The London Assembly will tomorrow assess progress on reconfiguring health services[1] across the capital, including the current state of NHS finances and proposed changes to A&E .
The Assembly’s Health and Environment Committee will question a range of guests about challenges that lie ahead, including the downgrading of Lewisham A&E department[2], maintaining an overview on London’s health services and supporting[3] the seven acute trusts with an overall deficit of almost £96 million as they work to achieve foundation status.
Members will also look at plans for distributing public health funding across the capital and will ask NHS London whether the capital has secured its fair share of the money available.
Tomorrow’s meeting will provide the Committee with an opportunity to follow up on earlier sessions on NHS and public health reforms and assess progress on four key challenges set out its issues paper, published last year.[4]
The following guests will attend:
- Dame Ruth Carnall, Chief Executive, NHS London
- Dr Simon Tanner, Regional Director of Public Health, NHS London and Health Advisor to the Greater London Authority
- Amanda Coyle, Assistant Director of Health and Communities, GLA
- Matthew Trainer, Deputy Director of Operations (London), Care Quality Commission
- Ann Radmore, Chief Executive, London Ambulance Service
The meeting will take place on Tuesday, 5 February from 10am in Committee Room 5 at City Hall (The Queen’s Walk, London SE1). Media and members of the public are invited to attend. The meeting can also be viewed via webcast.
Notes to editors:
- The Health and Social Care Act 2012 set out a major restructuring of healthcare services and of public health responsibilities due to be in place by April 2013. The main changes are:
- the abolition of NHS London, the Strategic Health Authority and Primary Care Trusts, which have been responsible for most commissioning.
- Moving responsibility for most commissioning to Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) made up of GPs and other health professionals.
- Setting up a National Commissioning Board to oversee the CCGs and to take responsibility for commissioning specialist services, dentists and primary care.
- Local Authorities taking on responsibility for public health issues like obesity, alcohol misuse and smoking, with oversight from Public Health England.
2. Last week the Government announced Lewisham Hospital A&E department is to be downgraded and made smaller and the South London Healthcare Trust is to be abolished. See Department of Health press release, January 31 2013
3. Acute trusts in deficit are: Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust; Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust; Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust; Newham University Hospital NHS Trust; North West London Hospitals Trust; South London Healthcare NHS Trust; Whipps Cross University Hospitals NHS Trust.
Source: The Quarter, Quarter 4 2011/12, June 2012, Department of Health
4. Read the paper, which draws on discussions from the 12 September and 18 January Committee meetings.
5. Read the full agenda papers for the meeting.
6. Murad Qureshi AM, Chair of the Health and Environment Committee, is available for interview. See contact details below.
7. As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.
For more details, please contact Lisa Moore or Julie Wheldon in the Assembly Media Office on 020 7983 4228/4283. For out of hours media enquiries please call 020 7983 4000 and ask for the Assembly duty press officer. Non-media enquiries should be directed to the Public Liaison Unit, Greater London Authority, on 020 7983 4100.