| Reference | FOI 2026/1737 |
|---|---|
| Description | Physiotherapists within INTs |
| Date Requested | 30/04/2026 |
| Date Replied | 02/06/2026 |
| Category | Continuing Health Care (CHC) |
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I would be grateful if you could provide information relating to the role of physiotherapists within Integrated Neighbourhood Teams (INTs) and neighbourhood working arrangements across your Integrated Care Board area. In particular:
1. Are physiotherapists currently involved in the development or delivery of Integrated Neighbourhood Teams (INTs) or neighbourhood-based services within your ICB area?
2. What mechanisms exist for physiotherapists to engage with the development of neighbourhood programmes in your ICB?
3. Does your ICB or partner organisations employ or commission any “Neighbourhood Coaches” or similar roles within Integrated Neighbourhood Teams? If so, please provide contact details for the relevant neighbourhood coach or coordinating team, where disclosure is permitted under FOI legislation.
4. What are the core objectives or priority functions of your Integrated Neighbourhood Teams?
5. How are physiotherapists currently deployed within Integrated Neighbourhood Teams to support your core objectives/priority functions?
6. How have physiotherapists influenced the design or structure of services intended to meet population health needs within neighbourhood models?
7. How are you moving elements of physiotherapy provision from traditional outpatient models into neighbourhood or community-based settings?
8. Please provide a designated named contact and work e-mail address for the person responsible for physiotherapy services within neighbourhood teams.
1.
| Locality | |
| Bolton | Bolton Locality ICB does not directly employ physiotherapists, but Bolton has First Contact Practitioners for Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions within Primary Care Networks. For more information about the specific roles please contact NHS Bolton FT who provide MSK Practitioners on behalf of the GP Federation (for 6 of the 9 PCNS; 3 PCNs are independently ran) |
| Bury | 1a. BURY – No. In Bury the core Integrated Neighbourhood Teams (INTs) are comprised of Adult (community) nursing and Adult Social Care Teams.
1b. BURY – There are no plans to structurally integrate community physiotherapy or specialist AHP teams into INTs. |
| HMR | Yes — physiotherapists are involved in delivering INTs in Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale locality. INT teams include district nurses, community matrons, community nurses, therapists, general practices, social care and third sector services. “Therapists” in this context typically covers AHPs such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists, etc.
Physiotherapists (particularly First Contact Practitioners – FCPs) are embedded in PCNs via the ARRS workforce model. Physios engage:
|
| Manchester | Physiotherapists are not part of core neighbourhood teams. Physiotherapists may be part of the support offered by GP Practices and PCNs who form a core part of the PCN but the specific role of the physiotherapist if applicable would be defined by the GP or PCN. |
| Oldham | 1a. Oldham Locality ICB does not directly employ physiotherapists. Physiotherapy staff involved in Integrated Neighbourhood Teams (INTs) or neighbourhood-based services are employed through Primary Care Network (PCN) Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) arrangements and community service providers.
1b. We recognise physiotherapists as being important stakeholders in neighbourhood working and INTs. We will engage with them in due course, once the initial planning work has been completed. |
| Salford | Physiotherapists are involved in community services that are delivered at various venues across the city. They may also be involved in neighbourhood-based services through the use of Additional roles funding, however as this is funding to PCNs, we do not directly hold this information.
This is a PCN and NCA overseen service, we do not directly hold this information. |
| Stockport | Physiotherapists at Stockport locality currently contribute to neighbourhood-based priorities through First Contact Practitioner (FCP) roles in primary care and those employed as part of MSK and therapy community services.
The Stockport locality Integrated Neighbourhood Team model is still developing and while physiotherapists are not currently part of the core embedded INT workforce, their contribution to neighbourhood priorities is recognised and will be considered as the model continues to evolve. |
| Tameside | Yes |
| Trafford | 1a. Yes. GP practices and PCNs, which are the primary employers of physiotherapists within primary care, are involved in the development and delivery of Integrated Neighbourhood Teams (INTs). Physiotherapists are contributing through clinical service delivery within primary care and multidisciplinary teams, including First Contact Physiotherapy roles. The specific roles physiotherapists are undertaking in the development of INTs, including any leadership, pathway development, transformation, prevention, or population health functions, would need to be clarified directly with their employing organisations. |
| Wigan | Physiotherapists in Wigan locality currently contribute to neighbourhood-based health and care services through First Contact Practitioner (FCP) roles as part of the PCN ARRS workforce. Their services are delivered within community and GP practices, and include clinical service delivery, prevention and education, and evolution of broader primary care services.
