Health leaders across the Capital have co-produced a vision for neighbourhood health which is being published today which hopes to transform care in the coming years.
The plans set out how we hope to transform health and care to shift towards prevention and proactive care and better tackle inequalities. It explains how leaders want to improve how services are designed, delivered and, ultimately, experienced by the people of London – with the aim of building healthier, happier communities.
The future will see services which are better integrated around people’s lives, by bringing together GPs, community health services, mental health support, acute and specialist services, local authorities (including adults’ and children’s social care and public health) and voluntary services, to deliver coordinated and proactive care to people with the most complex needs.
It has been developed once for London through engagement with clinicians, professionals, local leaders, patients, carers, voluntary organisations and community groups.
In North Central London we are rapidly driving forward this work across Haringey, Barnet, Enfield, Camden and Islington with support from partners – building on existing services and innovations, drawing on experience, pivoting capacity and resources and optimising our strong spirit of collaboration to deliver at pace. Our local plans have informed – and will be informed by – London plans and we will continue to build the detail locally via our partnerships.
Frances O’Callaghan, Chief Executive of the North Central London Integrated Care Board, said: “This is a very welcome step forward. These are moves which could have real and lasting positive impacts on our communities, and I am very pleased to be a signatory.
“The approach being set out in this vision will enable us in North Central London to continue to drive forward integrated, person-centred and community-based care.
“To do so, we will continue to draw on the strong spirit of collaboration we have among our local partners, whether from the NHS, Councils, or voluntary and community sectors, that underpins so much of our work.
Amy Bowen, Director of Proactive Care and Long Term Conditions, NCL ICB, said: “We are delighted to welcome this vision for the future of health and care services in London.
“In North Central London we operate across 5 London boroughs, with around 1.8m residents. Taking a more localised, neighbourhood-based approach is absolutely the right thing to do, ensuring that the environment we are in, and the services that we receive are wrapped around us and our health and wellbeing.
“We know that health and wellbeing are shaped as much by housing, employment, education, and community as by medicine.
“Strengthening connections between the NHS and local public services, and making it easier to access non-clinical support, will also help tackle the broader causes of ill-health.
“This will really help us move from a focus on sickness to how we emphasise good health, wellbeing, and proactive care.
“The fact that we already have strong foundations is a real strength. Across our boroughs, services have been working together for over a decade, innovating around patient needs and building stronger partnerships. But this provides the opportunity to accelerate the pace of change.”
Hear more from Amy Bowen below:
Dr Agatha Nortley-Meshe, NHS England London’s Medical Director for Primary Care, said: “The 10-year health plan will set out how we create a truly modern health service designed to meet the changing needs of our changing population.
“The success of neighbourhood health will rely on our collective effort and shared determination to build something better, borough by borough, neighbourhood by neighbourhood – moving care from hospitals, closer to communities.”
The plans have been informed by months of engagement with clinicians, professionals, system and organisational leaders, patients, carers, voluntary organisations, and local leaders, with contributions from NHS England London, London’s five Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), London Councils, the Greater London Authority, and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities in London – with support from Londonwide LMCs.