Working with residents to develop neighbourhood health and care
Lambeth residents are helping to shape a new joined-up neighbourhood health and care approach. Recent workshops, surveys and focus groups run by Healthwatch Lambeth and culminating in their Integrated Neighbourhood Teams (INTs) Community Engagement Report – show a strong call for local, connected and preventive services that are easier to access, more personal, and rooted in community life.
Listening to residents across Lambeth
Over the past year, Lambeth Together, Healthwatch Lambeth and the Neighbourhood Wellbeing and Delivery Alliance (NWDA) have worked with residents, carers, community organisations and health and social care professionals to gather views on developing Integrated Neighbourhood Teams (INTs). Engagement included community workshops, a multilingual survey with over 250 responses, and focus groups with older adults, carers, LGBTQIA+ residents, parents, children and young people and people who need support with their mental health.
Leading the transition to Neighbourhood healthcare in Lambeth is Dr George Verghese, GP Partner at Waterloo Health Centre and Clinical Director of North Lambeth Primary Care Network who said: “Involving people and communities in the planning and development of our Integrated Neighbourhood Teams is vital to helping us understand how we can build trusted local services that work for those they serve. It’s important to continue this conversation to make neighbourhood healthcare sustainable and responsive to the needs of local people”.
What matters most to local people
Residents consistently highlighted the importance of clear communication, trust, and continuity of care. People want services that are easy to navigate, culturally responsive, trauma-informed and based in familiar local spaces such as libraries, community centres and high streets. There is strong support for health and social care working together with the voluntary sector, particularly around housing, benefits advice and mental health support.
The shift towards prevention and local care
Feedback strongly supports a move from hospital-based treatment to community-based, preventive care. Residents prioritised physical activity, healthy eating, mental wellbeing and early intervention to stay well and avoid hospital visits. While digital tools can help, many said they prefer face-to-face services, underlining the need for a range of options that do not exclude those with lower digital confidence.
Anthony Davis, Engaging with Communities Clinical and Care Professional Lead said: “What we are hearing from residents is a clear message: neighbourhood care must feel human, local and joined-up. When health, social care and community organisations work as one team, we can reduce waiting times, improve trust and support people to stay well for longer”.
Read the report
Read the Healthwatch Lambeth INT Community Engagement Report
What happens next and how you can get involved
Insights from this engagement are shaping the next phase of integrated neighbourhood health and care design in Lambeth. To hear about upcoming engagement activities and online updates, sign up to our ‘Get Involved’ newsletter at lambethtogether@selondonics.nhs.uk
A Lambeth Together priority
This work directly supports Lambeth Together’s priority to develop neighbourhood-based, joined-up health and care, bringing services closer to home, reducing inequalities and focusing on prevention. By listening to residents and co-designing Integrated Neighbourhood Teams (INTs), partners are delivering on the ambitions set out in the Lambeth Health and Care Plan to improve access, coordination and outcomes through local collaboration.
Find out more about Integrated Neighbourhood Teams