New health centres to be constructed in Hertfordshire as one-stop-shops for residents

The hubs are one-stop-shops for health and wellbeing information, advice and support for the county’s residents.

Financed ‘mainly’ by public health and delivered by district and borough councils, they have operated in physical spaces across all 10 of the county’s districts since 2022.

And Hertfordshire’s public health officials have now committed to continue funding for 2025/26 and 2026/7 – to the tune of £770k over the two-year period.

The future of the healthy hubs programme was highlighted at a meeting of the county council’s public health and community safety cabinet panel on Wednesday.

At the meeting, public health officials reported on a review of the healthy hub programme conducted over the summer.

The review, it was reported, had found “significant positivity, goodwill and pride” among district councils and partners about the Healthy Hubs programme, as well as appreciation for the council’s work to support the project.

It also suggested that the healthy hubs had facilitated strong local networks of community organisations – and that the physical presence of the hubs was “viewed as a valuable and unique asset for promoting health and wellbeing to residents”.

However the review also found opportunities for the hubs to have a greater impact, suggesting that their scope and aims needed to be clarified.

It found that here were variations in the number of residents using the hubs in different areas and highlighted opportunities for greater integration with county wide and local services.

Following on from the review, it was reported to councillors that public health chiefs are to look to “pivot” the hubs, to become more public health and inequalities focussed.

And this will translate into a new Memorandum of Understanding with the districts, to support opportunities for improvement, which is set to commence from April (2025).

Healthy hubs can be used by residents hoping to lose weight, reduce their alcohol intake, quit smoking, get fitter, improve their mental wellbeing, or complete sexual health testing, among other services.

They are described as areas where people can receive non-judgemental advice.