The Department of Health and Social Care (DH) today (July 9) revealed that it has taken the “first steps” to roll out its flagship “neighbourhood health services”.
The new health hubs were announced last week as part of the government’s 10-year plan for the NHS in England and will see services such as diagnostics, mental health, post-op, rehab and nursing housed under one roof, staffed by “pioneering teams” including pharmacists.
Read more: DH to launch pharmacist-staffed ‘neighbourhood health services’
Now, the DH said that it has today written to health chiefs and local authority chief executives “urging them to team up with local health and care providers, voluntary groups and members of their communities to accelerate the rollout of the services across the country”.
It added that they have been asked to submit applications to join “phase one of the neighbourhood health programme” showing “examples of joined up working and innovation in their areas”.
Read more: ‘You call it neighbourhood healthcare. We call it a Tuesday’
Successful applicants will join “an intensive national coaching programme over the summer, including major workshop days that bring together experts, GPs and their teams, patients, the voluntary sector and local authorities”, it said.
And it revealed that the first 42 sites will “immediately start rolling out their neighbourhood health programmes” from September, with “clear guidance, support and metrics to report on regularly”.
“Working-class areas”
The DH will work with NHS England (NHSE) to ensure that “each region is covered by the programme”, with services prioritised in “working-class areas where healthy life expectancy is lowest”, it said.
“Neighbourhood health services will bring together teams of professionals to focus on patients with multiple long-term conditions and people with complex needs,” it added.
Read more: All the headlines from the government’s NHS 10-year plan
A DH and NHSE “joint taskforce” has been set up to “drive progress”, chaired by Sir John Oldham and made up of NHS leaders, local authority bosses and other key figures from the voluntary sector and health and care organisations, it said.
“Our 10-year health plan committed to building a neighbourhood health service and we’re hitting the ground running on delivering it,” health secretary Wes Streeting said.
“Today, we are issuing an open invitation to local authorities and health services to become pioneer neighbourhood health services and lead the charge of healthcare reform,” he added.
12 hours a day, six days a week
The DH last week revealed that the centres “will eventually be open 12 hours a day, six days a week within local communities”.
They will offer services like debt advice, employment support and stop smoking or weight management as well as bringing “historically hospital-based services into the community”.
Read more: IN FULL: Pharmacy to ‘transition’ from dispensing to clinical services by 2030
Streeting set out that the government aims to have “250 to 300” neighbourhood health centres open “by the end of this plan” – in 2035 – and for 40 to 50 centres to open “over the course of this parliament”.
And he estimated that “the cost of each neighbourhood health centre will vary from the low millions to around £20 million” depending on whether a building needs an “upgrade” or a “new build” is required.
Check the C+D site for the latest on this developing story
