London healthcare: Review to investigate provision
An independent review will investigate healthcare provision in London, the mayor's office has announced.
The commission will focus on whether the specific needs of the city's diverse population are adequately understood by government.
It will also look at the sustainability of healthcare services and if research institutions are properly supported.
The review has been set up to pre-empt a report by NHS England on how health services are changing.
That is due to be released next month.
London faces particular challenges such as a rising population that is the most ethnically diverse in England, according to the mayor's office.
It says health inequalities persist and parts of London have some of the highest child poverty rates in the country; infection rates for TB, HIV and conditions such as sickle cell disease are also higher in London, as are rates for people with mental ill-health.
Outcomes for cancer can also vary widely, depending on where you live or are treated, which is exacerbated by still too low early detection rates, it added.
A report released in June by the thinktank King's Fund said the NHS in London was at risk of being "financially unsustainable" unless organisational changes were made.
It said four of the five most financially challenged NHS trusts - with a joint deficit of £120m - were in London.