Blackburn with Darwen is a semi-rural borough made up of the towns of Blackburn and Darwen and several small villages. It is a culturally diverse area with a population of around 157,500. The area faces significant challenges, including high unemployment, poor housing, fuel poverty, and high levels of deprivation. More residents aged 55 plus are living with long term health conditions. 

The borough is divided into four neighbourhoods, Blackburn North, Blackburn East, Blackburn West and Darwen, each with an integrated neighbourhood team (INT). These teams, created in 2018, bring together professionals from different services to coordinate care. The INT model continues to grow especially as more people are living with multiple long-term health conditions and experiencing frailty at a younger age (around 55). 

Our neighbourhood approach is focussed around: 

• Improving proactive support for adults with longterm conditions and rising health needs. 

• Strengthening multidisciplinary working and community led approaches. 

• Testing new models of coordinated, whole person care. 

• Building deeper partnerships between health, care and community organisations. 

• Shaping innovative solutions to issues such as financial flows, digital tools, workforce models and neighbourhood level commissioning. 

Our work around neighbourhood health includes: 

• Integrated Neighbourhood Teams - Multi-disciplinary teams consisting of health and care workers, voluntary organisations and wider community groups working together to provide early support to adults with physical and mental health needs and keep them safe and well at home.  

• Improving identification, co-ordination and care planning of respiratory care - Utilising existing MDTs and case management approaches and the introduction of a Specialist Respiratory MDT between General Practitioners and Secondary Care Consultants 

• Social Prescribing Alliance - Network of over 900 front line health, care and VCFSE members who work with local people every day. It meets regularly to build connections, share local knowledge and make sure people can access the right support quickly and smoothly. 

• Primary Care Neighbourhoods - Convening partners at a Neighbourhood level with meetings co-chaired by elected members and PCN Clinical Directors to discuss, plan, develop and implement neighbourhood care initiatives