South East London ICB has approved the appointment of neighbourhood health service integrators in four of its six boroughs.
The integrators will be the organisations that will provide the core infrastructure for integrated neighbourhood working as it develops, the ICB said.
These organisations were first outlined in the London ICBs’ neighbourhood plan, which was published in May. This said that each place would be responsible for nominating a integrator organisation from within the place to ‘host the identified integration functions required to enable primary community, mental health, acute specialist, local authority, VCFSE and other partners to work together effectively at neighbourhood level’.
South East London ICB said these integrators will not be a replacement for place-based partnerships, which will continue to have ‘significant roles’ in delivering local ambitions.
It added the integrators would be ‘critical’ for creating ‘cohesive, proactive, targeted, and sustainable services that place individuals and communities at the centre’.
The approved integrators are:
- Bexley: The borough’s health and care partnership between the London Borough of Bexley, Bexley Health Neighbourhood CiC, Primary Care Networks, and Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust. Oxleas will host the arrangement.
- Lambeth: A partnership between Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (GSTT) and Lambeth General Practice Provider Alliance. GSTT will host the arrangement.
- Lewisham: A partnership between the London Borough of Lewisham, Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, primary care, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and the voluntary and community sector. Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust will host the arrangement.
- Southwark: A partnership between GSTT and GP federations: Improving Health Ltd and Quay Health Solutions. GSTT will host the arrangement.
It added that its other boroughs, Bromley and Greenwich, will be confirming the appointment of these integrators in the coming weeks.
Andrew Bland, chief executive for NHS South East London said: ‘With integrators approved in four of our south east London boroughs and the other two coming soon, we are establishing the foundations and building the relationships needed to deliver proactive, integrated, and equitable neighbourhood health services shaped by local communities.
‘Integrators will provide the vital infrastructure, connections, and coordination we need to turn policy into practice and bring care closer to home.’
Holly Eden, director of delivery for neighbourhoods and population health added: ‘We look forward to working with our integrators to build the infrastructure needed for integrated neighbourhood teams, initially focusing on frailty, multiple long-term conditions, and complex children’s needs.’
‘Over the summer, we will collaborate with our partners to develop and test a neighbourhood outcomes framework that defines success, and outlines how we will measure progress in delivering locally responsive care across every neighbourhood in south east London.’
It comes as the first 10 year plan neighbourhood mental health centre has opened in East London, following the plan’s commitment to opening six of the centres.
The 10 year plan was revealed earlier this month, with genomic data and expansion of the NHS App central to the government’s plan for a Neighbourhood Health Service.
Last week, ICBs were invited to apply to be part of the first wave of the neighbourhood health programme announced in the 10 year plan.
In a letter to ICB chief executives, Dr Claire Fuller, the national medical director of primary care at NHS England, said applications from ICBs and local authorities were welcome for ‘one or more Places’ within their geography.
