Eight stone down – slimming success for weight loss Joy!

How support from her social prescriber helped Joy lose eight stone and embark on her journey to a healthier future…

A Rushcliffe woman has found a new lease of life after receiving support from her social prescriber and joining a local weight loss group, with spectacular results. Over the last 18 months, Joy has lost an amazing eight stone, becoming a lot more active and improving her health in the process. .

Social prescribing is a non-med­ical holistic approach to health­care and enables people to take more control of their health and wellbeing. Social prescribers (working from GP Practices) meet patients to understand more about their needs and what they want to change.

Joy first started working with her social prescriber, Leanne Hen­nessey, in late 2020. At the time, Joy had a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 52 and used a mobility scooter to get around when she left the house.

Joy, who has learning difficul­ties, had been referred to a number of local services, so Leanne worked with her to look at her barriers to weight loss. Leanne also looked around at what other support was availa­ble in the locality and found that Slimming World provided extra support for people with learning difficulties, so she contacted group leader Vanessa Chatwin and arranged for her and Joy to visit.

Joy says: “I joined Slimming World in lockdown because I wanted to lose weight for health reasons. Leanne, my social prescriber, helped me and recommended Slimming World. 

“My biggest weight was 25 stone, 3 pounds. Before I joined, I couldn’t walk and had to stop every few steps for my inhaler. I also had high cholesterol and high blood pressure and was on the border of Type 2 diabetes. I didn’t know anyone but everyone made me feel so welcome. When I had my first weigh in, I was shocked. I couldn’t believe I had lost weight and that made me more determined to lose the weight.”

Leanne said: “When I first met Joy, it was on the phone and in lockdown. She was very overweight, using a mobility scooter to get around, pre-diabetic and her mood was really depressed.

“We talked about what resources were available in the area. I did some research and found out that Slimming World helped people with learning difficulties, so I connected her to a representative and that’s how it all started. 

She adds: “We’re in regular contact and she keeps me up to date with how she’s doing and I’m so proud of her. Non-scale victories are even bigger for me than her weight loss, like her mobility. She was on a scooter, but now she’s walking and cycling, that has given her so much more independence. She cycled 17 miles! That’s amazing and she’s so much better and brighter in herself.” 

Joy has now lost eight stone and her Slimming World leader, Vanessa, said: “The difference is amazing, from being sad and upset to happy and motivated with her weight loss journey. She’s inspiring, she’s a different person.”

 At her Slimming World class in April, Joy stood in front of the group and told them her story – an incredible achievement and an incredible story of how, through determination and self-belief, you can change your future.

Joy concludes: “I can’t believe how much weight I’ve lost. I have never given up, even when I’ve gained. I love 

coming to the group and I’ve made lots of friends. I didn’t believe I could do this as I struggle to read and write, but so far I have lost 7 stone, 7.5lbs. I will keep going as I want to reach my target.”

Social prescribing could also help you have more control over your health and wellbeing by exploring ways to improve how you feel in a way that suits you.

The service is by referral only and starts with a simple conversation with a doctor or another member of the GP Practice team. If they think you will benefit, they may refer you to a social prescribing link worker.

PBP hosts first integrated neighbourhood event!

On Thursday 13 July, we held our first integrated neighbourhood event at the Richard Herrod Leisure Centre in Carlton. Over 80 people joined us at the event, including colleagues from health and care, local communities and the voluntary and community sector, to discuss how we can create healthy and sustainable neighbourhoods in four key areas – Arnold, Cotgrave, Eastwood and Hucknall.

An integrated and sustainable neighbourhood is a place in which most people’s daily needs can be met within a short walk or cycle, a place where resources are matched to the areas of greatest need and where local people are enabled to live a healthier lifestyle.

The aim of the event was to start to bring people and services together to meet the needs of the local population through working together in the area and addressing the wider determinants of health and wellbeing. As conversations develop, we hope to test a model of working that can be applied elsewhere in South Nottinghamshire.

The event was hosted by NHS Horizons and there were lots of interactive activities to encourage people to get talking about ways we could work to support the health and wellbeing of people in each area, noting there will be differences in each.

There was a real buzz to the event and it was clear that everyone cared about their neighbourhoods and really wanted to make a positive contribution to improving the health and wellbeing of local people. Place-Based Partnership Programme Director Helen Smith said: “This was a brilliant start in getting people together to discuss how we can create more integrated working of services, organisations and communities  across the four neighbourhoods. The breadth of perspectives of people in the room was invaluable in beginning to understand what was working well, the challenges and the opportunities in each of these very unique areas.

