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 75th 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 21st 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…

Base 51 young people social prescribing service

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 ”

Cost of living support in South Notts


With inflation, interest rate rises and the cost of living pressures, you may becoming increasingly concerned about the impact these factors will have on finances, and the subsequent knock-on effect this may have on your mental wellbeing.

If you’re worried about managing your money, please don’t think you’re alone. Each of the local councils is coordinating key information on their websites for local residents…
Rushcliffe Borough Council – Cost of living – Rushcliffe Borough Council
Gedling Borough Council – Support in Gedling – Gedling Borough Council
Broxtowe Borough Council – Cost of living : Broxtowe Borough Council
Ashfield District Council – www.ashfield.gov.uk/environment-health/cost-of-living-support/

There’s lots of county-wide support too

There are many other organisations out there who can offer help, support and advice (some of these will feature on the council websites).

There is also a cost of living support factsheet as well as a homepage for accessing cost of living support.

ICB tour shows power of connectivity and community in action in South Notts

In late January, front line health and social care staff in South Nottinghamshire hosted visits from the Chair and Chief Executive of the Integrated Care Board, Dr Kathy McLean and Amanda Sullivan, alongside Deputy Director of Public Health for Nottinghamshire County Council, Vivienne Robbins.

The tour highlighted the positive outcomes for people who interact with community hubs and experience the benefits of multi-disciplinary team-working. The themes which stood out were the importance of people feeling connected within their community, the role community assets play in this and the need to ensure they are enhanced, and how we can use collective resources to best effect for the health and wellbeing of local people.

Over the course of the morning Kathy, Amanda and Vivienne visited two sites, The Core Centre at Calverton and the base of Primary Integrated Community Services (PICS).

Sam and Becky, from the Core Centre’s project management team, offered a tour of the charity-run community facility before Ebele Omo-Bamawo, Community Development Co-ordinator based at Gedling Borough Council and the South Nottinghamshire Place-Based Partnership lead for community development, demonstrated how the support of voluntary groups contributes to the health and wellbeing of local people, and how they join up with social prescribers and GPs.

Mary Wilkins, from the Gedling Ageing Well Social Care Team, then delivered a presentation on strengths-based working taking place at innovation sites across Synergy and Arrow Primary Care Networks (PCNs). This approach focuses on what people do well instead of what they can’t do. It also helps individuals connect people with their community and is being delivered by Social Care Teams across Nottinghamshire.

Following Mary’s presentation, Nicky Render from PICS hosted a huddle between the Nottingham West Primary Care Network Care Navigation team and the Social Care team working in Broxtowe, with Amanda and Kathy sitting in to observe the support that was provided for people experiencing a number of challenges, including severe multiple disadvantage.

Kathy said: “It’s really helpful to listen to those delivering or co-ordinating care. Fascinating to consider the potential here.”

Amanda added: “I found it very interesting, insightful and inspiring to see how people are working together to enhance the lives of people who live in South Nottinghamshire.” And Vivienne reflected that she was struck by: “The wealth of knowledge and commitment to the local populations the staff served.”

Helen Smith, Programme Director for the South Nottinghamshire Place Based Partnership said: “I was delighted that Amanda, Kathy and Vivienne were able to get out and meet colleagues working across South Notts and see the passion they bring to their work.

“They were able to see the real impact that community-based approaches can have on people’s health and wellbeing, something our partnership is strongly committed to, and the integrated working to support the people experiencing more challenges.

“We feel the next steps could be to measure the impact of community-centred approaches to demonstrate the huge value they play in keeping people mentally and physically well, and then explore how to attract funding to continue to build on this.”

More about the Core Centre: About – COREnew2021 (calvertoncore.org.uk)

More about Community Development in South Notts: Introducing Ebele Omo-Bamawo, PBP Community Development Lead

More about the PICS Care Navigation team: Care Co-ordination | Primary Integrated Community Services (PICS) (picsnhs.org.uk)