Over 100,000 residents responded to our recent survey on access to general practice and PCNs have been discussing access issues at local events across the patch. The results from this major public engagement exercise are now being analysed and will be shared publicly at two events (one online and one in person) on 6 February 2025. A report with recommendations to improve access to primary care will then be discussed at our April ICB board.

We continue to encourage the public to respond the government’s public consultation on its ten-year plan. The government is seeking input on its aspiration to achieve three historic shifts: from sickness to prevention, hospital to community and analogue to digital. You can respond to the consultation at Change NHS. At a local level, we have commissioned the Healthwatch organisations covering Brent, Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea to run local events to allow residents to have their say – these events are commissioned on behalf of all north west London, and all residents are welcome to attend. 

NHS North West London will shortly be publishing an issues paper to discuss the future of planned care. It will act as a basis for conversations will shortly be having with the public and stakeholders about the development of a planned care strategy. This will include the opportunity for residents to ask questions at our next Residents’ Forum, details of which will be provided shortly.

There was both good and disappointing news on proposed new hospitals in north west London following the government’s review of the New Hospitals Programme. Our Trusts in North West London have published updates following the announcement regarding the review into the New Hospital Programme.

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (St Marys, Charing Cross and Hammersmith Hospitals) have released a statement. The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Trust posted an update.

Information about the announcement can be found in the Government’s press release.

With less than one month to go, we are encouraging as many people as possible have the opportunity to give their views and provide their feedback on the future of specialist palliative care.

One area that people have asked us to provide more information on is enhanced end-of-life beds and we have published an article on our website in order to do so. We have also updated our frequently asked questions. 

We are encouraging residents to get involved, including by completing our questionnaire or attending an involvement event. We have also published an easy read summary of the consultation document plus questionnaire.

To find out more information about the consultation and the proposed key improvements visit www.nwlondonicb.nhs.uk/cspc 

The public consultation ends 24 February 2025.

Penny Dash, Chair of NHS North West London and Rob Hurd, Chief Executive., have co-authored a blog on what we are doing at the ICB and across the system to address the barriers to career progression faced by staff from ethnically diverse backgrounds. They outline some of the important changes NHS North West London, as well as ICS system partners trusts and local authorities, made in recent months. This has been a key area of focus across the ICS and will continue to be in the months ahead.

North West London is a diverse and vibrant community and it is only right that our health and care organisations set an example in tackling the long-standing challenges and missed opportunities faced by our staff from ethnically diverse communities. The blog sets out some of the steps taken to address these challenges and enable our organisations to better reflect the communities they serve.

The Community Warfarin Service is up and running in Hillingdon as part of the NHS North West London Single Offer Enhanced Services. The service was previously delivered by The Hillingdon Hospital and will now be delivered in the community providing an anticoagulation service which ensures high quality care is delivered as close to the patients home as is appropriate.  

Since the launch, the team has achieved a remarkable feat by taking on all 240 patients from Boundary House who are now being seen at the Civic Centre. A second site has also been launched at Pembroke Road with 100 patients out of a potential already referred. This ensures that patients receive the care and attention they need in a centralised and accessible location.

In addition, the Housebound Monitoring Service launched on January 10 2025, focusing on patients who require specialised care within their homes. To date, 34 of the 60 patients identified have been seen, demonstrating the commitment to meeting patients’ needs efficiently and effectively.

The Pre-Hospital Ambulance Support Team (PhAST) launched as a three-month pilot on the 13 January. This is a new model of pre-hospital support, where a team aims to ensure residents in Hounslow nursing and care homes receive the best possible care in the most appropriate place. This helps to reduce unnecessary hospital admissions that can potentially increase morbidity and mortality in this cohort of patients. 

Benefits to the pilot

• Many older people living with frailty in care and nursing homes are brought to hospital by ambulance but then turn out not to need hospital care. PhAST aims to ensure older people living with frailty receive urgent care, or community care in their setting, if appropriate.

