One vision, one neighbourhood, one team
A genuine neighbourhood health service is the new vision for the NHS. It aims to help people live well by shifting resources from hospitals to community-based services and providing care closer to home.
Neighbourhood health brings together GPs, community teams, social workers, mental health professionals and voluntary organisations. Working as one team, they share information and goals to better support local people.
In Kent, we have already started to make this vision a reality. Charlotte North met some of the teams and patients benefiting from a new way of working. It reflects the neighbourhood-based care of the past while embracing the future, using technology to create joined-up NHS services that work for patients.
From a nurse - real care starts at home
I have spent most of my career as a nurse and one lesson has stayed with me throughout: People do not experience their health in neat boxes.
Physical health, mental wellbeing, home life, relationships and surroundings are all connected. Neighbourhood care starts from that simple truth.
For too long, support has too often stepped in only once someone has reached crisis point. By then, life can feel overwhelming. Neighbourhood care is about changing that pattern. It means recognising earlier when things start to become more difficult and offering support that helps people stay well and independent for longer, in the place where they feel most comfortable.
As a nurse, you quickly learn that what makes the biggest difference is not a single appointment or treatment. It is feeling known, listened to and supported.
So, what does this mean for patients? Care should feel simpler and more joined up. Instead of lots of different services working separately, professionals come together as one neighbourhood team.
Communication is clearer, decisions happen earlier and people do not have to repeat their story again and again.
Support can also come sooner. That might be a conversation, a home visit or practical advice that prevents a small concern becoming a bigger problem. For people living with more complex needs, neighbourhood care means one shared plan shaped around what matters most to them.
The stories that follow show what this looks like for people across Kent. They are stories of staying independent, being supported at home and receiving care that feels human, timely and joined up.
What makes a neighbourhood?
Single neighbourhood teams
Serving communities of around 30,000 to 50,000 people, single neighbourhood teams focus on local residents and their day-to-day health and wellbeing needs. By bringing together GP services, pharmacies, dental care, mental health support and other community services, teams can identify concerns earlier and respond more quickly.
Instead of people having to navigate multiple services and appointments, professionals work together to provide coordinated care that helps people stay well, maintain their independence and avoid unnecessary hospital visits.
Multi-neighbourhood teams
Multi-neighbourhood teams work across a larger population of m ore than 250,000 people. They support neighbourhood teams by providing specialist services and expertise that require greater resources or a wider reach.
This includes services such as specialist end-of-life care and tissue viability. By working closely with neighbourhood teams, they help ensure people can access the right level of support when they need it, while still receiving care as close to home as possible.
Johns Hopkins Patient Need Groups (PNGs)
Patient Need Groups (PNGs) use information already recorded in your health record to place you into one of 11 groups. Your number is based on factors such as long-term health conditions, recent use of healthcare services and any wider health or care needs you may have. The higher the number, the more complex your health or support needs may be. However, your number can change over time as your circumstances and health needs change.
A PNG does not define who you are. It is simply a tool that helps the NHS understand how best to plan services and provide the right support at the right time.
Find out more about PNGs: Patient need groups (PNG) | Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust
