Overcoming the challenges of delivering neighbourhood health
The NHS’s Ten Year Plan is centred around the shift from hospital to the community, and the reintegration of healthcare into the social fabric of places through the Neighbourhood Health Service.
The NHS aims to establish a Neighbourhood Health Centre in every community, beginning with places facing the highest health inequalities and experiencing the greatest need. One-stop-shops for patient care, and with multi-disciplinary teams from the health, social care, voluntary and third sectors, these centres will bring care to the places people live, avoiding the need for people to travel to hospital sites unless absolutely necessary.
This may seem like a basic premise, but delivering the Neighbourhood Health Service is far from simple. We’ve got six examples of how health organisations we’ve worked with across the country have successfully met challenges around the shift from hospitals to the community.
Understanding your neighbourhoods
Bimingham and Solihull face significant health inequalities, with health and social care challenges varying dramatically between communities. Their ICB estates team uses the analysis and insight tool SHAPE to focus in on their different localities, supporting their relocation of services from main hospitals into the community. This means patients don’t have to make long journeys to congested hospital sites, but instead can access services closer to home.
Reducing the impact of population growth
The North Yorkshire town of Catterick hosts the largest British Army garrison in the world, and is predicted to double its population from 13,000 to 25,000 people. The new Catterick Integrated Care Campus will house primary care, advanced primary care, mental health services, physiotherapy and voluntary and community healthcare support providers, all in one building. The new facility will help integrate services and improve local people’s quality of life by giving them access to the right care, at the right time.
Adapting for the neighbourhoods of the future
It’s vital that any new Neighbourhood Health Centres are flexible enough to be able to adapt to the changing needs of healthcare and the local population.
When West Hull Health Hub was constructed in 2021, it provided a purpose-built facility to replace an outdated and oversubscribed medical centre. Room sizes were standardised to ensure they can be repurposed and accommodate a variety of uses, and the floor layouts are flexible so can be changed in future, if necessary. The building can flex to meet the changing needs of people in the community, meaning it’s always meeting the needs of patients.
Building a greener future
Work doesn’t stop once your new Neighbourhood Health Centre is built and operational. It’s important to maximise the efficiency of the building, supporting the NHS on its journey to net zero, and cutting energy costs for tenants.
Marfleet Health Centre in Hull has had a programme of work to make it more sustainable. From replacing thousands of light fixtures with low energy LEDs, to fitting 166 photovolatic panels on the roof, these improvements are reducing tonnes of carbon emissions per year, and saving the NHS over £10,000 in energy bills annually. The next step will be improving energy efficiency by carrying out voltage optimisation on the centre’s electrical systems. That’s money that can be better used to improve the patient experience and health outcomes.
Thinking beyond primary care
The Jean Bishop Integrated Care Centre in Hull was constructed to provide an innovative way to care for older people in the community. A team of clinicians, physiotherapists, social workers and voluntary service workers collaborate to produce a care plan for frail and elderly people, ensuring they are kept fit, out of hospital, and living independently at home or within their care setting.
Measured outcomes show that compared to the twelve months before the introduction of the ICC, emergency room attendance fell by 53%, and occupied bed days fell by more than 71% among moderately or severely frail people.
Working together in partnership
Explore The Reginald Centre in Leeds, a true Neighbourhood Health Centre that brings together multiple partners from across the public and private sectors to bring care into the community.
If we can help you plan, deliver or operate your Neighbourhood Health Centres, get in touch.
Our other work
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