Our population
North East London is one of the largest and most diverse health and care systems in England, serving more than 2.4 million people across seven London boroughs and the City of London.
Our population is young, diverse and growing, with further growth of around 13% anticipated over the next decade. The wider health and care workforce comprises more than 130,000 people, while NHS North East London is responsible for commissioning the majority of NHS services for our communities and managing a healthcare budget of nearly £4 billion.
This is a significant period of change for NHS North East London. As the ICB evolves towards its role as a strategic commissioner, our refreshed System Strategy and Strategic Commissioning Plan provide the framework for improving population health, reducing inequalities and creating a more sustainable health and care system.
Central to this are the three national shifts: from hospital to community, from sickness to prevention and from analogue to digital.
North East London combines considerable strengths with significant inequalities. More than one in four residents live in areas ranked among the 20% most deprived in England, while our communities are among the most ethnically and culturally diverse in the country. This creates both an imperative and an opportunity to use population insight, strategic commissioning and partnership working to allocate resources differently and improve equity of access, experience and outcomes.
We also have some very specific health challenges. More North East London babies are born with low birth weight and the uptake of childhood vaccinations are lower than the national and London average. For adults some of our levels of poor mental health are the highest in the country; we have a higher percentage who are physically inactive while one in four adults have a long-term health condition.
Our community is our strongest asset
Delivering good care depends on robust partnerships across North East London. We work collaboratively with local authorities, NHS bodies, community organisations and local residents, fostering a culture of high trust. This collective approach allows us to unite in meeting the needs of our communities.
Maintaining a strong and engaged system across North East London is crucial for achieving our long-term objectives. Through effective partnerships, we are able to adapt and respond to the system’s priorities collectively, recognising the unique contributions of each partner and the strength of working together to overcome shared challenges.
Building community resilience is key to delivering our strategy. Our communities have the potential to lead the improvements in preventing illness, improving health and reducing inequalities. We will work with them and use all our resources to build on the assets of individuals, families and communities:
- The people of North East London – over two million people bringing vibrancy and diversity, sharing what is important to them, co-producing services, delivering solutions and taking greater control over their own health and well-being.
- Neighbourhoods – the development of neighbourhoods, across NEL, familiar to the communities they serve, strongly rooted in local communities, enabling local capacity and connection.
- Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise organisations – thousands of community organisations, engaging with local people, directly delivering services.
- Primary care – Our GP practices, community pharmacies, dental practices and optometrists key to meeting the changing needs of our communities.
- Our workforce – one of the largest collective employers in North East London, with over 130,000 people working locally in health and care.