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In the first episode of 2026, Ben is joined by Dr Zalan Alam, General Practitioner, Director of Medical Education and GP Partner, to explore Rochdale’s selection as a site for the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme (NNHIP) and what this means in practice for general practice and PCNs. The discussion focuses on improving patient journeys, particularly for frail patients and those in the last year or 1,000 days of life, by strengthening connectivity between primary care, community services, hospices, ambulance services and acute trusts, using standardised frailty assessments, shared care plans and tools such as the Greater Manchester Care Record. The episode also covers targeted neighbourhood working in Rochdale South, the importance of peer leadership and measurable impact for frontline practices, and what comes next as the programme moves from planning into delivery, with an emphasis on locally adaptable models rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.

Introduction (00:08)

Why Rochdale was selected for NHIP (00:29)

Population, PCNs and deprivation (01:22)

How the programme is structured (02:42)

Early priorities and patient journey focus (03:35)

Targeting Rochdale South as a proof of concept (05:33)

Connectivity gaps and ‘lightbulb moments’ (06:25)

How neighbourhood working operates in practice (07:03)

Standardising care plans and frailty pathways (08:40)

Using data to identify priority cohorts (10:07)

Shared tools, shared vision (12:01)

Impact on PCNs and general practice (14:09)

System-level integration and why it works in Rochdale (16:12)

Moving from planning to delivery (17:42)

Measuring impact and managing expectations (18:40)

Learning from other NHIP sites (19:13)

Reflections & next steps (20:26)

Listen to Zalan’s previous podcasts ‘Innovative intermediate care’ here and ‘Integration working in practice’ here.

Contact Zalan via email here.

For all enquiries about the Ockham podcast, please contact Ben Gowland here.