University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust is to help deliver care closer to home after Coventry was selected to join the first wave of a Government programme.
The National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme (NNHIP) aims to give people easier access to the right care and support to help them to stay well. It will reduce trips to hospital that aren't needed, freeing up appointments and beds for those that need them most.
UHCW developed the bid, one of 43 chosen in the first phase, in partnership with the Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board, primary care colleagues, Coventry City Council and Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust (CWPT).
It will build on the Improving Lives programme launched in June 2024 which transformed Coventry’s urgent care offer by bringing together health and social care teams to support people to lead independent lives in good health.
“As a Trust we aim to be rooted in our communities,” said Chief Executive Officer Professor Andy Hardy.
“We are excited to embark on this journey and look forward to working with partners to deliver better health outcomes for the people we serve.
“Together, we can make a significant difference in the lives of our patients and the overall wellbeing of our local population.”
Each of the areas will be allocated a programme lead who will work with existing local services to help achieve the three keys shifts of the Government’s 10-year Health Plan: hospital to community, analogue to digital and sickness to prevention.
The leads and the nominated place team, using general practice as the cornerstone, will draw together a range of professions to develop a neighbourhood health teams.
These professions will work together around a defined geography in Coventry and could include 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.
Cllr Linda Bigham, Cabinet Member for Adult Services, at Coventry City Council, added:
“This is a really positive step and I’m pleased that Coventry is among the first areas that will develop this neighbourhood approach.
“We already work well with our partners in lots of ways that help to either prevent or minimise the time that someone may stay in hospital. So adding to this type of community-based service will have lots of benefits in many areas of health and wellbeing.”
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.
UHCW has provided all adult community physical health services in Coventry since taking on the role from Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Partnership Trust in July 2024.
Alison Cartwright, Chief Integration Officer at NHS Coventry and Warwickshire ICB, said:
“In Coventry we have already begun the process of planning and delivering NHS and social care services at a more local level and this is an excellent opportunity for Coventry to be at the forefront of the national shift of care from hospital to community.
“Being involved in the first wave of the programme will allow us to build upon and accelerate the work that has already begun locally to join-up health and care services, tailor those services to meet the needs of local people and deliver them in local communities. I’m looking forward to seeing the benefits this programme will have for people across the city.”
Viral Kantaria, Chief Integration Officer for Mental Health, Learning Disabilities and Autism at Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust and NHS Coventry and Warwickshire ICB, said:
“This programme is an important development that will allow all partners across Coventry to strengthen collaboration for the benefits of the local population and communities.
“CWPT looks forward to being an integral part of delivering more joined-up care for Coventry’s citizens, including by sharing deep learning and experience around working with service users and carers to co-produce new models of care, and building on the rich history of mental health services leading the drive across the NHS to shift care into the community.”