Agenda item

This item from the North West London Integrated Care System covers plans to identify and reduce health inequalities across the borough.

June Farquharson and Nicola Kay from NHS North West London ICB presented the report. Nicola Kay gave an outline of the inequalities approach in North West London and their ‘Core 20 plus 5’ framework for identifying inequalities. She noted that the ICB was committed to genuine co-production with local communities.

Sue Spiller noted that Sobus had produced a report on mental health in BAME communities and the barriers to accessing services they faced. She asked if the ICB had researched that area and the issue of people who weren’t seeking support until crisis point.

Jacqui McShannon noted that the strategy appeared to be adult focused and asked what investment in children and young people would lead to better longer-term outcomes. Nicola Kay said a ‘Core 20 plus 5’ framework for children had just launched. She agreed that the approach had been skewed to adults but assured members that was changing.

Lucy Richardson noted there was a group of high functioning autistic people who may not have EHCPs and asked if there were plans in place for those and other people with hidden conditions. Nicola Kay said they were aware of the issue and noted they were working with the mental health teams in the ICB on support and ways to identify people earlier.

Linda Jackson asked for clarity about the ‘plus 5’ in ‘Core 20 plus 5’. She noted that each locality was different. Hammersmith & Fulham had major issues around housing, and mental health for younger people for example. She said it was important to know what the plan meant for H&F, and it needed to be interpreted in H&F language before thinking about how we co-produced to make the make the biggest difference for residents.

Merril Hammer said it would be useful to have more granular data about the local population. Dr Nicola Lang said JSNA factsheets were being produced on a range of topics (e.g. diabetes) and they would welcome feedback on those. The ICB were there to provide a bigger picture view of North West London as a whole. She suggested showing the factsheets to local community groups for their input.

The Chair said the Council and the Board had recognised the issue of people of colour having worse outcomes on average and had connected residents with senior people in the NHS to explain the issues that affected them directly. Those meetings were due to happen shortly.

Linda Jackson added that work to address inequality ran through each of the campaigns from the Health and Care Partnership but it was an area we could do more on. What officers thought was a priority might not be as important to residents. She said there was work to be done to build trust and learn how to best engage.

The Chair and Sue Spiller asked what factors determined the priorities. June Farquharson said there were five nationally mandated priorities but there was an element of local flexibility. She said local workshops, shaped by the local Health and Care Partnership, would be held to help ensure they were right for the area.

Councillor Lucy Richardson noted that it was important to consider where engagement took place, especially when engaging with the most vulnerable. She suggested identifying those spaces in collaboration with NHS and Economy colleagues. The Chair asked Linda Jackson to come back to the Board to discuss engagement in practical terms (who was being engaged with, when, and where).

ACTION: Linda Jackson