The Wigan locality INT model is in its development and FCP Physios are integral to further development of collaborative neighbourhood health and care services |
2.
| Locality | |
| Bolton | A range of partnership meetings are in place across Neighbourhoods and Primary Care Networks to further develop the neighbourhood programme of work. Physiotherapists will engage as part of their PCN or Provider networks. |
| Bury | BURY – At a locality level in Bury members of our community therapy teams are invited to our Neighbourhood level partnership meetings and there is senior level representation from Northern Care Alliance NHS FT Community Services at our Neighbourhood Development & Delivery Group. |
| HMR | INTs (incorporating AHPs) are an integral part of the delivery of our neighbourhood programmes in Heywood Middleton and Rochdale and are represented through our community services stakeholders. As such, the mechanism for engagement for our community services stakeholders (and thus physiotherapists) include locality governance meetings, Neighbourhood Partnerships, development workshops and multi-disciplinary meetings. |
| Manchester | Physiotherapists are not a core part of the INTs |
| Oldham | Physiotherapists do not work in INTs.
Until the ICB transition is completed, it is not possible to confirm, but we will continue to engage with PCNs and community service providers. |
| Salford | There is an INT development group that has membership from the Northern Care Alliance senior leaders that are oversee AHPs in the trust and PCN leaders so engagement would be via these members. |
| Stockport | As the Integrated Neighbourhood Team model continues to develop at Stockport, engagement with relevant provider organisations and professional groups helps inform service design, including consideration of physiotherapy input where appropriate. At present, physiotherapy involvement is mainly through existing primary care and community service arrangements. |
| Tameside | There are individual neighbourhood groups for the four neighbourhoods in Tameside, alongside a wider Tameside Neighbourhood Leadership Group that has membership from Tameside and Glossop ICFT neighbourhood leadership, as well as PCN level membership. |
| Trafford | Practices and PCNs are engaged in discussions relating to neighbourhood programmes, and all staff within those organisations, including physiotherapists, are welcome to participate in these conversations and contribute to the development of neighbourhood-based services and Integrated Neighbourhood Teams. |
| Wigan | As the INT model continues to develop within Wigan, engagement with relevant providers informs service and pathway design, and includes physiotherapy team input where appropriate. At present, specific physiotherapy involvement is mainly through existing primary care and community service arrangements, PCN MDTs, and strategically via senior leadership through Healthier Wigan Partnership System Board. |
3.
| Locality | |
| Bolton | The ICB does not commission Neighbourhood Coaches and does not hold this information for partner organisations |
| Bury | No |
| HMR | The ICB (HMR Locality) or its partner organisations do not formally employ, or commission roles explicitly titled “Neighbourhood Coach” within Integrated Neighbourhood Teams (INTs). |
| Manchester | No |
| Oldham | No The Oldham locality does not employ or commission neighbourhood coaches |
| Salford | I don’t have this information |
| Stockport | There are no current roles titled Neighbourhood Coaches within the Stockport Integrated Neighbourhood Team model; however, partner organisations do have roles that support similar functions, including Health Coaches, Social Prescribers, and Care Coordinators. These roles support personalised care, care navigation, wellbeing support and connecting people with community-based services. |
| Tameside | The ICB does not commission roles titles “Neighbourhood Coaches.” |
| Trafford | The specific detail requested is not centrally recorded by the ICB |
| Wigan | There are no current roles titled Neighbourhood Coaches within Wigan locality. However, partner organisations do have roles that support similar functions. Specialist Health Support for Long Term Illness | Be Well |
4.
| Locality | |
| Bolton | The objective of integrated neighbourhood teams in Bolton are being reviewed for 2026/27 and will be anchored in the three shifts described in the NHS 10 year plan and the national Neighbourhood Framework |
| Bury | a) To co-ordinate care to patients across adult (community) nursing and Adult Social Care Teams.
b) To support proactive, co-ordinated care to individual residents through Active Case Management MDT meetings. c) To work with GPs and other partners at a Neighbourhood level to identify priorities in relation to cohorts of need / health improvement and develop plans. d) To work with wider public service institutions through Neighbourhood level Public Service Leadership Teams to understand and respond to the needs of local communities in a more joined up way. |
| HMR | The core objectives of HMR Integrated Neighbourhood Teams are to:
|
| Manchester | Neighbourhood activity covers
1. Day to day community NHS care and adult social care Via core LCO services like District Nursing, Social Work, Reablement, Manchester and Trafford Community Response (Crisis Response, Discharge to Assess), Hospital at Home, at risk residents etc 2. Proactive community care Via case management of Long-Term Conditions or rising risk patients, often in partnership with GPs. 3. Prevention and targeted in-reach Working with communities addressing health inequalities and issues. |
| Oldham | Our vision for Oldham is for a thriving and resilient community where each individual has access to the support, they need to lead a healthy and fulfilling life, where they live.
