Public Health Annual Report 2025-26: Removing barriers

“There are organisations with a wealth of experience, connections, and relationships that we can always share.”

Diversify Education

Neighbourhood working is not simply a delivery method; it is a long-term commitment to fairness, resilience and a more sustainable health and care system for Nottingham.

Key enablers

Trust

• Working alongside local faith leaders, community centre staff and other well established organisations, builds early connections with the neighbourhood
• Using trusted community spaces helpes create a sense of belonging and offers a more welcoming environment
• Being visible strengthens trust and acceptance both within the neighbourhood and among partner organisations, for example attendance at community events or conferences
• Visibility of the service in use has the added benefit of normalising participation, enabling access and encouraging service use

CASE STUDY: Click here to read about Al Hurraya’s fantastic approach to integrating in to a community requiring a more considered path

Collaboration

• Pooling resources enables efficiency savings, greater reach and improved productivity
• Sharing knowledge or creating training opportunities for partners supports the development of individual services while also enhancing the system
• Flexibility gained through collaboration helps maintain continuity of services during periods of policy change or organisational restructuring
• Co-producing services with the community strengthens trust and empowers residents to take an active role in shaping their own health and wellbeing.

CASE STUDY: Click here to hear about Himmahs’s great approach to embedding the organisation within the heart of the community and empowering residents to get involved.

• Collecting feedback from the community supports service evaluation and improvement.

CASE STUDY: Click here to find out more about how Thriving Nottingham have used user feedback to evaluate and shape their services.

• Issues relating to policy consistency, organisational alignment and resource availability can be eased through stronger collaboration across organisations

Training

• Training, particularly in cultural sensitivity, effective engagement and building trust with service users, was recognised as an essential component in supporting successful integration.
• Increasing the versatility of staff and enabling volunteers to take on more active roles helped build organisational confidence and supported the wider success of neighbourhood approaches.

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