Building a healthier future: how UEL’s Neighbourhood Health Hub is redefining community care
Professor Amanda J. Broderick and Wes Streeting MP at the new Neighbourhood Health Hub
The University of East London’s new Neighbourhood Health Hub – the UK’s first prototype to create a primary care equivalent of a university hospital in the community – is transforming how education, research, and healthcare come together to tackle inequalities and build a healthier future for all.
At the University of East London, our charitable purpose is clear: to tackle health and economic inequalities wherever they are found. The launch of our Neighbourhood Health Hub marks a defining moment in that mission, inviting us all to think again about what universities are for – and demonstrating how higher education can directly improve lives, reduce inequalities, and prepare the future NHS workforce.
The Neighbourhood Health Hub is the UK’s first university-led primary care centre. Based in Newham, one of the most diverse and vibrant communities in the country, it unites education, research, and healthcare in one integrated ecosystem.
For our students, it is a living classroom where theory meets practice – a place to gain real-world experience in a prevention-first model of care. For families, it offers holistic support at every stage of life. For the local community, it is a gateway to better health, wellbeing, and opportunity.
Three outcomes are central to our Hub’s work. We help families build healthier lives from the earliest years, through accessible health advice, inclusive research, and wellbeing support. We empower individuals to thrive at work and in life by connecting healthcare, counselling, and skills development. And we are reducing health inequalities through initiatives that ensure fair access to treatment, digital health tools, and pioneering therapies.
With these outcomes in mind, it is little wonder that the Neighbourhood Health Hub has attracted the attention of ministers and MPs, who see clear overlap between our work and the government’s 10-year plan for the NHS and with the Getting Britain Working agenda.
The Hub was officially opened by the Rt Hon Wes Streeting MP, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 17th October 2025, who endorsed it as a “model to roll out nationally”. At the event, he said: “It’s not right that where you live determines how long you live in good health. A girl born in Newham faces six fewer years of healthy life compared to one born in a wealthier part of London, which is unacceptable. This groundbreaking Neighbourhood Health Hub brings healthcare closer to communities that need it most, providing a one-stop shop for health and care services on people’s doorsteps.”
The Secretary of State’s support, as well as that of other east London MPs, reflects a growing understanding that the future of health must be collaborative, with universities, government, and the NHS each having a vital role in delivering accessible, sustainable care for all. This recognition should prompt a national conversation about how universities can – and must – play a strategic role in tackling the country’s biggest challenges, from health inequalities to skills shortages.
The Neighbourhood Health Hub embodies the vision that UEL set out in our Vision 2028 strategy – to equip every student to succeed in a changing world while delivering measurable benefit to society. It reminds us that the impact of a university is not confined to the lecture hall or lab: it lives in the communities we empower.
Across the UK, higher education is under pressure to prove its relevance and value. The Hub is our answer. It challenges outdated perceptions of higher education as distant from daily life and shows that universities can be dynamic civic institutions driving social innovation, powering local economies, and transforming public services. As we open its doors, I am immensely proud of what our staff, students, and partners have achieved together – proof that universities can be not only educators but partners in public service, helping to shape a healthier, fairer, and more prosperous future.
