ICB reveals detailed plan for integrated neighborhood teams for 50,000 to 100,000 patients

Exclusive The North West London (NWL) ICB has drawn up unprecedented plans to introduce ‘integrated neighborhood teams’ inspired by the Fuller Stocktake.

All NWL providers, including GP practices, are now “requested to put their plans into practice” to “realize the vision” for integrated neighborhood teams, according to a document presented to the council last week.

NWL ICS President Dr Penny Dash issued the document setting out ‘the next stages in developing integrated neighborhood teams’ for the area.

There will be 25 integrated neighborhood teams, each made up of one or more PCNs and around 100 employees, serving a population of 50,000 to 100,000 residents.

Providers will “work towards creating central arrangements” in which essential services will be housed “behind a single reception”, creating a “single neighborhood hub” that provides “a range of health and care services”.

The ICB told Pulse that the development of hubs is part of “a long-term vision” and that it is “not currently planning for them to replace any of the GP clinics in North West London”.

However, the document warned that “challenges remain” in the implementation of INT, including the limits of the ICB PCN “which are not fully aligned with the limits of the INT”.

It comes after the new Government committed to “reforming” primary care, testing “neighborhood health centers” that would have family doctors and other community health professionals “under one roof”.

And an independent inquiry into the NHS, led by Lord Ara Darzi, found that local working and multidisciplinary teams will be the way forward for the system.

NWL’s plan states that all hubs will contain basic services, including:

General practice
Navigation precautions
Adult social care
Community mental health, nursing, therapies and pharmacy
Children’s services (including prenatal and postnatal care)
Social prescription
Dentistry and optometry
Home care and health visiting
Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise
Public health intelligence

According to the document, services will adopt a “no wrong gateway” approach for “all services” that will be accessed “digitally, by telephone or in person”.

The document referenced Professor Claire Fuller’s 2022 landmark review and said that integrated neighborhood teams “are the vehicles to implement” the changes set out by Professor Fuller.

An ICB spokesperson told Pulse: ‘INTs are about connecting wider system support and focusing on meeting the needs of the neighborhood population.

‘We expect general practice to have closer links with community providers, VCS providers, social care and community health services as a result of these developments.

“These organizations will work more closely to prevent health problems and manage complexity in a community environment.

“By implementing INTs, we will leverage our system resources to provide the model of care. There are no proposed changes to the provisions relating to GP budgets.’

Each INT will also have an ‘integrative role’, a role performed by one person or a small team, responsible for facilitating practical operations within the team, such as business intelligence, workforce and organizational development.

The ICB said it expects these ‘integrators’ to come from a primary care organisation, community health service provider or local authority and to be in place by March 2025.

The London LMC stated that there is currently “no defined model” for the role of the integrator and that a funding stream “has not yet been identified”, but “assurances have been obtained” that budgets for the general practice will be set aside and the “ alternative financing” will be identified to support this work.

The plans were discussed during an ICB meeting last week, at which members of the public raised concerns about the future of PCNs within the plan.

A question submitted to the council said: ‘Why in this document can I not see the term PCN mentioned even once?

‘It would certainly make sense for me to take advantage of these actually existing neighborhood teams to create this “integrated model”.

‘Although some of them would have to get together to reduce the number to 25, as you seem to want.

‘Why seemingly start over from scratch, which could be an equally good recipe for absolute chaos, leaving residents with an unsatisfactory health and care system for years?’

The ICB told Pulse that these plans are “not directly related” to the controversial proposals for same-day delivery centers developed last year, which are currently being reviewed following criticism from GP leaders, and will be discussed at a meeting today.

Professor Claire Fuller’s 2022 landmark review recommended the creation of integrated neighborhood teams, as well as ‘one-stop urgent care teams’ that would ‘offer your patients appropriate care when they turn up at your office, contact the team or book an appointment. online consultation’.