Helen Salisbury: We need a clearly communicated vision for neighbourhood plans

It’s been a year since the publication of the NHS 10 year plan, but still no one seems sure about the details of its proposed “neighbourhood health service.”1 I keep wondering whether I’ve missed an important document that sets out the actual vision and reveals what practical benefits these new structures will offer my patients.As far as I can gather, the big idea behind neighbourhoods is that different parts of the health service, together with local authorities and the community and voluntary sectors, will work together to provide efficient, integrated care, close to where patients live. If this is giving a sense of déjà vu, it’s because we heard very similar ambitions when integrated care boards (ICBs) first appeared and “place based partnerships” were in vogue.2 These ambitions were sadly not realised, but the concept of having a team of people who know the local population (along with the schools,…