Neighbourhood health teams to bring care closer to home in south east London

From 1 April 2026, multi-agency and multi-disciplinary teams are coming together across south east London to provide more joined-up, accessible and personalised care for local communities.

Integrated Neighbourhood Teams (INTs) will bring together experts from across health, social care, housing and voluntary services – including GPs, nurses, and pharmacists – into single teams ensuring people can access the care and support they need closer to home.

The move to ‘neighbourhood health’ was set out in the Government’s 10 Year Health Plan in 2025, which described a future model of healthcare rooted in local communities as opposed to centred around hospital care.

By helping people stay well as opposed to simply treating them when they are ill, neighbourhood teams will become active partners in the long-term health and wellbeing of local communities, as well as freeing up hospital resource and capacity for those who need it most.

In Lambeth and Southwark, this work builds on strong historic relationships between our NHS and local authority partners. It is being led by Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, Lambeth General Practice Provider Alliance, Improving Health and Quay Health Solutions, who are working in partnership to support the roll-out of INTs on behalf of all local partners.

The initial focus in these boroughs will be on three priority areas which have been identified as benefitting most from the new approach:

• children and young people
• multiple long-term conditions
• frailty and end of life care

The teams will use population health data to identify residents who need support early, prioritising those experiencing the highest levels of health inequalities. They will also look beyond immediate clinical symptoms to address the wider determinants of health—the social and environmental factors that influence a person's wellbeing.

Reflecting the strong existing relationships in south east London, the partnership has also been selected as a pilot site for the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme which means it is being supported to test this new model of care on behalf of the entire country.

Published: Apr 7, 2026