How neighbourhood health can move care out of hospitals

There is a common misconception that healthcare still only happens within hospitals. 

While it is true that additional resources have typically been focused within hospitals, most of healthcare already happens closer to home. Whether it’s community pharmacies, GP surgeries, immunisations or screening services, so much great care is already provided in our communities – and often at a much lower cost.

However, these services are disjointed. NHS, social care, commercial providers and the voluntary sector have the opportunity to deliver real value but often struggle to work together. That’s where neighbourhood health comes in.

What is neighbourhood health?

Neighbourhood health is a model of care that helps people live healthier lives within their local areas by moving care outside of hospitals and into communities. 

It has been a key priority for government, with the shift from hospital to community being a cornerstone of the recently published 10 Year Health Plan.

How can we use neighbourhood health to move healthcare out of hospitals?

To reduce pressure on hospitals and improve health outcomes, we need to continue to move health services out of hospitals and closer to the places where people spend their time. There are a few ways we can do this.

Meet people where they are

People want to be able to access healthcare services easily and conveniently. Bringing them closer to home can enable this.

By listening to communities, we can make sure that services work for them – particularly for groups that are currently underserved. Offering services like health checks, screenings and mental health services locally can help make preventative services more accessible and reduce pressure on hospitals.

Create the conditions for people to be healthy

Access to healthcare services alone won’t solve the problem – we also need to make sure that the places that people spend their time are good for their health.

Firstly, we need to ensure that the healthiest choice is always the easiest choice. Significant progress has been made in this area already with the recently passed Tobacco and Vapes Bill; further action now needs to be taken to reduce the impact of harmful products and industries.

Improving public spaces is also crucial. Whether it be on our local high street, at work or in our local leisure centre, the places we spend our time need to be improved to make sure they have the best impact on our health. 

Ensuring sufficient funding and workforce support

None of these changes can happen without enough money and people to deliver them.

Despite record growth in NHS funding over the last decade, the large majority of spend has gone to hospital care. Local authorities, education, the voluntary sector and public services have experienced significant pressures. Any serious plan for neighbourhood health must address this.

We also need the right workforce to deliver neighbourhood health services. There are countless people working outside of hospital and clinical roles who are already having a significant impact on the health of the public. We need to support, train and invest in these people if we want to realise the benefits.

Reaping the benefits of neighbourhood health

Moving care out of hospitals and into communities can tackle inequalities, support people to lead healthier lives and support economic growth. To do this, we need to meet people where they are, create the conditions for people to be healthy and ensure there is sufficient support for the shift to happen.

The public are clear about their desire for healthier neighbourhoods. Now we need to make it happen.