Bringing a Healthy New Start to the Highstreet
With our NHS in critical care, we ask the question, can we create a sustainable world where the high street, health, and social care coexist?
The ideal of collective care, a 'Health Hub', is a comprehensive health and social care facility that puts societal well-being and sustainability at the centre of our communities. It is pivotal in reforming and reimagining the NHS, as it brings together a range of health services under one roof, making it easier for patients to access the care they need.
In this article, we delve into the practical benefits of the 'Health Hubs' and examine the feasibility of consolidating interdependent health services in a single location.
Can we bring a healthy new start to the High Street? In short, we absolutely can and should.
The decline of high street units provides an excellent infrastructure for highly accessible health care provision in the heart of our community. An infrastructure with long leases and strong covenants provides a sustainable proposition, operationally and environmentally.
By relocating health services to the High Street, we can adapt to the changing landscape of healthcare. This shift allows planned and elective care to be conducted outside of hospital sites, alleviating waiting list pressure and enabling earlier diagnostics. It also brings healthcare back to the community, while at its core, it's equipped to handle the increasing demand for virtual and digital services.
By repositioning the elective care services, we can relieve the pressure on hospital sites, enabling them to prioritise primary care and freeing up valuable space for secondary care. This can also break the stigma of hospital visits for younger visitors, providing a less clinical and local experience.
For us, the health benefits of 'Health Hubs are two-fold:
1. The NHS, as a key player in our healthcare system, can be the catalyst of regeneration for the High Street. The co-location of community services in 'Health Hubs' addresses the public health emergency and allows for a model where practitioners across the health and social care sphere can work at scale to deliver a prevention agenda in line with the NHS's commitment to promoting public health.
2. Health on the High Street places the emphasis not on treatment but on supporting the broader determinants of public health.
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