How will it work

• If a nursing home requests London Ambulance Service support for a resident, London Ambulance Service will attend and assess the resident, they will then provide clinical information via a direct line to The PhAST Consultant at West Middlesex Hospital. The Consultant will decide based on this information and along with community services or the person’s GP how best to treat this resident in their care setting. Full details are available on the Hounslow health and care website.

Work by RM Partners, an organisation who undertakes much of NHS North West London’s cancer care, is currently focused on:

• Working with a consultancy to deliver a human papillomavirus (HPV) awareness project in Brent, involving vaccination catch up clinics for two schools with the lowest participation and one university campus
• Offering grants to 35 community organisations in north west London to host events that include raising awareness of the HPV vaccination among eligible people
• Developing a toolkit for GPs to provide information and guidance on vaccination uptake for those who are eligible but have not yet received the vaccine.

The Hounslow health engagement lead delivered two tailored workshops at the Afghan and Central Asian Association (ACAA) in Feltham, which was well attended by approximately 40 – 50 women. Sessions were delivered mainly in Farsi and Urdu. 

Key issues highlighted:  

• Participants had no understanding about the difference between screening and diagnosis, as in their home countries screening programmes do not exist
• Women were hesitant to visit a nurse, as they would prefer going to a doctor for any medical procedure
• Mothers with daughters in their 20s are very hesitant to let daughters have a screening as they felt it would tamper with their virginity.

The Bi-Borough Health and Wellbeing Strategy is committed to improving the health of our residents and communities by addressing the broader social factors that impact health outcomes.

In partnership across the Bi-Borough, which includes Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC), we are collaborating with local organisations to use their expertise and resources in identifying and supporting individuals who face barriers to entering the workforce.

Both Westminster and RBKC are dedicated to tackling unemployment through a range of direct and commissioned activities, all aimed at increasing access to meaningful employment and progression into good work. Key initiatives include, but are not limited to:

• Targeted Prevention Team (TPT): Offers one-on-one support to young people in RBKC who are Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET) or at risk of becoming NEET. Over the past two years, TPT has successfully helped 29 young people transition from NEET to Education, Employment, or Training (EET). The enhanced TPT offer will continue until June 2025.
• Westminster Employment Service (WES): A dedicated team of employment coaches that works with young people aged 16-24. Since April 2024, WES has supported 64 young people into employment.
• Supported Internships: This programme assists young people aged 16-24 with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND) in securing paid employment. Over the past year, 7 young people in RBKC and Westminster have successfully graduated from the program and are now employed.
• Work Well Programme: Led by the West London Alliance (WLA) and the North West London Health and Social Care Skills Academy, this initiative helps individuals who have been signed off sick to return to work. The programme aims to support 4,100 participants as part of a broader health and work strategy across North West London.

These initiatives collectively address the various barriers that prevent people from accessing employment. They provide targeted support tailored to the diverse needs of the population, including young people, those with low or no skills, older residents, and individuals with complex mental and physical health challenges.

The Health Equity Programme has made significant progress in embedding equity across NHS North West London. Leadership workshops have been delivered, focusing on promoting equity-driven decision-making and ensuring that tackling inequalities remains central to the ICB’s organisational priorities. Work continues to reduce disparities in key focus areas such as cardiovascular disease and cancer by improving access to diagnostics and care pathways. Additionally, barriers to equity, such as digital exclusion and language accessibility, are being addressed through targeted interventions. The focus will now shift to embedding equity-focused key performance indicators (KPIs)across operational plans and building on successful initiatives. We aim to ensure that all future planning integrates equity as a core principle while continuing to target underserved communities with tailored support.

The programme has made strides in advancing population health management capabilities. Data-sharing agreements have been finalised, enabling better system-wide analytics to identify and address disparities. Pilot neighbourhood interventions are delivering tailored care, helping to improve outcomes for specific populations. Tools and dashboards are being developed to support localised planning, allowing resources to be allocated more effectively to where they are needed most. The focus will be on scaling successful pilots across neighbourhoods and embedding population health dashboards across the system. Capacity building remains a priority, with plans to enhance workforce skills and ensure sustainable, collaborative approaches to managing population health.

