New London NHS devo deal 'will cement progress'

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Details of a second government deal to devolve further health powers in London are to be agreed imminently, following an announcement in today’s Budget.

It was announced that a new memorandum of understanding on health in the capital will be agreed on Wednesday next week.

It will “cement progress made to date and support London’s future plans for preventing ill-health”, according to a London devolution agreement published today.

The MoU will outline how devolution will “lead to better services that meet the needs of local communities”, the Mayor of London’s office said in a statement.

The aim of the MoU will be to support “a more place-based, integrated health and social care system and strategic estates reform”. The document did not say which powers, budgets or responsibilities would be devolved.

It is understood the new arrangements are likely to be a development of the five devolution pilots which were launched in London in December 2015, which focused on prevention and integration.

However the plan for the next steps of health devolution in London are not expected to be as ambitious as Manchester’s devolution, a senior source told HSJ.

The five London pilots launched in 2015 focused on different areas of health and care work. Haringey London Borough Council’s pilot was focused on prevention. It explored new approaches to public health issues.

Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge’s pilot focused on early intervention and looked at how primary and secondary care could be better integrated to promote early intervention.

North central London (Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey, Islington) ran an estates pilot to test new approaches to collaboration on asset use.

Lewisham ran a pilot seeking to integrate physical and mental health services alongside social care.

Hackney’s pilot aimed for full integration of health and social care budgets and joint provision of services.

The new MoU expected next week will be signed by the government, national organisations and London partners. These will include clinical commissioning groups, London borough councils, the Greater London Authority, Public Health England and NHS England in London.