Council's Cabinet Health Lead has written to the Secretary of State outlining plans to improve health in the borough

Dear Secretary of State,

Let us start by congratulating you on your victory at the General Election, and your appointment to the vitally important role that you now hold.

In Hounslow we are ambitious for our residents. We want our residents to live long, healthy and happy lives. To this end we are excited to work with Government in several critical areas, and our ambitions are most clearly visible in how we wish to integrate local health and social care services alongside our health partners. This will not only improve outcomes for our residents through reducing inequalities but will also deliver a more sustainable health system.

Hounslow has a diverse population of 300,000 people and spends over £400m on Health and Social Care, and yet despite this large expenditure, many residents do not enjoy the same healthy life expectancy as other Londoners. We are committed to changing this.

Acting now can stop local service costs from soaring past £560 million annually and keep providers from reaching an unsustainable financial position. Recent work underscores the urgent need to enhance care in our frailty pathway as residents become frailer and more ill if we do nothing.

>Hounslow is proud to be at the forefront of healthcare innovation within the North West London Integrated Care System (ICS). Our Strategic Outline Case, the first of its kind developed within the NW London ICS, exemplifies our commitment to pioneering solutions that address the complex health and social care needs of our diverse community. By leading this initiative, we aim to set a benchmark for integration that can be replicated across the region, ensuring that the health outcomes of residents are significantly improved while delivering excellent value for money.

We are looking to be integration pathfinders and an early adopter of a model developing a central frailty hub in the borough, implemented with local partners. This would enable us to treat frail individuals in their communities, with residents at the centre of their own care. It should improve outcomes to ensure that the residents of Hounslow can live longer and healthier lives, with a clear focus on preventative care.

This ambitious case for change is a programme that we hope, with the support of Government, could subsequently be exported to other authorities and contribute to the national mission through delivering tangible benefits for our communities and national care system. 

We have an ambitious and trusted relationship with Health partners and have a track record of delivery. Chelsea and Westminster Hospital Trust are building a £73m state of the art Ambulatory Diagnostic Centre (ADC).

The new state-of-the-art facility will provide cancer, renal and imaging services for local residents of Hounslow, Richmond and Ealing, ensuring that people can access tests and treatment more quickly and closer to home. It will also help reduce pressure on urgent care services at the main hospital by caring for non-urgent patients at the ADC.

This Development has been in partnership with the London Borough of Hounslow. The Health and Care partnership in Hounslow is very strong and we would like to be a trailblazer area that the Labour Government can trust to deliver new models of care.

>We would like to invite you to a meeting on the ADC and the plans Hounslow Health and Care system has to work together to improve the health outcomes for residents.

We know there is more to be done to close the gap on health inequalities and we are committed to working collaboratively to make this happen.

We would very much welcome a visit from you and your team to discuss with system leaders in Hounslow and how we would like to be part of future work on health and care integration.

We look forward to your reply to arrange meeting at a time and date suitable to you.

 

Yours sincerely,

Councillor Lily Bath, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Public Health and Health Integration