorities for 2026/27, which included delivering consistently safe and effective care with kindness and compassion, improving the physical, sensory, and digital environments to support dignity, accessibility, safety, and positive patient experience, reducing health inequalities by making services easier to access and navigate, and continuing to develop and redesign services to meet changing population needs. The report also included statements of assurance from the Board regarding mixed-sex hospital accommodation, modern slavery, and safeguarding adults and children. Detailed information was provided on the Trust's participation in national and local clinical audits, clinical research activities, registration with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), information governance, data quality, end-of-life care, learning from deaths, patient safety incidents, and Freedom to Speak Up initiatives. The report also presented the Trust's performance against local indicators and provided statements from external stakeholders, including the NHS West and North London ICB and Healthwatch Islington.

Work Programme

The committee was presented with an outline of items for consideration as part of the 2026/27 work programme for the North Central London Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee. This paper would have provided an overview of the topics the committee intended to scrutinise throughout the year.

Future Meetings

The committee was scheduled to note the dates of future meetings: 18 September 2026, 27 November 2026, 29 January 2027, and 19 March 2027.