NW London ICB at LDC Open Meeting

Dr Genevieve Small, Medical Director of Primary Care for NHS North West London, attended an open meeting of the North West London LDC on 11 September to provide an overview of the Integrated Care System structure in North West London and the Board’s priorities for primary care and dental services.

NHS NW London is an Integrated Care Boards have four broad aims, these are not unique to NWL ICB but form the basis of all 42 ICBs in England:

  • Improving outcomes in population health and health care
  • Tackling inequalities in outcomes, experience and access
  • Enhancing productivity and value for money
  • Helping the NHS to support broader social and economic development.
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NW London ICB at LDC Open Meeting 3

NW London currently has many health issues facing its population, from high levels of smoking and obesity to high levels of uncontrolled diabetes and hypertension. Oral health in the area is also a cause of major concern for the Board and they are working with the Community Dental Services, Local Authorities and Local Dental Committee to formulate improved ways of working line with the national priorities as set out in Core 20+5 and Core 20+5 Children and Young People. The latter specifically identifies oral health as a key priority.

The LDC heard that: “Five boroughs in North West London make up the areas with the highest percentage of five year olds with tooth decay in London; in Brent this is as high as 46%.” and that “Hospital episodes for children with tooth decay are higher in NW London compared to the England average.” Showing what a priority children’s oral health is in North West London in particular. Given this, it is not surprising that NW London has been working with stakeholders, including the LDC, on developing an oral health strategy

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NW London ICB at LDC Open Meeting 4

This plan, which is still being finalised, is a really exciting step forward in primary care dentistry in the area and looks to provide a more sustained approach to care rather than the sporadic and episodic interest shown in the last 20 years. The plan is two pronged:

  • Using opportunities within delegated commissioning to improve access to and availability of dentistry;
  • Addressing inequality by focusing on children and young people in areas with poorer oral health outcomes, linking to child health and family hubs.

The first aspect will safeguard existing funding within dentistry and the second will support increased integration. Both key aspects of the LDC’s Vision. As well as the existing national approach of the New Patient Premium and a pan-London workstream looking to improve access for those experiencing homelessness, the ICB is looking at “A package of investment to support a small number of dental practices to provide tailored sessions for children and develop a pathway of care that is integrated with GPs, family hubs and other local assets.” This will tie in with the approach to improve children’s oral health as well as other vulnerable groups as identified by Core20+5.

This was a very informative, engaging and encouraging message from the ICB well received by those present. Overall the direction of travel is strong and clear, involves the profession and matches the priorities set out by the LDC to safeguard funding and support integration. To further support this approach we hope to have closer working with Integrated Neighbourhood Teams in the future, and will provide more detail on what that could look like for primary care dentistry in the future.