Start Well Programme: proposed changes to maternity, neonatal, and children’s surgical services

Since November 2021, NHS North Central London Integrated Care Board (NCL ICB), has been leading a programme of work on behalf of the local health and care system in North Central London called the Start Well Programme to review and improve maternity, neonatal and children’s surgical services in North Central London – Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey, and Islington.

The Start Well programme has involved several years of partnership working and significant engagement with patients, staff and partners to review and improve the quality and outcomes of services. Our collective ambition as a health and care system is to give babies and children the best start in life and improve outcomes for pregnant women and people.

On Tuesday 25 March 2025, recommendations were agreed for the future shape of maternity and neonatal services at a formal meeting of NCL ICB, where they were joined by NHS England Specialised Commissioning, as co-commissioners. You can read more about the recommendations on our summary of work to date page.

Have your say on our updated proposal for children’s emergency surgery

Following our public consultation in 2024, we have updated our proposals for changes to emergency surgical care for babies and very young children. We have carried out an additional phase of engagement activity to seek views from local residents, healthcare staff, and other stakeholders on these updated proposals.

We are currently reviewing the responses given during this engagement and we will share a summary of what we heard shortly. We expect to make a decision on the updated proposals for children’s surgery later this year.