“We also looked at how we could bring communities and services together and started to examine the priorities for each of the towns. I’m really looking forward to continuing with more focused work in each of the neighbourhoods with wider local representation.”

Look out for the all the feedback from the event and the next steps in the next South Notts PBP newsletter.

Hucknall Carers thank health workers for ‘outstanding achievement’ 

Local staff in primary and community services praised by residents and Nottinghamshire Carer Association for ‘powerful and valuable’ support of carers.  

On Tuesday 6 June, Hucknall residents and carers Marilyn and Nicola Clifton, presented local healthcare provider Primary Integrated Community Services (PICS) with an Outstanding Achievement Award from Nottinghamshire Carers Association. PICS is now “Carer-friendly” accredited across the whole organisation, reflecting the “powerful, consistent and valuable contributions PICS teams in general practice, primary and community services make for carers in the communities it serves, and for its staff who are carers.” 

GP Receptionist Leanne Haywood was also presented with a special award for all PICS Carer Champions at Whyburn in Hucknall, Hama in Eastwood and Peacock in Carlton, recognising ‘everything they do across GP surgeries to support carers.’

In 2022, PICS became the first organisation in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire to be awarded Carer-friendly Quality Marks as an employer and as a service provider. This new award in 2023 reflects confidence that staff across PICS consistently ‘do more than enough’ to earn Nottinghamshire Carers Association’s coveted top award for all 35 of PICS services. In South Nottinghamshire, this includes social prescribing in Nottingham West and Arrow, community clinics for pain and gynaecology, services for people leaving hospital such as heart monitoring and care navigation, and services delivered across GP surgeries including dietitian, pharmacy, physio and health and wellbeing coaches.

Carers week 2023 aims to recognise and support carers in the community. New data shows 19 million people in the UK with a caring role have never accessed support, with most being unaware of their caring status.  

GP surgeries are vital as the first port of call for a carer who becomes concerned about their own health or the health of the person they look after. Over the past two years, PICS and NCA have worked together to provide training and resources for healthcare professionals in General Practice and in the teams within primary and community services that wrap around the surgeries. It’s working! Notts Carer Hub has seen a massive increase in the number of carers being registered following contact with their GP surgery. Referrals from social prescribers have increased by 29 percent, with ‘most of them from the PICS teams’.

PICS’ invited registered carers to the celebration event to hear about their experiences. Marilyn Clifton, 76 from Hucknall, cares full time for her daughter Melanie, 3, who is non-verbal and disabled. Nicola Clifton, 48, helps her mother and sister, as well as running her own cleaning business.  Two years ago, Marilyn’s husband and Melanie and Nicola’s father died from cancer following a period of illness. Read Marilyn’s words as she explains how they were supported by their GP surgery: Carers help celebrate ‘Outstanding achievement’ of PICS staff

Nicola encouraged others to register as a carer: “We didn’t know of any carer support but we do now. As a carer, I want to know where to go for the help and advice we need, so it’s not just being at home and trying to google it.” 

Marilyn said: “We’ve learnt quite a bit – about the Nottinghamshire Carers Hub and the local carers group. My message to other carers is to go along to groups so that you can learn and help one another.”  

Stephanie Smith from Nottinghamshire Carers Association explained the impact: “PICS staff are excellent at having what can be a difficult conversation. It can be emotional, and you don’t want to upset someone, but unless someone helps you recognise that you are a carer, we know that most people will never access support.” 

Dr Kerri Sallis, Clinical Director for Byron Primary Care Network, said “This is fantastic recognition for the Whyburn team who have been working so hard in the background, finding and supporting people who look after their loved ones, friends and neighbours. Today we learned more about what works and where we can do more. I look forward to supporting more practices in the area to get carer-friendly accredited.”

Karen Frankland, Managing Director of PICS thanked residents, staff and volunteers saying “I’m proud and privileged to receive this award on behalf of everyone at PICS. Making the journey better for residents and staff is at the heart of what PICS is all about. We know that caring is rewarding and that carers learn a lot of skills from their experience. We want to empower carers in Nottinghamshire and within PICS to live their life well, connect with their community, manage paid work, and feel appreciated.” 

