The Southwark Health and Wellbeing Board met to discuss the South East London Integrated Care System (SEL ICS) Prevention Framework, updates to the 'Support to stay well' theme of the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy, and to approve the Southwark Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment 2025-28.

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

Southwark Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment 2025-2028

The Health and Wellbeing Board were asked to approve Southwark's Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) 2025-2028¹. The PNA is a document that assesses the need for pharmaceutical services in the area, and is required by law.

The PNA is used by the South East London Integrated Care Board (ICB) to determine whether a new pharmacy should open or an existing service relocate. It is also used by Southwark Council, the South East London ICB, and other organisations to inform commissioning decisions.

The PNA includes a statement on the provision of services deemed necessary to meet pharmaceutical need, and the provision of other relevant services that have secured improvement or better access to pharmaceutical services.

The report pack noted that the PNA stated that there is adequate provision of services deemed necessary to meet pharmaceutical needs in the borough, except for:

• An open pharmacy after 6.30pm on Saturdays and at any time on Sundays within 20 minutes walking distance of the Tessa Jowell Health Centre;
• An open pharmacy on Sundays in the South of the borough (in Goose Green, Dulwich Hill, or Dulwich Village).

The PNA also highlights opportunities to improve access to services in the north-east tip of the borough including Covid-19 vaccination and Vitamin D.

The report pack stated that pharmacies provide a key role in local communities, including expert advice, preventative services and support for self-care.

The opportunity for pharmacies to contribute to the delivery of the neighbourhood health agenda has recently been recognised in the 10-Year Health Plan for the NHS. This states that pharmacies will have an increased role in management of long-term conditions, complex medication regimes, treatment of obesity, vaccine delivery and screening for risk of cardiovascular diseases. The PNA highlights that many pharmacies in Southwark are already delivering key preventative services which can be built upon through Southwark's neighbourhood health model.

The PNA was shaped by insights from a public questionnaire and a pharmacy questionnaire which received 958 and 18 responses respectively. The draft document was then published for statutory consultation between 4 June and 5 August 2025.

Support to Stay Well Progress Update and Long-Term Outcomes Report

The Health and Wellbeing Board were scheduled to note progress updates, outcome measures and requests for the board related to the 'Support to stay well' theme of the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy action plan 2025-27. The Board were also scheduled to note the new long-term outcomes report for the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy action plan 2025-2027, which will be presented to the Board every 6 months, and suggest any changes that would improve how this is presented.

The Board's priority aim for 'Support to stay well' is 'Ensure that there are effective and accessible services that prevent illness and promote wellbeing, including measures to tackle The Vital 5 ', which encompasses actions 3.1 - 3.5. The board sponsor for the Support to stay well theme is Sangeeta Leahy, Director of Public Health.

The 'Support to stay well' progress update included the following information:

• Establish Southwark Hubs for Health as part of our 'Health on the High Street' programme: In addition to providing Vital 5² health checks at community events and in collaboration with community groups, there are now 8 sites where the checks are provided on a regular basis. In the most recent quarter, 69% of Vital 5 check participants have one of the following characteristics: live in the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods, are from Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic groups, identify as LGBTQIA+, or have a disability. The Board were asked to provide suggestions and guidance to support delivery of Vital 5 health checks to residents from CORE 20 PLUS³ groups, and to identify ways in which the organisations represented on the board could facilitate effective delivery of Vital 5 health checks.
• Commission a new Healthy Lifestyle Service with a single point of access: The tender opportunity for the new service is due to be live throughout the month of September with the aim of having a new service in place in January 2026.
• Recommission the Southwark Wellbeing Hub: Through the recommissioning of the Southwark Wellbeing Hub, outreach capacity is being expanded by embedding support workers across Integrated Neighbourhood Team footprints, enabling personalised one-to-one interventions in trusted community spaces. 430 residents accessed the service in quarter 1 of 2025/26 (down from 541 in quarter 4 of 2024/25). In 2025/26 quarter 1, 63% of service users were from Black, Asian and ethnic minority groups (up 1% from quarter 4 2024/25). The Board could provide valuable input on the appropriateness of the service's direction of travel, particularly its shift toward proactive, neighbourhood-based mental health support.
• Establish a new Women's Safety Centre: A project management board has been established and the WSC is on track to be established by Feb 2026. The Board's main focus currently is developing the newly acquired building but focus will shift later on the development of the service.
• Commission a review of link workers across the NHS and Council: The scope of the Link Worker Review is agreed and review will be conducted within the agreed timeline. Opportunities for the review findings to interlink with the Southwark Wellbeing Hub recommissioning also being considered.
• Deliver and evaluate an inclusive surgeries programme across GP practices in Southwark: An inclusive surgeries coordinator started in post in the North PCN in July 2025. Intro meetings with GP practices taking place to plan how they will adopt the inclusive surgeries initiatives.
• Map the falls prevention exercise provision in Southwark: Key stakeholders identified and data has been requested, to be compiled.
• Improve access to support for carers: The Older Persons and Physical Disability team have created an online referral form for carers, one for professionals and one for self -referrals.
• Commission a new Carers Service: A gateway 1 procurement strategy report is currently going through internal governance processes. The tender is due to go live in September 2025. The launch date of the new service has been moved to 1 September 2026 due to implications of new procurement legislation and the local council elections early next year.

Developing the South East London Integrated Care System Prevention Framework

The Health and Wellbeing Board were asked to note the update on the South East London Integrated Care System (SEL ICS) Prevention Framework. They were also asked to identify opportunities for their respective organisations to contribute to this work, and to identify how the framework can support, or align with, the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy and other Southwark-specific work.

The report pack stated that across South East London, there are a growing number of examples of single-organisation, place-based collaborations and community level approaches to prevention that are making a positive difference to the lives of residents.

There is now a need to develop a coordinated and consistent approach that starts with understanding prevention needs across the life course, with clear accountability and co-produced outcomes across prevention, early detection and intervention.

The NHS 10 year plan sets out an intention for local areas to be required to develop neighbourhood health plans , which will be drawn up by local government, the NHS and its partners under the leadership of the Health and Wellbeing Board.

The aim of the framework is to increase the likelihood that people will remain in the best health they can be for as long as possible, and in doing so, to reduce disparities in healthy life expectancy. The approach to prevention will be considered in the context of the wider determinants of health, recognising that these have a significant impact on health outcomes and inequalities.

The framework aims to support more efficient allocation of the public health grant and NHS health inequalities funding according to local priorities.