Neighbourhood Health & Creative Health: Key Insights from the APPG Roundtable

APPG - Neighbourhood Health and Creative Health Roundtable

All-Party Parliamentary Group on Creative Health Roundtable

Neighbourhood Health and Creative Health Roundtable
Monday 17th November 2-4pm

Reflections from the latest APPG on Creative Health session

On Monday 17 November 2025, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Creative Health brought together speakers from health, local government, research, creative practice and lived experience for a roundtable exploring how creative health can support the Government's new Neighbourhood Health Services.

Chaired by Dr Simon Opher, MP, the session highlighted the opportunities presented by the programme’s rollout across 43 places, including working-class areas, coastal towns and communities where healthy life expectancy is the lowest. Contributors reflected on how creative and cultural engagement can address entrenched health inequalities, support people living with long-term conditions, and help reach individuals who may be isolated or reluctant to engage with traditional services.

Following an introduction to the policy context by speakers including NCCH Chair, Professor Martin Marshall, and Dr Minal Bakhai, lead for national policy on the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme, case studies from across England demonstrated creative health in action. We heard from integrated neighbourhood teams working with creative practitioners, partnerships between schools, arts organisations and Integrated Care Systems (ICSs), and cultural venues acting as community health hubs. Grassroots organisations and artists also shared how co-developed and culturally informed approaches are fostering trust, connection and community-led care - all core components of effective Neighbourhood Health. The voice of Lived Experience Experts, including primary school children, brought to life the potential for creative health to make health services truly person-centred.

Speakers included:

Chair:

Dr Simon Opher, MP, Chair of the APPG on Creative Health

Speakers:

Policy Context

Professor Martin Marshall, Chair of the Nuffield Trust and the National Centre for Creative Health (NCCH)
Dr Minal Bakhai, National Director for Primary Care and Community Transformation and Improvement, NHS England
Claire Kennedy, Joint Chief Executive, PPL: Neighbourhood Health Simulation London

Research & Practice

Ashling Bannon, Integrated Neighbourhood Programme Manager - East Cambridgeshire, South Integrated Care Partnership, Cambridgeshire & Peterborough ICS, Ruth Sapsed, Fullscope Project Manager, and Hilary Cox Condron, Artist and children from The Shade Primary School
David Boyd, Estates Delivery Lead, NE London ICB: St George’s Health and Wellbeing Hub
Dr Alexandra Caulfield, National Medical Director’s Clinical Fellow in Mental Health at NHS England; Honorary Research Fellow, Nuffield Department of Primary Care, Oxford University.
Sara Hadi, Artistic Director, Mimar Theatre: Our Stories, Our Voices, 24/7 Mental Health Centre, Birmingham and Yasmeen Rahim, service user and participant
Louise Hardwick, Deputy Director of Partnerships, Suffolk and NE Essex ICB: Ipswich and East Suffolk (wave 1), Alex Casey, Suffolk Artlink and Lucy Nicola Chandler, participant from the Curious Minds programme
David Moss, Locality Director, One Weston and Woodspring, BNSSG ICB: Woodspring (wave 1) and Laura Porter, Founder of Now Hear This Music
Donna Rowe, Integrated Care Area Development Manager, NHS Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly and Julie Pollard, Operational Team Manager: Community Health and Wellbeing Workers Programme (wave 1)
Teresa Salami-Oru, Consultant in Public Health, Tackling Health Inequalities in Coastal Communities: Hastings and Rother (wave 1)

Key recommendations from NCCH’s Creative Health Briefing: The 10 Year Plan – Neighbourhood Health

To realise the full potential of Neighbourhood Health Services, NCCH recommends that national and local partners:

1. Embed Creative Health in Neighbourhood Health Services

Co-locate creative provision as a routine not peripheral offer.

2. Invest in diverse, local leaders

Expand models such as Community Wellbeing Champions and Community Chests to ensure trusted access and representation.

3. Develop new roles in Integrated Neighbourhood Teams (INTs)

Introduce Creative Health Leads to build creative health literacy and widen patient access.

4. Support evaluation and data

Scale the use of Creative Health dashboards to demonstrate impact on long-term conditions, inequalities and cost savings.

5. Join up national programmes

Align DCMS and Arts Council strategies with DHSC and ICS delivery so creative health is integral to the 10-year vision.

The NCCH will continue to work with the APPG on Creative Health, Neighbourhood Health pilot sites and wider partners to ensure creative health is fully integrated into neighbourhood models of care — supporting more equitable, person-centred and community-led health systems.

Recording: Click here to watch the YouTube recording.
Briefing: Read the Creative Health Briefing Paper The 10 Year Plan: Neighbourhood Health.
Agenda and speaker biographies: Find out more here.
A downloadable transcript for the APPG on Creative Health Neighbourhood Health and Creative Health Roundtable: Here

Short Video Highlights:

Professor Martin Marshall

Chair, Nuffield Trust & National Centre for Creative Health (NCCH)
Professor Martin Marshall reflects on why creative health must sit at the heart of the Government’s Neighbourhood Health ambition, highlighting the importance of prevention, connection and person-centred care.
https://youtube.com/shorts/YAomkWH9Aww?feature=share

Dr Minal Bakhai

National Director for Primary Care and Community Transformation and Improvement, NHS England
Dr Minal Bakhai outlines how the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme is reshaping local care, and the role creativity can play in improving access, equity and support for long-term conditions.
https://youtube.com/shorts/Efp_ZwpZFjE?feature=share

Teresa Salami-Oru

Consultant in Public Health, Hastings & Rother (Wave 1)
Teresa Salami-Oru discusses the unique challenges faced by coastal communities and how creative, culturally informed approaches help reduce inequalities and build trust within local neighbourhoods.
https://youtube.com/shorts/gpHTwsuk-T4?feature=share

Claire Kennedy

Joint Chief Executive, PPL — Neighbourhood Health Simulation London
Claire Kennedy shares insights from neighbourhood health simulations, showing how creativity, experimentation and collective problem-solving strengthen local systems and community agency.
https://youtube.com/shorts/rnkdu-ZlWNM?feature=share

Previous APPG Events

Prevention & Creative Health Roundtable, March 2025

Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JT8jsiFgoM
Blog Summary: https://ncch.org.uk/blog/how-can-creative-health-support-a-prevention-agenda

Creativity and Children and Young People’s Mental Health Roundtable, June 2025

Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tjzqob_ENK4
Blog Summary: https://ncch.org.uk/blog/creativity-and-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-roundtable