Read more about the support PICS staff offer, and how the NCA are expanding their training offer to more groups in the community: Carers help celebrate ‘Outstanding achievement’ of PICS staff | Primary Integrated Community Services (PICS) (picsnhs.org.uk)

Rushcliffe dementia project named regional champion in NHS Parliamentary Awards 2023

Rushcliffe Primary Care Network’s Rushcliffe Dementia Communication and Support Project has been named as the Regional Champion in the ‘The Excellence in Healthcare Award’ category for the prestigious NHS Parliamentary Awards to mark the NHS’s 75th birthday.

The team was nominated by Rushcliffe MP Ruth Edwards.

The judges, drawn from across the NHS, selected 10 regional winners. There were a record number of 750 nominations made across the country.

The aim of the Rushcliffe Dementia Communication and Support Project is to support local people living with dementia (and their carers) to live healthier and more independent lives for longer, through easier access to timely, high quality, individualised support.

Project Lead, Gwynneth Owen, says: “We’re so pleased to be named Regional Champion for the Midlands in ‘The Excellence in Healthcare Award’. It’s fantastic that our work in Rushcliffe to support people will dementia has been recognised and thank you to our MP Ruth Edwards for nominating the project.

“We’re nearly one year into the project and have made some great progress, learning from the experiences of those living with dementia, and working together with our local health and care organisations, Rushcliffe Borough Council, and voluntary and community groups. The project has given us the opportunity to further develop a Dementia Directory of local, personalised support for people with dementia, which is part of a series of health directories designed by my social prescribing colleagues in Rushcliffe.

“We have also grown an enthusiastic network of organisations and individuals within the Rushcliffe community who provide support for people living with dementia, and their carers. By building relationships and working together to address issues, we can really try and design some great solutions, and develop personalised comprehensive support to enable people to live well with dementia.”

Local Rushcliffe GP and Clinical Lead, South Notts Place-Based Partnership, Dr Jill Langridge, said: “I’m very proud that our project has been named regional champion in the Midlands for the Excellence in Healthcare category of the NHS Parliamentary Awards.

“Our vision is to transform Rushcliffe Primary Care Network into a thriving, sustainable dementia-friendly community. Gwynneth has done an incredible job, bringing together organisations and individuals, with a shared vision of improving the lives of people living with dementia and their carers. Her passion, enthusiasm and commitment to the project shines through and her work is a great example of some of the fantastic work that our social prescribing colleagues do.”

Rushcliffe MP, Ruth Edwards said: “I was very pleased to be able to nominate Rushcliffe Primary Care Network’s Dementia Communication and Support Project for the Excellence in Healthcare’s NHS parliamentary award. 

“Dementia is an incredibly personal issue to me. My Grandfather suffered from the disease, as does one of my aunts. It is a disease that affects patients uniquely. That is why I am so pleased to have a team like this in Rushcliffe, helping dementia patients lead happier and more independent lives with individualised care. Well done to the team. Keep up the amazing work!” 

The NHS Parliamentary Awards were established to engage MPs in identifying and highlighting innovative and high-quality care across every constituency in England, and thanking staff for their dedication, hard work and commitment by recognising and honouring their achievements. Now, the Awards have seen over half of English Members of Parliament nominating an individual or organisation for an award this year.

The Rushcliffe Dementia Communication and Support Project will now go head to head with other winners from across the country to be judged by a national panel made up of senior leaders representing staff and patients, for the chance to win the prestigious national award, which will be presented at a special ceremony in London on 5 July 2023, the 75^th anniversary of the NHS.

Rushcliffe PCN showcase dementia support!

Earlier this month (May 2023), the Rushcliffe PCN team held an exhibition and drop-in session at West Bridgford Library during Dementia Action Week.

The event was organised by Rushcliffe Borough Council Health Development Officer Sofi Melvin, and Gwynneth Owen, project lead for the Rushcliffe Dementia Project. The aim of this project is to support local people living with dementia and their carers to live better more independent lives for longer, through easier access to timely, high quality, individualised support.
The project has our PBP Clinical Lead, Dr Jill Langridge as its Clinical Lead and is being led by Gwynneth from the Rushcliffe Social Prescribing Team, seconded to the post for the 2 years. In order to be a sustainable project, one big piece of the project’s work is to make Rushcliffe PCN a Dementia Friendly community. Training is available to help groups and organisations ensure they are dementia friendly and encourage our communities to be more inclusive.
Gwynneth has already made an impact, bringing together advice and support from across the Borough and promoting to local people. She hosted the Dementia Awareness Drop In Event on Tuesday 17 May where she welcomed local people to find out more about the help and support available.

Gwynneth said: “As part of Rushcliffe becoming a dementia friendly community, we are really trying to get people involved with Dementia Friends Information sessions. All our PCN partners have said yes to offering this to all their staff in this first year. So now we want to get libraries and local people involved.

