The Joint OSC for the NE & North Cumbria ICS & North & Central ICPs of Gateshead Council scheduled a meeting to discuss several healthcare-related topics. These included updates on community pharmacies, the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare, and a presentation on the women's health programme in the North East and North Cumbria. The committee also planned to review its work programme for the year 2025/26.

Women's Health Programme

Claire Riley, Chief Corporate Services Officer, NENC ICB, was scheduled to present the Women's Health Programme for the North East and North Cumbria ¹. The programme aims to improve health and wellbeing for women and girls across the region between 2025 and 2030. The plan was shaped using feedback from almost 5,000 women, and through partnerships with the ICB, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), and the North of England Commissioning Support.

The plan identifies eight priorities:

• Menstrual health and gynaecological conditions
• Cancers
• Fertility, pregnancy and postnatal support
• Health impacts of abuse and violence against women and girls
• Menopause
• Healthy ageing and long-term conditions
• Mental health and wellbeing
• The development of women's health hubs

These priorities are underpinned by several themes, including adopting a needs-led approach, service mapping and pathways, workforce and training, data collection, prevention and early intervention, technology and digital solutions, strategic commissioning, and research.

The plan details specific actions to address each priority. For example, in the area of menstrual health and gynaecological conditions, the plan includes actions to:

• Review and develop pathways and commissioning frameworks for menstrual health and gynaecology conditions.
• Provide primary care professionals with the knowledge and skills to identify potential symptoms of PCOS² and endometriosis³.
• Offer very brief advice on tobacco use and alcohol for women accessing services.
• Explore opportunities for technology to support women and girls on menstrual norms whilst waiting for appointments.
• Increase the number of NHS organisations/settings that offer free period products.

In the area of fertility, pregnancy and postnatal support, the plan aims to reduce variation in access to fertility services, postnatal care and bereavement support. Actions include:

• Conducting a service mapping of commissioned fertility services in the North East and North Cumbria.
• Adopting approaches to reduce the financial burden on those accessing antenatal/maternity care.
• Ensuring all women with significant medical conditions receive timely specialist care and advice before, during and after pregnancy.
• Rolling out the NENC 6-8 Week Postnatal Maternal Health Review template.

Regarding menopause, the plan aims to ensure all women in NENC have access to well-trained professionals who can provide a personalised approach to managing menopause symptoms. Actions include:

• Offering women access to timely, high-quality menopause care and full treatment options in primary care and specialist settings.
• Working with primary care and other partners to understand and address lower HRT prescribing in areas of low deprivation.
• Establishing a clear clinical pathway for women experiencing unscheduled bleeding on HRT, using the British Menopause Society guideline.
• Developing and implementing NENC standards for menopause.

In the area of mental health and wellbeing, the plan aims to improve prevention, identification and management of mental illness affecting women. Actions include:

• Using women's experiences to prevent mental health conditions, reduce outcome disparities, and ensure fair, timely access to specialist support.
• Reviewing pathways and service offers to support the unmet needs of women and girls, including maternal and perinatal mental health services, eating disorder services, and support for learning disabilities and neurodivergence.
• Empowering promotion and protection of good mental wellbeing to all staff and service users.
• Training and upskilling NENC NHS staff in Trauma Informed Care.

The plan also includes actions related to cancers, health impacts of violence against women and girls, healthy ageing and long-term conditions, and the development of women's health hubs.

Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare

Dr Mike Smith, co-chair of the NENC AI Advisory Group, was scheduled to give a presentation on the use of AI in healthcare. The presentation was expected to cover what AI is, and provide examples of its use, such as ambient scribes and digital dictation, and Annalise CXR⁴.

The presentation notes that AI can be faster, safer, more accurate and cheaper, and can improve patient experience, but also notes that there are risks and challenges, including accuracy and bias, accountability, data security and privacy, and over-reliance.

The NENC ICB Involvement Team is engaging with the public on the use of AI, and a Health AI advisory group has been established, including health, local authorities, university, and R&D representatives. The group has developed a detailed strategy and high-level principles document.

The presentation lists 10 AI strategic principles for providers:

1. Start with problems, not products
2. Drive meaningful impact
3. Procure smartly
4. Follow the evidence
5. Keep patient safety at the core
6. Move fast, but safely
7. Train and support the workforce
8. Align across the ICS⁵
9. Share knowledge and learnings
10. Set clear ethical boundaries

The presentation also includes public views on AI in healthcare, noting that the public is familiar with chatbots and scan-reading tools, and see value in saving time and admin tasks. However, the public is concerned about AI making serious decisions, and about privacy and data security. There is a strong preference for doctors staying in charge, and for transparency on how AI works and uses data.

Community Pharmacy Update

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on community pharmacies. No further details were provided in the agenda.

Work Programme 2025/26

The committee was scheduled to discuss its work programme for 2025/26.