On 4 February , NHS England released new guidance emphasising the role of rehabilitation within neighbourhood health teams. This directive aims to enhance patient care by integrating short-term rehabilitation, reablement, and recovery services into community settings, thereby reducing hospital admissions and promoting recovery at home. 

The guidance outlines six core components for neighbourhood health services, with a strong emphasis on a 'home first' approach. This strategy prioritises delivering care in patients' homes or local communities, ensuring that rehabilitation and reablement services are therapy-led and overseen by registered therapists. The goal is to provide integrated care across health, social care, and other sectors, focusing on patients with complex health and care needs who require support from multiple services.  

Sara Hazzard, assistant director of strategic communications at the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) commented positively on the introduction of the new guidance, noting that this initiative only highlights the growing recognition of rehabilitation's vital role in improving patient outcomes. Hazzard also drew focus to the importance of implementing this guidance sustainably at a local level, ensuring that workforce needs are met across the entire service pathway, and not only within multidisciplinary teams.  

This guidance aligns with the CSP's ongoing efforts to highlight the importance of rehabilitation in the NHS. In September 2023, the CSP welcomed the publication of NHS England's Intermediate Care Framework and the new community rehabilitation and reablement model, which reflect the model promoted by the Community Rehab Alliance. These documents mark a significant positive step forward for rehabilitation in England, demonstrating the impact of the CSP's advocacy for prioritising and modernising rehabilitation services.  

The CSP continues to advocate for the integration of rehabilitation into community health services, with the new guidance giving testament to the progress being made. 

Read and watch more on the CPS’s official website:  

https://www.csp.org.uk/news/2025-02-04-rehab-key-component-neighbourhood-teams-says-new-nhs-guidance