As part of the project, through a network of local groups, the idea for something new is emerging, Gwynneth explains: “We’ve recognised that we have seven memory cafes, which is fabulous, and we thought let’s do a green memory café on a seasonal basis, thinking about the outdoors and green spaces and the benefit this can have for people. This Green Memory Café will be launched on June 21^st at Rushcliffe Country Park (see poster here and picture below shows Gwynneth and volunteers at the Green Memory Cafe introduction and planning meeting).

“We’ve also created a Dementia Directory of support for people with dementia. We have this on the PCN website and Notts Help Yourself website and is hopefully a one-stop-shop for dementia support and advice.”

Gwynneth was joined at the Dementia exhibition at West Bridgford library by Ian Richardson from Trent Bridge Community Trust who run the Forget Me Notts project, which offers free sporting activities and social interaction sessions for those living with dementia and their carers.

Ian said: “We offer sports like indoor bowls or table tennis, seated dance and board games, whatever people feel they want to do. And carers can have a cup of tea and chat to one another. The sessions are getting busier and busier. We also have a carers group in Cotgrave and run workshops and provide support from healthcare professionals to provide information and support.” You can find out more about Forget Me Notts project here: The Trent Bridge Community Trust: Forget Me Notts You can find out more about the support available on the Rushcliffe PCN website.

New stroke support group launched in Rushcliffe!

A new support group has been set up in Rushcliffe for residents, to provide a welcoming space for people who have suffered a recent Stroke to meet and share experiences. Set up by Rushcliffe Social Prescribing and Amber, who suffered a recent stroke at only 50 years old, this is a lovely, friendly group that is growing.

You can drop in and join them for a cuppa and chat to people who share similar experiences to you – there’s also table games and will be occasional guest speakers and support from healthcare professionals through social prescribing.

The group takes place the last Thursday of every month at the Nottingham Knight pub on Loughborough Road, from 10am – 12 noon. Just drop in, or you can Jessica Sutton, Social Prescriber on 07361 894475 for details.

Look out in the next edition of South Notts PBP News where Amber will be talking about her experiences and how alongside Jess, she had the idea for the new stroke support group.

Innovative social prescribing services supports young people to better mental health

Our Gedling and Hucknall PCNs are working with Base 51 to address the mental health needs of children and young people.

They are delivering a bespoke social prescribing service for young people aged 11 to 24 years. Via a referral from a GP Practice, the team of social prescribers and counsellors will assess and work with a young person to determine what help and support they need.

To help with this, they carry out a HEADSS Assessment (Home, Education, Activities, Drugs, Suicidality and Sex).

From here, once this information is gathered, the team can look at the best way forward for the young person. You can find out more about this service by watching the video below…

Positively Empowered Kids Superhero Wellbeing Festival is back!

The 3rd Positively Empowered Kids Superhero Wellbeing Festival is back at Nottingham Racecourse this summer, in partnership with Your Health Your Way. And entry is FREE for families, you just need to register your attendance.

Taking place on Saturday 1 July at Nottingham Racecourse, join them for a fun-filled day with lots of FREE activities to participate including a climbing wall, football, arts and crafts, healthy eating, forest schools and interactive demonstrations. There will also be healthcare specialists, including CAMHS, to equip you and your children with tips, tools and techniques to use at home to be proactive with their mental health. 

The festival is aimed at 5-11yr olds, however, there will be activities and specialists suitable for both younger and older children.

The popular Superhero Cape Walk also returns this year, with plans to make it even more exciting (alas no zip wires to make a flight path for our cape wearers!). Families are welcome to come in superhero costumes or make a free cape at the festival.

Entry to the festival is free, just click on this link to register your tickets https://bit.ly/PEKFEST2023

Meet our new Clinical Lead Dr Jill Langridge…

This month, we’ve had the chance to sit down with Dr Jill Langridge, who has taken over from Dr Nicole Atkinson as the Clinical Lead for South Nottinghamshire Place Based Partnership.

Jill, who officially took up her new position on 13 March, has been working across the Nottingham and South Nottinghamshire health and care system since 1995, when she joined the Keyworth GP practice (now Village Health Group) having completed the Nottingham GP Vocational Training Scheme. Her ties to Nottingham and Nottinghamshire go back even further than that, having qualified as a doctor from Nottingham University in 1989.

As well as her GP work, she has also been one of a group of clinical advisors for the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Clinical Commissioning Group/Integrated Care Board Clinical Design Authority (CDA).  

