Thousands in Peterborough set to benefit from new 'neighbourhood health service'
Thousands are set to benefit from healthcare on their doorstep as a new Government neighbourhood health service is rolled out in Peterborough.
The services will target working class areas with lowest life expectancy and longest waits – to tackle what the Government calls the “nation’s stark and unjust health inequalities”.
The city is one of 43 locations selected as pioneer areas for the new services, backed by £10 million.
The aim is to bring health and care services such as diagnostics, mental health, outpatients, post-op, rehab, nursing and social care closer to home.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: "I'm particularly proud that Peterborough has been selected as one of our pioneering sites, and I'm pleased that local residents will be among the first to benefit from this transformed approach to healthcare.
“Through our Plan for Change, we will stop people from being bounced around a broken system as we get the health service back on its feet.”
Each of the areas will be allocated a programme lead who will work with existing local services to set up a new neighbourhood health service.
A spokesperson for the Department for Health & Social Care explained: “The move will bring together leaders from across local healthcare, the voluntary sector, and the wider community to design services around communities, not organisations.
"The leads, using General Practice as the cornerstone, will draw together a range of professions to develop a ‘neighbourhood health team’ consisting of community nurses, hospital doctors, social care workers, pharmacists, dentists, optometrists, paramedics, social prescribers, local government organisations and the voluntary sector – giving people easier access to the right care and support on their doorstep.”
Neighbourhood health will benefit patients by providing end-to-end care and tailored support, looking beyond the condition at wider causes of health issues, helping to avoid unnecessary trips to hospital, prevent complications and avoid the frustration of being passed around the system.
They will initially focus on supporting people with long term conditions such as diabetes, arthritis, angina, high blood pressure, MS, or epilepsy - in areas with the highest deprivation. As the programme grows, it will expand to support other patients and priority cohorts.
The wave one programme began on 9 September - with the ambition to scale up more services over the course of the next year.