Want a neighbourhood health service? Then protect community services from cuts

At the heart of today’s call for proportionate investment between community and acute services was a plea for fairness. As it’s only fair that people are supported to make full recoveries, and are able to access that support whoever and wherever they are in the country.

The alternative is that the millions of people without access to NHS rehab services in their area, and who can’t afford to go private, fall victim to economic inequality when it comes to recovery.

Unfairly, those millions must then put their lives on hold, as their conditions deteriorate, missing out on family times, or the everyday goals that make life so much richer.

The nation's health and wealth is at stake

The impact adds up across the UK, as it hampers people’s ability to return to work or care for a loved one or keep hold of their housing and income.

It adds up for the NHS, too. Giving people proper care outside hospital reduces pressure on the most expensive parts of the NHS system.

We can’t afford for the NHS front door to be a revolving one for patients who aren’t supported to recover. Or for demand on the social care system to spiral as a result.

If the government is to achieve its promised new neighbourhood health service, it must ensure that local decision makers don’t see community services as low-hanging fruit when it comes to cuts. They need to start seeing them as an opportunity to invest in better patient outcomes, long-term health and a way of reducing the gap in healthy life expectancy.

Give us solutions for the long-term

If Britain is to deliver care closer to home, this needs to be backed by proper staffing and infrastructure. Resource allocation for rehabilitation should be on a par with medicines and surgery because while the latter can keep people alive, rehab allows them to live.

To achieve that delivery has to be monitored – and data is notoriously poor in this area. A new neighbourhood health service needs proper measures and monitoring of rehabilitation and other community services to ensure they don’t get the chop when the crises hit.

CEO of Sussex Community Foundation Trust & chair of National Community Network Siobhan Melia is right in saying now is the time to capitalise on the potential for integrated neighbourhood teams within community services. They could indeed deliver the government’s new vision on prevention and personalised care. All our brilliant, innovative, hardworking colleagues in the community have been waiting for are the staffing and structures to do so – and a government with the courage and tenacity to see that it’s followed through at a local level, nationwide.