The NHS Confederation established the London relations programme, funded by London members, in May 2000. Its main purpose is to ensure that the GLA and Mayor have a clear, independent point of contact with NHS organisations in London. The programme aims to create an environment in London that helps members work more effectively.
London update: December 2007
London Council Representatives
The London NHS Confederation Council representatives steer the programme. Sigurd Reinton has stood down as regional lead and we would like to thank him for all his time and support. Carolyn Berkeley is the new London regional lead and she can be contacted on Carolyn.Berkeley@enfield.nhs.uk
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London MPs
In November we held a meeting with London Conservative MPs and Assembly Members. The lunch was attended by Jacqui Lait MP; David Burrowes MP; David Evennett MP; Justine Greening MP; Nick Hurd MP; Angela Watkinson MP; Tony Arbour AM; Brian Coleman AM; Elizabeth Howlett AM. Issues discussed included reconfiguration (cutbacks, consultation, impact on maternity services, need for long term relationships and trust), the quality of nursing care, NICE and infection control.
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News from the Mayor, Assembly and other London organisations
The London NHS Confederation is planning joint work with the King's Fund and the RCN around the London Mayor and Assembly elections in 2008. This is likely to include a health hustings event for Mayoral candidates.
News from the Mayor
Emissions based charging: new polling from the Mayor's office shows that two thirds of Londoners support proposals to charge cars with the highest greenhouse gas emissions £25 a day to drive in the central London congestion charge zone and introduce a zero charge for the lowest emitting vehicles. Statement on emissions based congestion charging.
News from the Assembly
The Assembly has published Teething problems report, which expresses concern that the capital has more NHS dentists than most other parts of the country, but only half of Londoners are using them. Only 51 percent of Londoners and just under two-thirds of children went to an NHS dentist in the two years to March 2007, and their survey found around 205,000 adults in the capital may never visit a dentist. This is despite there being 51 NHS dentists per 100,000 Londoners, compared to a national average of 42 dentists to every 100,000 people elsewhere in England.
The health and public services committee meeting in November heard evidence as part of its scrutiny into breast cancer screening and radiotherapy.
London's public and commercial sector buildings produce around 15 million tonnes of carbon a year, but a new Assembly report, Emission creep, reveals that emissions vary significantly across sectors.
News from London Councils
London Councils have stated that boroughs will have to ration services or increase council tax because of the local government funding settlement. London Councils have also published a briefing which summarises the new powers given to the Mayor and GLA under the Greater London Authority Act 2007 GLA Act 2007 briefing.
News from the King's Fund
The King's Fund has launched a new project Kicking Bad Habits which will examine how the NHS can influence the health behaviour of individuals.
News from the London Health Observatory
The London Health Observatory has published Intelligent health partnerships 2008 the annual review of the Association of Public Health Observatories for 2007.
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Diary dates and events
The next London regional membership meeting will be on 21st May 2008 starting at 9.30am and will include an opportunity to network over lunch. We will send out further information to members in due course.
In November, the London PCT policy forum held a seminar on commissioning community services. Please contact Rachel Maybank, London Relations Manager, if you would like any further information.
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Contact us
To discuss any of the issues raised in this Update or for any other area of your work in the NHS in London, contact Rachel Maybank, London Relations Manager, at rachel.maybank@nhsconfed.org or on 020 7074 3305.
London newsletter
The NHS Confederation established the London relations programme, funded by London members, in May 2000. Its main purpose was to ensure that the GLA and Mayor had a clear independent point of contact with NHS organisations in London and to influence policy and debate on NHS issues in London.
London council representatives
The London NHS Confederation Council representatives steer the programme.
London PCT policy forum
The London PCT policy forum, hosted by the London NHS Confederation, was established in 2003 to provide an arena for PCT chief executives to debate the key issues affecting primary care in the capital.
London NHS Confederation events
11th October 2007 Health and wellbeing in London seminar
