This meeting of the North West London Joint Health Overview Scrutiny Committee was scheduled to receive a number of reports about the provision of urgent and emergency care in North West London, and to review a new health equity programme.

North West London Winter Campaign and London Ambulance Service Performance Update

This was the most significant topic scheduled for discussion at the meeting because it concerned the preparedness of the NHS for the busy winter period.

The NWL ICS Winter Plan for 2024-25 was included in the report pack to enable committee members to review and comment.

The report pack states that:

Winter planning methodology is embedded in NWL as a year round approach with a cycle of planning, delivery, review and ongoing implementation to meet peak demand irrespective of season.

The report described the key risks to the NHS posed by winter pressures, and the actions being taken to mitigate them. These included:

• Responsive, non-complex urgent care and effective hospital-based care pathways
• Swift discharge to appropriate settings
• Proactive care based on population needs
• Effective immunisations strategy
• Ensuring that those with mental health issues and our most vulnerable patients are supported across the system to ensure health equity

The report included a detailed description of each of these initiatives.

A number of documents were included alongside this report.

These included the London Ambulance Service 999 Winter Plan 2024/25, which describes a system for escalating the LAS response as pressure on services increases.

Also included was the NWL Winter 2024-2025 communications and engagement plan. This document outlines how the NWL ICS will communicate information about winter health services to residents, and includes a budget breakdown of the planned activities.

Finally, a Winter Communications Update was included, describing what has been achieved so far this winter, and what activities are planned.

North West London Health Equity Programme

This was scheduled to be the second most significant topic discussed at the meeting. It included a report that describes a new health equity programme that has been created to address health inequalities in North West London.

The report highlights that people living in the most deprived areas of North West London have worse health outcomes than those living in more affluent areas. It states that:

People in the most deprived areas are likely to suffer from multiple conditions 10-15 years earlier than in more affluent areas.

The report identifies a number of factors that contribute to this inequality, including:

• Social, economic, and environmental factors
• Lack of access to proactive and preventative care
• Different experiences of healthcare services

To address these factors, a population health management approach has been adopted. The programme is structured around three pillars:

1. Clinical care
2. Building capabilities in key skills to support the delivery of population health management
3. Wider determinants of health and health behaviours

The report provides further detail on each of these pillars and the workstreams that sit within them. It also describes the different ways the programme will engage with communities, and how it is working with partners to deliver the programme.

A number of case studies were included in the report, illustrating how the programme is being delivered across different parts of the system.

Integrated Care System Update from the Chief Executive of the North West London ICS

This was scheduled to be the third most significant topic discussed during the meeting.

This included an update by Rob Hurd, Chief Executive of the North West London Integrated Care System, on the work of the ICS. It highlighted a number of key initiatives including:

• Primary Care access
• The NWL Health Equity Summit and Awards, which was attended by over 200 people.
• A public consultation on proposed changes to community specialist palliative care services.

The update also referred to plans to consult on proposals to relocate some of the services at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre to Watford General Hospital.

It concluded with a summary of awards and recognitions for NWL NHS staff and a description of the progress that has been made on the WorkWell programme, which aims to help people from deprived communities into employment. It also described the performance of the Hounslow Integrated Discharge Hub, and provided a detailed summary of progress on the North West London Estates Infrastructure Plan.

North West London JHOSC Recommendations Tracker

This was scheduled to be the least significant topic discussed at the meeting.

The report pack included a tracker of all of the recommendations that the committee made to the North West London ICS in the 2023/24 and 2024/25 municipal years. This document records what the ICS said in response to each recommendation, and what progress has been made on implementing them.