The North West London Joint Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee (JHOSC) met on 17 July 2025 to discuss maternity provisions, adult mental health services, and the reconfiguration of the Integrated Care Board (ICB). The committee also planned to review its recommendations tracker and upcoming work programme. The meeting was scheduled to take place in person at the Civic Centre in Uxbridge.

Here's a summary of the topics that were scheduled to be discussed:

Maternity Provisions in North West London

The JHOSC was scheduled to receive a comprehensive overview of maternity service provision across North West London. A report prepared for the meeting indicated concerns about variations in maternity outcomes and the need to ensure equitable, high-quality care for all residents.

Key points that the report was scheduled to cover included:

• In 2024/25, there were 26,486 births across six maternity sites in North West London, representing a 1% increase from 2022/23, which bucked the national trend.
• Services were delivered by four NHS Trusts within a collaborative Local Maternity and Neonatal System (LMNS), supported by Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnerships (MNVPs) and Cultural Safety Lead Midwives.
• Analysis of demand data showed stable yet variable patterns across sites, with moderate fluctuations in bookings and births.
• Equity analysis highlighted disparities in outcomes, with Black and Asian women experiencing significantly higher term stillbirth rates, 2.8 and 2.1 per 1,000 births respectively, compared to 0.7 for White women.
• The LMNS had developed a five-priority Equity and Equality Action Plan to address these challenges.
• Qualitative insights from the 2024 Care Quality Commission (CQC) Maternity Survey, Healthwatch reports, and MVP engagement highlighted concerns around inconsistent communication, involvement in decision-making, staff availability, and culturally sensitive care.
• Collaborative initiatives, such as Hillingdon Hospital's domestic abuse pathway, support for families experiencing trauma and loss, and integration with family hubs, had strengthened service delivery.

The report also included several recommendations, including:

• Developing a five-year maternity strategy with birth rate forecasting and workforce planning.
• Aligning local actions with national priorities, including the Maternity Taskforce and Ten-Year Plan.
• Embedding the Maternity Outcomes Surveillance System (MOSS) toolkit for real-time performance monitoring.
• Implementing the forthcoming regional Maternity Reducing Inequalities Care Bundle.
• Strengthening co-production with service users and community partners.
• Publishing disaggregated outcomes data to drive transparency and accountability.

The report also included the North West London Integrated Care System and Local Maternity System Equity and Equality analysis and action plan for maternity services, which stated that:

Addressing health inequalities is a core principle of the way we approach maternity service design and delivery across NW London. We know that 80% of what impacts health inequalities happens outside of healthcare settings. All responses and actions require a system wide approach to ensure we improve health outcomes for our communities. Developing this strategy has been an opportunity to bring all stakeholders and networks together to ensure that the system is listening and responding to the inequality agenda. This is about creating real change in how we work with our residents.

Adult Mental Health

The JHOSC was scheduled to receive an update on adult mental health provision in North West London. The report pack included the North West London Mental Health Strategy for adult residents, which set out aims and ambitions for adult mental health services for the future.

By 2028/29, the strategy aimed to achieve:

• Raised awareness and promotion of wellbeing, so that every resident knows how to access mental health support.
• Increased equity and equality of service access to reflect different needs of local and diverse communities.
• Care in the right place, with integrated care between primary care and mental health teams.

The report pack also included progress against plans for 2024/25 and next steps for 2025/26 and beyond.

Reconfiguration of the ICB and Implications on Services

The JHOSC was scheduled to discuss the reconfiguration of the ICB and its potential implications on services.

The report pack stated that NHS England had announced that ICBs would face approximately 50% in cost reductions in the 2025/26 financial year, and had asked for an options appraisal on future clustering with North West and North Central London ICBs, including the option of full merger.

The report pack stated that the options developed would be evaluated to provide clear recommendation to the NWL Board, based on criteria including:

• Improving patient outcomes through effective strategic commissioning
• Strengthening Place and Neighbourhood arrangements to optimise outcomes
• Retaining and attracting the best people
• Protecting place neighbourhood, building neighbourhood health teams.
• Resilient and cost-effective core functions
• Time and cost of change.

North West London JHOSC Recommendations Tracker

The JHOSC was scheduled to review the latest recommendations tracker for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 municipal years. The tracker provides a summary of scrutiny recommendations made during the previous two municipal years, tracks decisions made by NHS colleagues, and gives the committee oversight over implementation progress.

North West London JHOSC 2025/26 Work Programme

The JHOSC was scheduled to confirm the committee's draft work programme for the 2025/26 municipal year. The draft work programme included the following agenda items:

• Cancer Screening & Early Diagnosis
• The future of Place Based Partnerships delivering health and care services
• Special Educational Needs (SEN) Continence Service
• Urgent and Emergency Care Delivery
• Implementation of the Same Day Access Model in Primary Care
• Application of the Continuing Healthcare Criteria
• Dentist Commissioning and Children's Dental Health
• Digital Health, Data Use, AI and Digital Inclusion
• Weight Loss Drug Supply and Roll Out
• Maternity Strategy