South West London CCG Annual Report and Accounts 2020/21

Four workstreams have been identified: • Commissioning of Healthcare Innovation – developing new technologies, policies or services to help improve people’s health. • Population Health Management – using current and historical patient data and insights to shape and develop the services we provide. • Digital Enablement – making sure that all our health and care organisations are using the right digital technologies and infrastructure to meet the needs of healthcare professionals and patients. • Workforce Evolution – making sure that our health and care staff understand our plans and have the skills to use new technologies in their day-to-day work. The ‘NHS is here for you’ during lock-down Reassuring local people that the NHS remains open and is here for them if they need it has been a key part of our work since the pandemic began, with a focus on GP services, mental health services, attending hospital appointments and keeping safe. We saw in the first national lockdown a drop in those accessing health services as local people were reluctant to put additional pressure on the NHS or risk potentially contracting the virus from a health setting. Throughout the year we have continued to reassure local people through community and stakeholder engagement and have run a series of innovative social media campaigns to support national television and advertising campaigns. One of our clinicians’ major concerns for the health service during the pandemic has been the knowledge that there are some people who may have worrying cancer symptoms who are still not contacting their GP. During the summer, there was a 20% decrease in the number of people being referred to cancer services. Alongside this, there was a significant delay in people receiving cancer screenings due to the pandemic, especially for breast cancer. Cancer referrals have increased as the year has gone on, though we are not back to pre-pandemic levels yet, suggesting that there are potentially many people in the community who are not receiving the care and treatment they need. In response to this, we have increased communications activity to encourage people to attend screening if they are invited and to talk to their GP if they have worrying symptoms, reassuring them that GP practices are safe and reminding people that many appointments are now available over the phone or by video call. You can view the ‘Keeping You Safe’ films for each of our boroughs on our website at www.swlondonccg.nhs.uk/your-area The mental health impact of the pandemic We have supported and worked with South West London and St George’s Mental Health Trust and with South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust to understand the mental health impact of the pandemic. Annual Report and Accounts 2020/21 | 35