Asked what life was like for GPs currently, she was very honest in her assessment: “It’s very challenging at the moment, and that’s the same for many of our clinical and non-clinical colleagues across the whole health and care system. These challenges are what has drawn me to this role – obviously a key focus is on improving services for patients and carers, but I also want to improve the way we work together, to relieve some of the pressures on the system as a whole.”

Jill lives locally in South Nottinghamshire and says she feels very much part of the fabric of Nottingham and South Nottinghamshire: “I love the area. There are some fantastic local facilities and green spaces, and it was a great place to bring up my two children, who have now grown up and flown the nest!”

Asked what had interested her in taking up this role, Jill explained: “I’ve already had quite a lot of involvement in what you would describe as cross-system working within the CCG and ICB for several years already, most recently supporting the ‘Tomorrow’s NUH’ programme and the ICB planned care team with a focus on women’s health. Before that I worked with CCG and provider colleagues to set up and run the Rushcliffe Community Gynaecology Service pilot, which was a forerunner to the Greater Nottingham Gynaecology Service.

“I also worked on the Health Care of Older People (HCOP) in-reach pilot into NUH, which was part of the Rushcliffe vanguard. This involved working with clinicians, ward staff, and community staff to facilitate earlier discharges for patients.

“When we became officially an Integrated Care System, I had really high hopes that there would be lots of opportunities to work collaboratively together across all our organisations. We could stop siloed working, we could do things once and avoid duplication, and we could put patients and citizens at the centre of everything we do.

“When this position came up, it felt like a real opportunity to work together with partner organisations to be able to change things, and to make those changes in reasonable timescales. Having reduced my primary care commitments, I have had time to think about the wider world of health and care, and all the different organisations that really are important in shaping people’s health and wellbeing, far wider than the narrow lens of primary and secondary care. I feel I have lots of energy to bring to the South Notts Place Based Partnership and that I can help to make a difference.”

And what does she see as the benefits of more integrated care? “My experience on the Rushcliffe vanguard project and ‘Tomorrow’s NUH’ programme has been fantastic in terms of understanding the benefits and the challenges of working across organisations. I have also gained invaluable insights into what meaningful engagement with our citizens and communities looks like, and the importance of working together to overcome barriers to engagement.

“One of the challenges I see for us in South Nottinghamshire is the huge variation we have in the demographics of our population, which includes some very deprived communities. In addition, we are very spread out geographically. So, whilst we need to work together to develop a clear identity and role for our South Notts Place based Partnership, we need to understand and respond to the unique challenges within the individual communities that make up South Notts

South Nottinghamshire has always been a hotbed of innovation, with partnership working consistently strong across Rushcliffe, Gedling, Ashfield and Broxtowe, and Jill already feels very positive the South Notts Place-based work She says: “My first impressions coming into the PBP have been really, really positive. There appear to be some great relationships and some real ‘can-do’ attitudes in both the core team and the wider partnership.

“Obviously there’s lots to do, but it feels like people are pulling in the same direction. There’s a sense that everyone really does want to work in partnership and to make a success of what we are doing together.

“I think it’s really refreshing having those different perspectives from our partner organisations. They bring with them new ideas and a lot of richness to the conversations which I think is fantastic. I’ve also had positive conversations with the other PBP clinical leads, which is really encouraging.  

Underpinning everything should be a culture of building relationships and problem-solving together, to make things better for our citizens and our communities. I think it’s important to not get completely bogged down in governance and organisational barriers – let’s just make things happen if we can practically. Obviously, governance can’t just go out of the window, but it’s about finding that balance.”

Asked about her ambitions for the partnership, Jill was cautious about getting too far ahead of herself: “I have plenty of ideas for the future, but I think I need to take a little time to embed myself into the role – I haven’t even met everybody yet, and I don’t think you can just come in and start throwing all your ideas around before you even know who you’re working with, what they think and what their challenges are.

“So that’s one of the key aims for my first few months – to get round and see as many people as I can. I want to set time aside to go and visit our various South Notts communities and partner organisations, and to gain insight into the opportunities they see and the challenges they face.

When she’s not working, she’s a keen photographer, saying: “I love colour and finding beauty in even simple things and photography is a great way to capture that. I’m very much an amateur, but it’s on my list to do a proper photography course when I finally retire. I also make sure I look after my own health and wellbeing – spending time with friends and family, keeping fit, and being outdoors. I also love new challenges….my latest being an abseil down QMC ”