Second 'full' STP published as council hits out at process

Camden Council put the “full” draft version of the North Central London STP on its website today, following the submission by all areas to NHS England on Friday.

HSJ understands that many STP leaders and other local senior figures have been told by national NHS England and NHS Improvement officials that they should not publish their submissions until a later stage, after they have received feedback from those organisations. The issue has also become a subject of national political controversy.

It follows Birmingham City Council earlier publishing the Birmingham and Solihull submission.

Camden Council leader Sarah Hayward said she had “serious reservations” about the STP, which also covers Barnet, Islington, Haringey and Enfield. 

Two major London providers  Royal Free and University College London Hospitals – are in North Central London.

Explaining the decision to publish today, Councillor Hayward said there had been “no political oversight, and minimal public and patient engagement” in the process.

She added: “At present, there is a lack of appropriate focus on adult social care. That lack of public, patient and political involvement is why I am publishing this document on our website. It is vital that there is full transparency in Camden as this work progresses.”

This morning Birmingham City Council published the Birmingham and Solihull’s STP.  Last week Birmingham City Council’s director for people Peter Hay told HSJ sister title LGC that the city’s STP was focused on tackling NHS funding problems rather than a system-wide solution for health and care.

The North Central London STP summary states that social care is “a crucial part of many of our workstreams”, but adds integration plans are yet to be developed.

Councillor Hayward said: “Local authorities see first-hand the impact of the profound health inequalities that exist in the north central London area.

“In the light of this, we’ll be using our role to influence the future quality of local social care and to improve the health and wellbeing of our residents.

“As the provider and commissioner of social care services in Camden we want to be sure that future needs are reflected in this plan.”

Islington Council leader Richard Watts told LGC he shared Councillor Hayward’s concerns over STP transparency and lack of focus on adult social care.

He said: “It is beyond NHS management to process stuff that is not under their direct control – it gets forgotten.

“These are not transformation plans – they are not going to put prevention at the heart of health service.

“They feel much more like a way of making short term budgetary savings rather than any meaningful way of transforming services.

In recent weeks NHS England told STP leaders to publish summaries of their sustainability and transformation plans, but only after they had been checked nationally.