The North Central London Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (JHOSC) met to discuss community pharmacy services, the North Central London (NCL) estates and infrastructure strategy, and the committee's draft terms of reference and work programme. Councillor Joseph Croft and Councillor Tricia Clarke were the Islington Council nominees for the meeting. The meeting was scheduled to take place in Hendon Town Hall.

Community Pharmacy Update

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the impact of community pharmacy services on patient care in NCL. The update included information on:

• Patient Experience: Most patients in NCL trust community pharmacies, and find them easy to access. > 33% of NCL patients opted to have their flu vaccination in a local pharmacy and 60% of patients selected pharmacy as the location for their covid vaccination.
• Community Pharmacy Services: Community pharmacies offer a range of services, including essential services (dispensing medicines, repeat dispensing, disposal of unwanted medicines), advanced services (flu vaccination, Pharmacy First, hypertension case-finding) enhanced services (London Vaccination Service, Covid-19 vaccination) and locally commissioned services (needle exchange, stop smoking service, emergency hormonal contraception, supply of end-of-life medicines, and the Self-Care Medicines Scheme).
• Pharmacy First Service: Almost all pharmacies in NCL offer the Pharmacy First service, which provides advice and NHS medicines for seven common health conditions without a GP appointment. The service includes NHS referrals for minor illness and urgent medicine supply, as well as clinical pathways.
• Self-Care Medicines Scheme (SCMS): The Self-Care Medicines Scheme provides eligible patients with free medicines for common ailments. The report pack noted that 84% of the 10,998 patients in NCL using the SCMS scheme would have gone to their GP if the scheme was not available.
• NHS Blood Pressure Check Service: Free NHS blood pressure checks are available to people aged 40 and over, without an appointment. General practices can also refer patients to a participating community pharmacy for a clinic blood pressure reading, or for 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring[^1]. [^1]: Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring is when your blood pressure is measured as you move around, living your normal life.
• Pharmacy Contraception Service: The pharmacy contraception service may be more convenient than booking an appointment with a GP or sexual health clinic. From October 2025, emergency hormonal contraception will be added to the national service.
• Vaccinations: Many community pharmacies are involved in providing both Covid-19 and flu vaccinations. A new flu walk-in finder tool will launch in October 2025, allowing patients to locate pharmacies offering walk-in flu jabs without needing an appointment.
• Recent and Future Developments: The Integrated Care Board (ICB) is working with Urgent and Emergency Care (UEC) settings in NCL to start referring eligible patients to the Pharmacy First service. From September 2026, newly qualified pharmacists will be joining community pharmacy ready to work as independent prescribers. NCL is supporting Barts Health with a pilot of point of care testing in community pharmacies, which will check lipids and calculate QRISK[^2] for selected patients. [^2]: QRISK is a tool used to estimate your risk of getting heart disease or stroke over the next 10 years.
• Your Local Health Team Campaign: Authentic, local content showcasing pharmacy services has received thousands of views. The campaign has highlighted the expert advice provided by local pharmacies and important schemes such as Pharmacy First.
• Free Prescriptions for Care Leavers: Eligible care experienced young people can apply for a free Prescription Prepayment Certificate.

NCL Estates and Infrastructure Strategy 2025

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the NCL Local Care Estates 2025. The update included information on:

• Executive Summary: 2024/2025 was described as a year of progress. Priorities include developing a shared primary care baseline, prioritising the investment pipeline, building the return on investment case for 5% investment allocated to local care, and supporting the delivery of strategically important larger projects.
• Recent Delivery in Local Care & Key Achievements: 19 local care assets improved, and £400,000 in section 106 funding[^3] was secured. The Muswell Hill Practice had its official opening, and improvements were made to the Welbourne Centre, Torrington Park Health Centre, and the Wood Green Community Diagnostic Centre. [^3]: Section 106 agreements are legal agreements between local authorities and developers; these are linked to planning permissions and can require developers to provide funding for local infrastructure and community facilities.
• Record Rooms Conversions Programme: The programme delivered 800 square metres of clinical/clinical support space, with a total capital investment of £2.4 million.
• The ICB Aims to Invest in Local Care Infrastructure Working with Partners: NCL has in the past allocated 5% of ICS capital allocation for prioritised local care schemes. The 10-year capital pipeline forecast suggests a total capital requirement of £233 million.
• The ICB Has Developed Plans for Primary Care Estate by Borough: The ICB reviewed plans for primary care estate in each borough, including new 'core' general practice premises, improvements to 'Flex One' and some 'Flex Two' sites[^4], consideration of PCN hubs[^5], and consideration of Integrated Neighbourhood Team hubs[^6]. [^4]: The report pack does not define 'Flex One' and 'Flex Two' sites. [^5]: PCN hubs are 'core' general practice sites where ARRS staff can see patients and hotdesk in larger meeting rooms and where some primary care 'at-scale' services can be provided. [^6]: Integrated Neighbourhood Team (INT) hubs are opportunities to consolidate larger multidisciplinary teams (primary care, mental health, community health, social care, potentially voluntary sector) in line with the Fuller agenda.
• Primary Care Baseline Analysis: The ICB has developed a comparative assessment of each GP practice across the five boroughs, with data from primary care, finance, and estates. The assessment showed significant variations, and a correlation emerged between the quality of the estate and the service the general practice can provide.
• NCL's Infrastructure Strategy: NCL updated its Infrastructure Strategy, with a strong focus on the current state of the local care estate. NCL has committed to allocate 5% of capital to local care, linked to investment principles.
• Infrastructure Should Also Align with NCL's Neighbourhood Care Vision: Integrated Neighbourhood Teams build on multidisciplinary teams and include NHS providers, council teams, and the voluntary and community sector. Borough Partnership work to date suggests at least 18 neighbourhoods in NCL with populations of 60,000 – 130,000.
• Challenges and Opportunities: Challenges include working with national colleagues on capital funding mechanisms for primary care and neighbourhoods, the multi-year nature of local care projects, and NCL's changing financial context.

NCL JHOSC - Draft Terms of Reference

The committee was scheduled to approve the new terms of reference for the committee. The draft terms of reference outline the purpose and powers of the committee, its relationship with the Health Overview & Scrutiny Committees (HOSCs), the membership of the committee, and the protocol for meetings. The document states that:

the primary aims of health scrutiny are to strengthen the voice of local people and provide local accountability and should ensure that local people's needs and experiences are considered as an integral part of the commissioning and delivery of health services and that those services are effective and safe

The document also outlines that the chairing of the meetings will be done on an annual rotation basis, starting from the 2026/27 municipal year.

Work Programme

The committee was scheduled to discuss the 2025-26 work programme for the North Central London Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee. The proposed agenda items for the next meeting, scheduled to take place on 12 September 2025, include a St Pancras Hospital Programme Update and a NCL Finance Update. Usual standing items each year include an Estates Strategy Update, a Workforce Update, a Finance Update, and a Winter Planning Update. Possible items for inclusion in future meetings include a Health Inequalities Fund update, a NMUH/Royal Free merger update, and discussions on smoking cessation & vaping, vaccination initiatives, primary care commissioning, developing technology, and mental health.