Our core objectives are • An Optimised Integrated Neighbourhood Model • A resilient VCFSE Eco-System • A Culture of prevention • A network of Live Well centres, spaces and offers. |
| Salford | • Personalised Care: Shifting the focus from reactive hospital treatments to preventive, out-of-hospital care.
• Proactive Interventions: Identifying residents at high risk of frailty or complex conditions or multiple long term conditions early to build tailored support and wellbeing plans. |
| Stockport | The aim of the Integrated Neighbourhood Team model at Stockport is to support proactive care closer to home, bringing together health, care, and VCFSE partners around the needs of local people. Our approach aligns with neighbourhood working principles, including the Greater Manchester Live Well approach, with a focus on prevention, reducing inequalities, building community resilience, and helping people to live well in their communities. Current priorities include:
· Supporting people with complex needs, including those living with frailty, dementia and those approaching end of life · Earlier intervention to prevent deterioration or crisis · Improving collaborative working across primary care, community services, adult social care, mental health, voluntary sector, and wider partners · Improving personalised care, care navigation, and access to community-based support · Supporting care closer to home and reducing avoidable hospital attendance or admission |
| Tameside | INTs are in a development phase in Tameside. |
| Trafford | Improve population health outcomes, reduce health inequalities, support proactive and preventative care, enhance coordination across services, and deliver more person-centred care within local communities. The teams aim to strengthen collaboration between primary care, community services, mental health, social care, voluntary sector organisations, and wider partners to provide joined-up support that meets the needs of residents closer to home. |
| Wigan | As INTs are currently in development, the objectives are yet to be formally agreed. They will however reflect the core objectives of the NHS Long term (Analogue to Digital, Hospital to Community, Treatment to Prevention) and will be underpinned by Wigan’s Progress with Unity missions to Create fair opportunities for all children, families, residents and businesses and Make all our towns and neighbourhoods flourish for those who live and work in them, and the six ways of working – See the person, Listen deeply, Know this place, Do the right thing, Connect to neighbourhoods, Show our love and pride. |
5.
| Locality | |
| Bolton | Physiotherapy staff involved in Integrated Neighbourhood Teams (INTs) or neighbourhood-based services are employed through Primary Care Network (PCN) Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) arrangements and community service providers. |
| Bury | Not directly. Members of the Community Physio team may be invited to a Neighbourhood MDT where relevant to the needs of the patient under discussion. |
| HMR | Physiotherapists in HMR are fully embedded within the therapy workforce supporting neighbourhood teams. Their deployment is highly aligned to the core objectives of INTs, particularly in:
They are a key enabler of the neighbourhood model, particularly through rehabilitation, functional assessment, and multidisciplinary working. |
| Manchester | Physiotherapists are not a core part of Integrated Neighbourhood Teams. Physiotherapists may be employed by some GPs and support their working within the INT but this is not a core part of the INT model. |
| Oldham | The Community Rehab and Falls Team work in cluster areas for efficiency, but are centrally based, and do not work as part of an INT. FCP physiotherapists are employed in some GP practices within the ICB area.
Physiotherapy staff involved in Integrated Neighbourhood Teams (INTs) or neighbourhood-based services are employed through Primary Care Network (PCN) Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) arrangements and community service providers. |
| Salford | Physiotherapists work in community teams to deliver activities related to prevention, reablement, rehabilitation, frailty management and the work well initiative. |
| Stockport | While physiotherapists are not currently core embedded members of the Stockport Integrated Neighbourhood Team model, in a team of teams approach physiotherapy contributes through linked primary care and community services. This includes supporting prevention, rehabilitation, frailty, falls, maintaining independence, care home support with specialist input available to multidisciplinary teams where needed. |
| Tameside | Physiotherapists are part of community teams and PCNs and are planned to be part of the development of INTs. |
| Trafford | Physiotherapists are currently deployed within Integrated Neighbourhood Teams through a range of roles that support prevention, early intervention, rehabilitation, and multidisciplinary care coordination. This includes First Contact Physiotherapists within primary care, community rehabilitation services, frailty and falls prevention pathways, and integrated multidisciplinary team working. |
| Wigan | Physiotherapists in Wigan locality currently contribute to neighbourhood-based health and care services through First Contact Practitioner (FCP) roles as part of the PCN ARRS workforce and PCN MDTs. Their services are delivered within community and include clinical service delivery, prevention and education, and evolution of broader primary care services. |
6.