Promoting prevention and tackling wider determinants of health are key pillars of the programme. Recent initiatives include targeted healthy lifestyle campaigns focusing on smoking cessation and weight management in areas with the highest deprivation. Partnerships with anchor institutions have been strengthened to create more inclusive employment opportunities and drive investment in underserved communities. The Healthier Homes Portal is now live providing residents with access to resources and services to improve living conditions and promote healthier homes. Collaborations with voluntary and community sector organisations are extending the reach of preventive services to vulnerable groups. We will continue to expand healthy living programmes and deliver initiatives to tackle socio-economic barriers to health. Ongoing efforts will focus on deepening partnerships and increasing access to preventive services to achieve more equitable health outcomes.

In December 2024, the Strategic Commissioning Committee approved the North West London Estates Strategy Overview and Borough Analysis Report. The strategy seeks to enable INT activity led by Boroughs and Delivery Programmes, address population growth and inequalities by creating sufficient clinical capacity, make more effective use of our existing estate and that belonging to our local authority/public sector partners, and improve access to healthcare and out of hospital services. 

The strategy remains a live document, being informed by broader clinical, acute and primary care strategies. Estates are now working with Strategy, Finance, Borough-based, Primary Care and other Programme teams to prioritise existing sites and projects, helping to develop a collaborative 5-10-year delivery plan.

Additionally, the Strategic Commissioning Committee approved the North West London Sustainability Strategy Overview. This outlines our commissioning intentions and responses to national targets in order to meet numerous Net Zero Carbon ambitions, reduce emissions, improve building compliance and enhance social value. Estates are proactively working with NHS England, procurement leads, anchor institutes, health equity, London Ambulance Service, dedicated trust sustainability leads, Imperial College Health Partners and primary care to coordinate activity to meet national targets. Regular reporting into the Estates SRO and ICS Executive has been established. Several Trust Sustainability Leads are presenting at a number of seminars and forums across London this quarter to share expertise and case studies on progress to date. Work progresses across teams to develop Green Plans for 25/26.

Work progresses with ICS partners to inform local authority Local Plans and their respective Infrastructure Delivery Plans (IDPs). Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) bids for Hounslow were submitted in December 2024, led by Estates and NHS Property Services Town Planning. Further discussions are currently underway with Brent and RBKC local authorities around bidding for additional CIL funding to enable projects identified under the strategy and mitigate the impact of population growth across boroughs. It has been confirmed that North West London have been able to obtain the biggest CIL and s106 allocation across all London ICBs.

NHS North West London Estates continue to meet regularly with NHS property companies to undertake audits and review occupancy, lease management and charging across all sites. Feasibility and utilisation studies are commencing at Jubilee Gardens, St Charles, Heart of Hounslow, Willesden Centre for Health and The Meadows, some of our costliest and underutilised estate, to explore new opportunities for optimisation and reducing significant ‘void’ costs to NHS North West London.

Estates projects due to complete in Q4 (2024/5) and Q1 (2025/6) include the Hillcrest Surgery relocation and refurbishment (Jan 2025 - Ealing), the hand back of Wealdstone Centre for Health (Jan 2025 – Harrow), the Chiswick Health Centre Rebuild and handback of Stamford Brook Centre for Health (February/March 2025 – Hounslow), expansion of primary care and reduction in underutilised space at Grand Union Village (February 2025 - Ealing), and the delivery of a new primary care facility in South Kilburn, which will replace a residential GP site (April/May 2025 - Brent).

Applications for London Improvement Grant funding for 2024/25 are underway with a small amount of remaining funding expected to be reallocated to support GPIT. This year’s funding has been able to support 25 schemes across primary care in north west London. This includes 4 in Brent, 6 in Ealing, 2 in Harrow, 3 in Hillingdon, 4 in Hounslow, 2 in RBKC and 4 in Westminster).