North Central London and North West London ICB agree to merge
The Boards of North West and North Central London Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) have individually approved moving to a full integrated merger.
The decision was made as a response to the government announcement of 50% cuts in operating costs for all Integrated Care Boards (ICB).
The 13 boroughs covered by the new merged ICB will be:
- Barnet
- Brent
- Camden
- Ealing
- Enfield
- Hammersmith and Fulham
- Haringey
- Harrow
- Hillingdon
- Hounslow
- Islington
- Kensington and Chelsea
- Westminster
The ICBs released a statement on 24 July 2025 setting out their reasoning for merger.
It is clear from our work to date that being able to offer scale - as a merged organisation - enables us to be more resilient and cost-effective.
North Central London five Healthwatch response to NHS North Central London and North West London ICB merger
In late June 2025, North Central London Healthwatch (Healthwatch Barnet, Healthwatch Camden, Healthwatch Enfield, Healthwatch Haringey and Healthwatch Islington) received news of a potential merger between North Central London Integrated Care Board (NCL ICB) and the neighbouring North West London Integrated Care Board (NWL ICB).
Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) replaced Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) in the NHS from 1 July 2022. ICBs are NHS statutory organisations that plan, coordinate and commission healthcare activity across their areas.
The merger will create one of England’s largest ICBs, responsible for commissioning health services for approximately 4.5 million residents living in 13 London boroughs and would have a combined revenue of over £6billion. The proposal comes against a background of much change in the NHS.
A new model for NHS Integrated Care Boards
NHS England has recently published an integrated care board model which changes many of the roles and responsibilities of ICBs. Along with providers of health services and regional health authorities, all ICBs have been instructed to reduce their running costs by 50%. The Secretary of State is also committed to three major “shifts” in the NHS that include prioritising prevention services, moving care into neighbourhoods and a move to digitisation.
The government has announced that it is taking the functions of NHS England into the Department of Health and Social Care.
Proposed closure of Healthwatch England and local Healthwatch
The government is proposing to close Healthwatch England and local Healthwatch, and it is intended that the services provided by Healthwatch to patients in England (understanding the needs, experiences, and concerns of people who use health services and speaking out on their behalf) will be delivered by the ICBs instead.
How will the proposed merger impact patient voice?
The five NCL Healthwatch believe it is critical that NCL ICB and NWL ICB set out how a new and expanded ICB will ensure consistent, meaningful and independent representation of the patient voice within local healthcare.
We are writing to leaders of NCL ICB to ask for more details: to understand the new governance arrangements and how accountability to patients will be protected. We will be asking how the change will affect service users and carers, and how our voices will be heard.
We are still here for you
The five NCL Healthwatch would like to stress our continued collective commitment to protecting and strengthening patient voice. We listen to patients and reflect their experiences back to decision-makers, whether that is trying to get a GP appointment or maternity care, waiting for mental health support or the need to care for Long COVID. We have highlighted inequalities in treatment and argued for improvements. We shall continue to do so throughout this period of change.
More news and updates to follow.
North Central London Healthwatch
(Healthwatch Barnet, Healthwatch Camden, Healthwatch Enfield, Healthwatch Haringey and Healthwatch Islington)
