Neighbourhood health in action

Professor Andrew Corbett-Nolan highlights some pioneering work being done in Derbyshire

The NHS 10-Year Plan, launched by Secretary of State Wes Streeting, places neighbourhood health services at its core, aiming to shift healthcare delivery towards prevention and community-based care. A standout example, highlighted by Streeting himself, is the innovative work at Derby and Derbyshire, where local place alliances have become a model for the envisioned neighbourhoods.

Through their ‘Team Up’ approach, Derby and Derbyshire have developed a robust out-of-hospital healthcare system, demonstrating tangible results and positioning the region as a leader in integrated care.

This article explores the transformative work of local GPs, Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Trust, Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), and partners such as DHU Healthcare CIC, supported by GGI.

The Team Up approach: a blueprint for neighbourhood health

The Team Up Derby and Derbyshire initiative, a cornerstone of the ICB’s healthcare strategy, brings together primary care, community services, mental health, adult social care, and the voluntary sector to provide holistic care for individuals unable to leave home without support.

Unlike a new service, Team Up integrates existing services, creating additional capacity to deliver both preventative and urgent care. The programme, advanced by 18 primary care networks (PCNs) across Derby and Derbyshire, covers the entire population of 1,053,000. It includes rapid response nursing and therapy services, adult social care rapid response, falls prevention, and enhanced care in care homes, ensuring residents receive timely support to avoid hospital admissions.

Case studies on the Joined Up Care Derbyshire website highlight Team Up's impact, such as addressing housing, debt, and isolation alongside clinical needs, improving health outcomes and quality of life. One resident’s testimony encapsulates the approach: “Thank you for making my mum so comfortable last week. The last days of her 98 years were filled with compassion and respect.”

Local place alliances: empowering communities

Derby and Derbyshire’s eight local place alliances are central to the Team Up model, aligning partners from primary care, local authorities, NHS trusts, police, education, and the voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) sector. These alliances, while locally owned and reporting to the ICB, devolve responsibility to the neighbourhood level, fostering community ownership and tailored solutions to local challenges like debt management and social isolation. The alliances’ inclusive organisation, which incorporates community representatives, ensures that local knowledge informs service delivery. This strength-based, distributed leadership model has built trust and collaboration, though challenges remain, such as navigating organisational silos and provides the inspiration for aligning governance across partners as it develops. The NHS Confederation notes the model’s success in improving health and wellbeing, driven by local leadership and a commitment to prevention-focused care.

GGI’s role in strengthening governance

For 18 months, GGI has supported Derby and Derbyshire’s work, initially aiding PCNs with action learning sets to enhance governance. More recently, the GGI team (Aidan Rave, Maurizio Cuttin and me) working with Derby and Derbyshire has focused on facilitating the place-based alliances as they take the first steps to develop enabling governance structures for the new neighbourhoods, allowing them to take on greater responsibilities under the NHS 10-Year Plan.

GGI praises the region’s proof of concept through Team Up, positioning it as a learning hub for others. On October 22, 2025, GGI will host a webinar featuring Dr. Penny Blackwell, Place Partnerships Clinical Chair, Jim Austin, Chief Executive of Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Trust, and Nicki Doherty from the ICB, showcasing this pioneering work.

Excellence in community services

Derby and Derbyshire’s success is underpinned by the outstanding performance of Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Trust, rated ‘Good’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in 2023, with notable strengths in safety, responsiveness, and leadership. The trust’s rapid response services and falls prevention initiatives align seamlessly with Team Up, ensuring high-quality, community-based care. Similarly, DHU Healthcare CIC, a community interest company managing out-of-hospital services, has earned CQC praise for outstanding patient-centred care, particularly in responsiveness and inclusivity.

These organisations’ quiet innovation has created a robust foundation for the neighbourhood model, reducing reliance on acute services.

Leadership and innovation

The region’s progress owes much to its under-the-radar innovators: local GPs like Dr. Penny Blackwell, whose leadership was highlighted during the NHS 10-Year Plan launch, the dedicated teams at Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Trust, and the ICB under chief executive Dr. Chris Clayton and chair Dr. Kathy McLean OBE.

DHU Healthcare CIC’s collaborative efforts have further strengthened the system. Together, these partners have built a cohesive, prevention-focused healthcare model that prioritises equity and community needs. Their work, supported by the ICB’s £2.9 billion budget, demonstrates how integrated care can deliver sustainable, high-quality outcomes.

Place your bets: this is a model for the future

Derby and Derbyshire’s neighbourhood health services, through Team Up and local place alliances, exemplify the NHS 10-Year Plan’s vision. By fostering collaboration, enhancing governance, and prioritising prevention, the region is ahead of the curve, offering a scalable model for others. The upcoming GGI webinar will amplify this success, sharing lessons from a system that blends clinical excellence with community empowerment.

As the NHS evolves, Derby and Derbyshire stand as a beacon of what integrated, out-of-hospital care can achieve. In fact, they have been quietly just getting on with it for years.