The move to an Integrated Care System (ICS) model in NCL means a consistent and coordinated approach to the delivery of services and use of resources. With organisations and teams working in partnership where it improves experience and outcomes for residents. To help us do this, we want to establish ICS leads, who will have responsibility for a portfolio of work across the system. These leads will come from organisations within NCL, but will have accountability for working with system and delivering changes and improvements. We have recently appointed leads for finance and workforce and are delighted to welcome them to the leadership team.

Over the past week we have been busy preparing preliminary plans for the next phase of our response to the pandemic, and we have now submitted our high level plans to NHS England for review. Partners representing councils, public health, commissioners and providers are working very closely to deliver integrated support to help care home staff and residents. Our response has included the provision of support at borough and NCL-wide level, and we are in daily contact with care providers to ensure that resources are targeted where there is most need.

As a key part of our response, we are continuing to work to maximise the number of staff being tested for Covid-19, so far during April over 5,000 staff have been tested. We've introduced a teledermatology pathway for suspected skin cancer referrals at the Royal Free London and Whittington Health hospitals. This provides us with an alternative so that face-to-face dermatology and GP consultations are only given to those patients that must be seen in person, helping us to minimise risk to patients and staff. We have increased community-based bed capacity across North Central London to help us effectively manage the increased demand for acute services resulting from Covid-19 and the subsequent number of hospital discharges.

Regular update: The use of digital technology has been gradually increasing in NCL, and the pace of change has accelerated over the past month as we look for new ways to support our staff and patients. From phone and video consultations in primary care, to supporting residents in care homes separated from their families to stay in touch through Facebook Portals, we are adopting many innovative uses of technology. Providing access to information, intelligence about local communities and tools to keep us connected, digital working has become central to the NCL pandemic response.