Thank you to everyone who took part in the consultation about the proposed changes to maternity, neonatal, and children’s surgical services in north central London.

Hundreds of local people, staff and stakeholders provided detailed and constructive feedback about the proposals as part of the Start Well consultation, which closed on Sunday 17 March 2024. Start Well.jpg

The responses received will now be analysed by Opinion Research Services, an independent research agency, who will produce a report for the consulting bodies: North Central London Integrated Care Board, on behalf of the local integrated care system, and NHS England (London) Specialised Commissioning. This report, along with a wide range of evidence and information, will be used to develop a ‘decision-making business case’ for consideration by the Integrated Care Board.

Jo Sauvage, chief medical officer for North Central London Integrated Care Board, said, “Thank you to everyone who has taken part in this important consultation. We are grateful to staff, stakeholders and local people who took the time to share their views with us. It is so important that we understand what you all think of these proposals and the possible impact implementing them. We have commissioned an organisation to independently evaluate the responses received from the consultation, and we will carefully consider all the feedback and themes before making a decision about how to proceed.’

The North Central London Integrated Care Board will now develop the decision-making business case and this is expected to take some months. A decision-making meeting, held in public, will take place by early 2025. Further details will be published later this year.

In the meantime, no decisions have been taken on changes to maternity, neonatal or children’s surgical services in North Central London and services will continue to run as usual.