Neighbourhood health: paving the way for healthier, more independent lives

Over the past two weeks there have been a number of papers and policy announcements on neighbourhood healthcare. At IMPOWER we have been involved in a range of conversations with system leaders, and national policy makers, on how to turn neighbourhood care into a reality.

What I have taken from these conversations is that the potential for neighbourhood health is massive, indeed potentially revolutionary. However, for this potential to be realised the public sector has to rethink the relationship between centre and localities, and indeed between institutions and individuals.

Rethinking these fundamental relationships will take time; so perhaps better to think about evolution rather than revolution. Whilst we figure that out, we need to set sensible success metrics in 2025/26 so that neighbourhood health services demonstrate their value sufficiently and remain a priority. I think this really means that neighbourhood health services have to prove that they are capable of absorbing some of the patients who are currently supported in the urgent and emergency care system. Or, to put it bluntly, we have to prove that neighbourhood working can prevent people from going to hospital and instead keep them safely at home.

I realise that this version of ‘success’ falls somewhere short of the full revolutionary potential of neighbourhood working. But it is a start. Practically speaking, to get started in this first year, systems will build on their existing services and architecture. If we can prove that neighbourhood health can make a quantifiable difference then we will start to create confidence.

With confidence we can be more ambitious. So, at the same time as delivering practical impact, I think that now is the time for local system leaders to come together and state their longer-term ambitions for neighbourhood health services. This is the time, an opportunity to get leaders excited by imagining what the future could look like, creating a true north to work towards. Turning this into a charter signed by all system partners then creates a foundational point, a reference to come back to when the journey gets tricky.

From all the conversations we’ve had, I am making two recommendations:

1) Be practical and use this year to demonstrate the material impact of neighbourhood working to build momentum and confidence.

2) Think big, look beyond this year, set your ambition, and be radical. Neighbourhood working at scale and driven by innovation could change how people experience the state in their lives and could create healthier more independent futures.

IMPOWER’s EDGEWORK approach to delivering sustainable change can help with both. If you would like to talk about how we can support you with this, please get in touch.