The Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee was scheduled to discuss the NHS 10 Year Health Plan and its impact on neighbourhood health delivery, as well as an update on the merger of the North Central London (NCL) and North West London (NWL) Integrated Care Boards (ICBs). The meeting's agenda also included a review of the committee's work programme.

NHS 10 Year Health Plan and Neighbourhood Health Delivery

The committee was scheduled to consider and comment on the NHS 10 Year Plan and its implications for future service provision, with a particular focus on neighbourhood health delivery. The report pack outlined the national context for the plan, which aims to modernise the health and care system in response to an ageing population and increasing demand.

Key elements of the proposed NHS 10 Year Plan include three main shifts:

• From hospital to community: Moving care closer to home, with an emphasis on neighbourhood health services, improved dental care, quicker specialist referrals, convenient prescriptions, and enhanced community mental health support.
• From analogue to digital: Leveraging digital innovation to improve patient experience, including a unified patient record, self-referrals via the NHS App, and improved online booking systems.
• From sickness to prevention: Shifting focus to preventative healthcare by making healthy choices easier and providing support before individuals become ill.

The report highlighted feedback from local residents gathered through engagement sessions. Concerns were raised about ensuring resources follow need, particularly for voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) groups, and the need for adequate staffing and training for health and social care professionals, as well as recognition for unpaid carers. Residents also expressed a desire for clear and consistent communication about neighbourhood care services and for data to be used intelligently without overlooking lived experiences.

The implementation of the 10 Year Plan involves digital improvements, such as the London Care Record and the London Secure Data Environment, which aim to bring health and care information together for better patient care and research. The plan also focuses on neighbourhood health, with the establishment of multidisciplinary Integrated Neighbourhood Teams (INTs) to provide coordinated, proactive support. A strategic commissioner role is being introduced to better support individuals with long-term conditions, with an emphasis on self-management, education, and community-based approaches.

Haringey is being used as a test borough to accelerate the delivery of neighbourhood health services, trialling new approaches to learn what works best before wider adoption. The report also detailed local delivery initiatives in Enfield, Haringey, and Islington, including a neighbourhood mental health centre in Haringey named in honour of Roger Sylvester.

NCL & NWL ICB Merger & Change Update

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the reconfiguration of the North Central London (NCL) and North West London (NWL) Integrated Care Boards (ICBs). The report indicated that the two ICBs agreed to merge in July 2025 and would legally merge on 1 April 2026, forming a new organisation: West and North London ICB.

This merger is part of a national directive for ICBs to reduce running costs by approximately 50% and shift to a role as strategic commissioners. The new organisation will operate across 13 boroughs and serve over 4.5 million people, with an annual spend of around £12 billion on health and care. The report highlighted that a significant portion of this budget is currently spent on hospitals and crisis services, which is deemed unsustainable and not delivering equitable outcomes, noting a 17-year variation in healthy life expectancy across neighbourhoods.

The Model ICB blueprint outlines the core functions of the new organisation, focusing on understanding local context, developing population health strategy, commissioning services, and evaluating impact. The report also detailed the proposed governance structure for the West and North London ICB, including a Board of Members comprising various stakeholders.

Key priorities for the new West and North London ICB strategy are set to include reducing inequalities, investing strategically to prevent ill health, better supporting those with the greatest needs, making care more local and accessible, and empowering local people. The report also touched upon the approach to neighbourhood health within the new structure, with approximately 50 neighbourhoods planned across West and North London. Integrators have been established in each of the 13 boroughs to work in partnership for neighbourhood health delivery.

The report also included feedback from stakeholders regarding the reflection of place-based work in the new organisation, changes to clinical leadership, and the retention of statutory duties. A key concern raised was the potential for decentralisation to increase inequalities and variation across boroughs, with assurances that reducing inequalities remains a strategic priority.

Work Programme

The committee was scheduled to review an outline of the 2021-22 work programme for the North Central London Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee.