Neighbourhood by Neighbourhood: Building Local Health Systems with Aire Blocks

The NHS is undergoing one of its most significant transformations in decades, moving towards neighbourhood-based health models that place people and communities at the centre of care. At Aire Innovate, we understand how these models can unlock enormous benefits, but only if teams have the right tools to collaborate, prioritise, and deliver care effectively.

Our new report, Neighbourhood by Neighbourhood: Building Local Health Systems with Aire Blocks, explores how neighbourhood teams can overcome the challenges of integration and harness digital transformation to deliver safer, more efficient, and more personalised care.

Why Neighbourhood Health Matters

Neighbourhood health models are not just about reorganising services they’re about reshaping how care is delivered and experienced. By aligning primary care networks, community services, social care, and voluntary partners, neighbourhood teams can:

• Focus on the top 5% of frequent service users, who drive 57% of service demand
• Reduce unplanned hospital admissions
• Improve population health outcomes through personalised and proactive care

Yet, as our report highlights, achieving these outcomes is easier said than done. Teams across England face fragmented systems, overstretched care coordinators, and limited visibility across multidisciplinary teams.

The Aire Blocks Approach: Flexible, Local, Digital

Integration is as much about information as it is about collaboration. Aire Innovate’s Aire Blocks platform is designed to give neighbourhood teams the flexibility to build their own digital tools, aligned with local workflows and priorities.

With Aire Blocks, neighbourhood teams can:

• Connect multidisciplinary teams – share data securely across primary care, community services, social care, and voluntary partners.
• Prioritise caseloads intelligently – use algorithmic tools to focus on those who need care most.
• Streamline referrals – automate administrative workflows, cutting waiting times and freeing up staff to deliver care.
• Enable local innovation – co-design digital solutions through collaborative workshops with frontline staff, patients, and communities.

Impact in Action:

• In Leeds, discharge teams regained 20% of their day thanks to a shared digital environment.
• In Derby and Derbyshire, school nursing teams triaged 50,000 children efficiently with locally co-designed algorithms.
• Across Leeds Community NHS Trust, automated referrals cut administration by 50% and reduced waiting times from 12 to 2 weeks.

Supporting the People Behind the System

Care coordinators are the operational backbone of neighbourhood health. They track referrals, manage caseloads, and connect professionals, often under immense pressure. Aire Blocks is designed to reduce administrative burdens, giving coordinators and clinicians time to focus on meaningful, human-centred care.

A Platform Built for Local Change

Neighbourhood working is a cultural and operational shift. Technology must enable, not constrain, transformation. Aire Blocks provides a foundation for teams to:

• Build digital workflows that reflect local priorities
• Integrate with existing systems while maintaining governance
• Innovate locally and iteratively with frontline input

This approach ensures neighbourhood models are sustainable, adaptable, and centred on the people they serve.

Discover More: Download the Full Report

Neighbourhood transformation is complex, but with the right digital tools, it’s achievable. Our full report, Neighbourhood by Neighbourhood: Building Local Health Systems with Aire Blocks, explores the challenges, opportunities, and practical solutions that can help neighbourhood teams thrive.

Download the report

Whether you’re a PCN manager, integrated care partner, or neighbourhood leader, Aire Innovate can help you unlock the potential of your local health system, step by step, neighbourhood by neighbourhood.