This week Talking General Practice is looking at the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme - or NNHIP. This is the NHS England and government programme to support the development of neighbourhood health with 43 pioneer sites across England leading the way to test how integrated neighbourhood teams and neighbourhood approaches can better support patients.

To find out what this looks like on the frontline, Emma speaks to leaders from two of those pioneer sites.

Dr Zalan Alam, a GP in Rochdale, discusses his work in intermediate care and the importance of building trust across care boundaries to tackle frailty and reduce unnecessary hospital admissions.

Meanwhile, Rachel Stead, strategic PCN manager for South Sefton PCN, shares the success of their innovative adverse childhood experiences programme and highlights the need for infrastructure and funding to ensure neighbourhood working is sustainable for general practice.

Zalan and Rachel discuss the reality of integrated working, what the future could hold, and why general practice must remain the cornerstone of any successful neighbourhood model.

This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower. It was produced by Czarina Deen

Useful links

• As part of the MIMS Healthcare Network, GPonline has produced a new report for our subscribers on neighbourhood health - view the report here.
• National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme website
• Sefton’s adverse childhood experiences programme
• Could new PCN rules make neighbourhood contracts redundant?

MIMS Learning Live

MIMS Learning Live South is returning to London on Friday 12 June 2026, and tickets are free to book.

This is your chance to boost your clinical know-how, connect with peers from across the UK, and gain fresh insights that can make a real difference in your patients’ lives. This year’s clinical programme covers issues including obesity management, paediatrics, women's health and cardiology.

We’re also running a GP Business hub stream aimed at GP partners, practice managers and PCN managers, which will cover practice finance, neighbourhood working, using AI in practice and how to meet the challenges of rising patient demand.

Get your tickets here www.mimslearninglive.com/south

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The GPonline team talks about collective action, after the BMA GP committee narrowly voted in favour of the move, what that action involves and what needs to happen to resolve the dispute.

They look at the practice-level reimbursement scheme for GPs, how that is going to work and some of the issues and challenges the scheme could present.

And they discuss some late changes to the network contract DES - the contract that governs how primary care networks work - which will allow ICBs to introduce local variations to help develop neighbourhoods and what that could all mean in practice.

In our good news story this week, Emma reflects on a conference on tackling health inequalities she attended this week and the great work going on in many local communities.

This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower, deputy editor Nick Bostock and senior reporter Kimberley Hackett. It was produced by Czarina Deen.

Useful links

BMA lays out collective action roadmap and escalation plan

Will GPs unite behind collective action?

NHS Modernisation Bill to introduce single patient record

Practice-level GP reimbursement scheme limited to salaried GPs

Restrictive GP contract changes 'will not boost access'

Could new PCN rules make neighbourhood contracts redundant?

PCNs should refuse contract variations if work is not properly funded, says BMA

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emma speaks to Dr John Ribchester, a GP partner at Whitstable Medical Practice in Kent, a practice that is frequently cited as a leading example of the ‘neighbourhood NHS’ in action. The practice has spent years shifting services like diagnostics, day surgery, and urgent care out of hospital and into the community.

John explains the journey his practice took to develop this model, including the financial risks involved in building GP-owned premises capable of housing consultant clinics, diagnostics and an urgent treatment centre and why he believes working as a single-practice PCN has helped them to do this.

He also highlights some of the challenges the practice has faced along the way and the changes he thinks the government could introduce to make working in this way easier. And he offers some practical advice for GPs and primary care teams looking to create change from the ground up.

• As part of the MIMS Healthcare Network, GPonline has produced a new report for our subscribers on neighbourhood health - view the report here..

This episode was produced by Czarina Deen.

MIMS Learning Live

MIMS Learning Live South is returning to London on Friday 12 June 2026, and tickets are free to book.

This is your chance to boost your clinical know-how, connect with peers from across the UK, and gain fresh insights that can make a real difference in your patients’ lives. This year’s clinical programme covers issues including obesity management, paediatrics, women's health and cardiology.

We’re also running a GP Business hub stream aimed at GP partners, practice managers and PCN managers, which will cover practice finance, neighbourhood working, using AI in practice and how to meet the challenges of rising patient demand.

Get your tickets here www.mimslearninglive.com/south

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.