Healthier Greenwich Partnership recognised as UK Government Neighbourhood Health Trailblazer

Stone King is delighted to see the Healthier Greenwich Partnership (HGP) selected as one of six trailblazer sites in the UK Government's new Neighbourhood Health Investment Partnership, recognising its innovative approach to delivering more joined-up, community-focused health and care services. The programme aims to bring together local services, communities and impact investors to improve outcomes, tackle health inequalities and provide more support closer to home.

Developing new models for collaboration

The initiative is backed by £1.5 million from the Office for the Impact Economy, in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support and Social Finance, and forms part of the Government's wider ambition to shift care from hospitals into communities and focus on prevention rather than crisis intervention. Macmillan has committed to invest £250 million in neighbourhood health across the UK over the next 3 to 5 years and intends to act as a cornerstone investor in the trailblazer sites, helping to attract other partners and investors and increase the funding available to transform care closer to home. Social Finance will provide specialist expertise in innovative finance and investment models, helping sites develop approaches capable of mobilising impact investment.

Over the past 12 months, Stone King’s experts in public service transformation and multi-sector collaboration, have worked alongside Healthier Greenwich Partnership to support the design and future governance of its integrated neighbourhood working model.

Led by Sandra Hamilton, Stone King's Transforming Public Services Consultant, working closely with Partners, Julian Blake and Lucas Atkin, Stone King has facilitated a series of Design Labs bringing together partners from across the health, social care and voluntary sectors. The work has focused on developing a collaborative model involving the Integrated Care Board, acute services, community mental health services, Primary Care Networks, Royal Borough of Greenwich social care teams and voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise organisations.

At the heart of the programme is a commitment to work beyond organisational boundaries to place the needs of Greenwich residents first, creating a more integrated system that delivers earlier support and better outcomes for local communities.

Procurement to Partnership

As part of this work, Stone King has supported partners in reimagining new ways of working and developing governance arrangements that will underpin future collaboration.
This includes the development of a memorandum of understanding designed to support integrated working across organisations. It is anticipated that this will evolve into a Community Partnership Alliance model, creating a distinct public benefit entity capable of attracting further investment and supporting long-term sustainability.
Stone King's involvement also extends to collaborating with Social Finance to foster a more enabling regulatory environment for the future models needed to attract co-investment in People Focused Services.

National recognition for pioneering work

Under the Government's announcement, the Healthier Greenwich Partnership and Lewisham Health and Care Partnership were recognised for their integrated neighbourhood models covering long-term conditions, frailty, cancer and end-of-life care, building on existing neighbourhood teams while strengthening support for people most at risk of poor health outcomes.

Commenting on the announcement, Sandra Hamilton, Transforming Public Services Consultant at Stone King, said: "This recognition reflects the vision, commitment and collaborative leadership of everyone involved in the Healthier Greenwich Partnership. It has been a privilege to support partners as they develop innovative ways of working that place citizens at the heart of service design and delivery. Greenwich is demonstrating what can be achieved when organisations work together around a shared vision to improve lives and tackle inequalities."

The selection of Healthier Greenwich Partnership as a national trailblazer site reflects the strength of the collaboration and highlights the growing importance of neighbourhood-based models of care in shaping the future of public services.

Read the Government announcement: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/six-neighbourhood-health-trailblazers-to-transform-care