Neighbourhood Health Services - The Church and the 10 year plan

On 3rd July, the government released their long awaited 10 year plan. The plan outlines the renewed direction of the NHS in response to the Darzi review of summer 2024. It revolves around three shifts: 

• Hospital to community
• Analogue to digital
• Treatment to prevention

The heart of the plan is to move healthcare as close to home as possible for the majority of people. This will make it easy and quick to access, ensure sustainable outcomes and reduce pressure on GPs and hospitals. The watch word for Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health, has been ‘neighbourhood’- the new epicentre of health and social care. 

‘Neighbourhood Health Services’ will be carried out by Integrated Neighbourhood Teams which are already being mobilised in 42 of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the country. Local Authorities are being asked to form partnerships with local health and care providers, voluntary groups and members of the community so that they can take on collective responsibility for neighbourhood health services in September. 

Integrated Neighbourhood Teams are to bring together a range of professionals, across health, social care and community services in order to provide holistic care for patients with multiple long term conditions or complex needs. 

In the longer term, the government is also planning to deliver Neighbourhood Health Centres which will function as a ‘one stop shop’ for access to health services. These will include staff such as nurses, doctors, social workers, pharmacists, health visitors, debt counsellors, employment support, and other community groups and volunteers. 

Neighbourhood Health Services offer the local church an opportunity to collaborate with the NHS to support our local communities. Our research into faith and social prescribing demonstrated that faith groups offer a wide range of community support services- from befriending schemes, to drop-ins, grief cafes to parent and toddler groups. These, and many others, are the kind of voluntary sector support that Neighbourhood Health Teams will need to collaborate with in order to ensure more sustainable outcomes for individuals and communities. 

As Integrated Care Boards, Local Authorities and other health and social care teams start to build Integrated Neighbourhood Teams, we encourage you to get in touch with your local services to share what you’re doing in your church and how you might be able to support the local community. Our how-to guide for faith leaders is a great place to start. You can fill out the Fact Finding Sheet and share it with your local Social Prescribing Link Worker, GP surgery, and with your local VSCE infrastructure. 

Please get in touch if you have stories to share of working alongside other professionals in the development of the Neighbourhood Health Teams.