| Locality | |
| Bolton | Bolton Locality ICB do not hold this information – it will be held by individual PCNs |
| Bury | no direct specific involvement to date. Involvement has been through the managerial leadership of Norther Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust Community Health Services. |
| HMR | As noted in question 2, INTs (incorporating AHPs) are represented through our community services stakeholders. Community Services stakeholders have been involved in the development of our neighbourhood programmes through locality governance meetings, Neighbourhood Partnerships, development workshops and multi-disciplinary meetings. |
| Manchester | Physiotherapists are not a core part of the neighbourhood teams in Manchester. Although Physiotherapists may be part of the support offered by Primary Care teams the role that they may have in influencing the work will be managed by the relevant GP or PCN. |
| Oldham | There are ongoing Population Health Management projects in each PCN/cluster. They are led by the PCN and physiotherapists contribute to these projects if they have been invited.
We are still at the planning stage of this work but we will engage as outlined above. |
| Salford | I don’t have this information |
| Stockport | Physiotherapy input to date in Stockport has mainly been through existing primary care and community service models. As the Integrated Neighbourhood Team model develops, wider multidisciplinary input, including physiotherapy, will continue to evolve. |
| Tameside | Physiotherapists are part of community teams and PCNs and are planned to be part of the development of INTs. |
| Trafford | This information is held by GP practices/PCNs as independent organisations |
| Wigan | This information is held by PCNs and/or by the Physiotherapy teams within WWLFT. |
7.
| Locality | |
| Bolton | Bolton partners are mobilising to deliver the hospital to community element of the 10 year plan. Physiotherapy services fort of this move. |
| Bury | The ICB does not hold this information. Requests for information about plans for the future provision of physiotherapy should be made to the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust – https://www.northerncarealliance.nhs.uk/contact-us/freedom-information-requests |
| HMR | Our neighbourhood model priorities the three key shifts within the NHS 10 year plan, including hospital to community and treatment to prevention. Physiotherapy provision and wider AHP provision and services will be incorporated within our wider neighbourhood plans. |
| Manchester | Although Physiotherapists are not a core part of the INT, they may be employed by GPs, who will form part of the primary care teams. This will include the role of first contact physiotherapist roles. They offer expert advice on how best to manage your condition, arrange follow-up appointments and can refer you to a specialist for further treatment if necessary. They can also speak to the GP straightaway if you need any medication during your appointment, support patients to be managed more effectively in the community. |
| Oldham | No current plans. Physiotherapy staff involved in Integrated Neighbourhood Teams (INTs) or neighbourhood-based services are currently employed through Primary Care Network (PCN) Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) arrangements and community service providers. We are not in a position to confirm future arrangements at this stage. |
| Salford | I don’t have this information |
| Stockport | Many Stockport musculoskeletal and physiotherapy services are already delivered in community-based settings, including through First Contact Practitioner roles in primary care and wider community physiotherapy provision working from community centres. As neighbourhood working continues to develop, there may be further opportunities to consider how services can align with neighbourhood models based on local need. |
| Tameside | The commissioning team does not hold this information. |
| Trafford | We are increasingly moving elements of physiotherapy provision from traditional outpatient models into neighbourhood and community-based settings through the integration of physiotherapists within primary care teams. This includes the employment of First Contact Physiotherapists and other physiotherapy roles funded through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS). These roles enable patients to access physiotherapy expertise earlier and closer to home, support multidisciplinary working within neighbourhood teams, and help reduce reliance on hospital outpatient services where appropriate. |
| Wigan | This information is not currently held by the ICB locality team. |
8.
| Locality | |
| Bolton | Bolton Locality ICB do not hold this information |
| Bury | No named individual has responsibility for physiotherapy services within neighbourhood teams as physiotherapy does not form part of the existing neighbourhood teams. |
| HMR | This information would be provided by the provider; Northern Care Alliance. |
| Manchester | This information is held by individual GPs as Physiotherapists are not a core part of the INTs. |
| Oldham | Physiotherapist do not work in INTs We cannot confirm this until the ICB transition has been completed and we have more clarity on roles and future working arrangements. |
| Salford | I don’t have this information would need directed to providers who employ the physiotherapists |
| Stockport | As the Integrated Neighbourhood Team model at Stockport is still developing, there is not currently a designated named lead specifically for physiotherapy services within neighbourhood teams. |
| Tameside | The commissioning team does not hold this information. |
| Trafford | This information is held by GP practices/PCNs as independent organisations |
| Wigan | This information is held by PCNs and/or by the Physiotherapy teams within WWLFT. |
