TV’s Our Dementia Choir highlights the crucial support of General Practice  

On Tuesday 28 February, a Dietitian from the local GP team joined a rehearsal of Our Dementia Choir in Calverton to provide advice and support about food, drink and nutrition.

Janice Barratt is from Arrow Primary Care Network, which is a group of local GP surgeries who work together to provide new specialist services. Janice completed her doctoral research on how family Carers manage eating and drinking problems in people with Dementia living at home.

With 30 singers, 30 carers and over 15 volunteers participating, the visit provided an excellent opportunity to signpost support for physical aspects related to Dementia, like changes to food and drink preferences. Janice works for Primary Integrated Community Services (PICS), a local GP-owned healthcare provider of services for NHS patients, and whose Social Prescribing Link Workers have already been supporting members of the Choir.

Our Dementia Choir started out as a BBC TV programme five years ago, fronted by Nottingham-born actress Vicky McClure, 39, who stars in Line of Duty. It became a charity 18 months ago Chaired by Vicky and run by Karen Bonser, 56 of Bilsthorpe, Nottinghamshire. Karen’s husband Mick has been living with Dementia and joined the Choir when it first started out.

“There is more happening than the singing”, Karen explains, “Carers are talking to each other, socialising and making friendship groups. We’re not a helpline and we aren’t medical professionals, but there is nobody more aware or who has more dealings with Dementia than a group of Carers. Our support network is key.

“Things can happen quickly with Dementia. One day your loved one will be able to eat with a knife and fork, the next day they can’t. What do you do? You can’t keep making it up all the time. You need that professional support and guidance and a little pat on the back now and again that you are doing things right.

“So we work with a variety of medical professionals to be able to signpost to the right support, including Consultants, Social Prescribers, and now Dietitians.”

Helen Eastwood, 47 is an unpaid carer for her mum and a paid carer for her 27 year old son. Helen shared an insight she says many feel: “There’s a lot of information from many places, but you have to know what you’re looking for.”

Helen’s mum, Jean Eastwood, 74, who is living well with Dementia added: “When things change, I want to talk with someone about how to manage that, and things change all the time. I have a Dementia check-up next week, so I’ll ask to see a Dietitian. If you don’t ask, you don’t get.” Helen adds: “But some don’t ask.”

Karen talked with Janice during the rehearsal, while her husband was singing. “I told Janice that Mick has started eating food in a certain order. I’m worried that he’s taking a long time, the food is cold and doesn’t taste good on it’s own or becomes uninspiring. Janice was really reassuring. She said that if he’s enjoying it and he’s not changing weight, it’s not a problem that I need to worry about. As long as he has time to eat it, the change is not a problem. I was worried this was the start of him not being able to swallow and loosing weight. Janice explained that she’s worked for more than 10 years in Dementia care and seen many people with Dementia who haven’t lost weight or gained weight. It’s not inevitable at all, and every person is different.  

Karen shares her positive experience of being supported: “Mick and I had a Social Prescriber assigned to us quite early doors, who signposts us to organisations who can support, whether it be Alzheimer’s Society, community activities, or free gym passes from the local council. Quite often it is simple, but you don’t know what you don’t know.

“GP surgeries have a big part to play in making sure people get access to support they need. There is a lot of physical side to dementia than people think. It’s not just ‘I’ve lost my keys, I’ve lost my phone and I don’t know what your name is.’ As people progress through the disease they find out there is more to it that they can get support with, like Speech and Language Therapists, Specialist Nurses and Occupational Therapists. That’s where referrals to support groups, Social Prescribers and specialists come in. We want to help those families who feel like they have to cope behind closed doors. We want to learn from their experiences, as well as share our music and support.”

Hucknall health event attracts over 250 local attendees

On Saturday 25 February, Byron Primary Care Network (PCN), which covers the four GP Practices in Hucknall, hosted its first-ever Hucknall for Health event, focusing on residents’ health and wellbeing.

The event, which was held from 1pm – 5pm on Saturday 25 February at Hucknall Leisure Centre, saw more than 250 people popping in throughout the afternoon.

Byron PCN has worked in partnership with Ashfield District Council, local NHS, South Notts Place-Based Partnership and local voluntary and community organisations to organise the event.

Representatives from local health and care organisations shared information about their services and interactive sessions focused on wellbeing, while everyone who attended had the opportunity to take home either a free healthy food pack or a free blood pressure monitor.

There were 25 stalls for people to browse, ranging from health and social care services to community and voluntary groups.

Nottingham Forest Community Trust also attended and provided sporting activities for children while parents and carers could browse the stalls. And ‘Everyone Active’ delivered four 20 minutes exercise taster sessions, including pilates for lower back pain, seated exercise, low impact aerobics and gentle stretching. People also had the opportunity to have a basic health check with Byron PCN and local GP Dr Adam Connor to screen for indicators that increase a person’s risk for developing Type 2 diabetes. Thirty-five people took this opportunity, some of whom also had blood tests on the day to check their cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

Hucknall residents invited to health and wellbeing event

Byron Primary Care Network (PCN), which covers the four GP Practices in Hucknall, is hosting its first-ever Hucknall for Health event, focusing on residents’ health and wellbeing.

A PCN is a group of GP practices working together with other local organisations, such as community, mental health, social care, pharmacy, hospital and voluntary services.  

The event is being held from 1pm – 5pm on Saturday 25 February at Hucknall Leisure Centre, with representatives from local health and care organisations sharing information about their services and interactive sessions focused on wellbeing. On top of information from local services, attendees to the Hucknall for Health event, can also expect:   

• Free healthy food pack to the value of £10 or a free blood pressure monitor!
• Cost of living advice and support  
• Advice from local health and care professionals  
• Health checks 
• Mental health support  
• Sports and activity opportunities  
• Lots of things for the kids to take part in too!

Byron PCN has worked in partnership with Ashfield District Council, local NHS, South Notts Place-Based Partnership and local voluntary and community organisations to organise the event, with Hucknall GP and Byron PCN Clinical Director Dr Adam Connor saying: “Working across local services to support our residents is vital even at the best of times but with the cost-of-living crisis, and following on from the impact of COVID-19, it’s never been more important.

“As a Primary Care Network, we recognised, along with other key local organisations, that we had an opportunity to put on an event that is open to our whole community to help tackle some of the issues that impact on people’s wellbeing. 

“I hope that many of Hucknall residents can find the time to join us to find out more about the local support that is available and that by coming along to this event, you can access the help and advice you need to improve your health and wellbeing.”

To sign up to the event, go to Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hucknall-for-health-tickets-514780681877 

South Notts Urgent Community Response teams providing extra help with care boxes  

Nottinghamshire Healthcare’s Community Response teams have been providing a little bit of extra care this winter by gifting care boxes containing food like porridge pots, soup and teabags and practical things like hats, scarves and blankets to patients when they pay an urgent visit.

The Urgent Community Response teams provide urgent care to people in their homes, which helps avoid hospital admissions and enables people to live independently for longer. Through these teams, older people and adults with complex health needs who urgently need care can get fast access to a range of health and care professionals within two hours. 

The care packs are given, where there is a need, when the team visit vulnerable patients in crisis in South Notts. These care boxes will help patients through a short 24/48-hour period until further support is arranged. 

James Huguenin, Team Leader – Urgent Care Services (South-Nottinghamshire), says: “The Urgent Community Response Team sees patients at home when they are in crisis, and over the last six to nine months we’ve seen people struggling more.

“The care boxes were set up so we could help those in need as quickly as possible, and they contain a variety of non-perishable items such as food supplies, warm clothing, blankets, hot water bottles that help and support people when they need us the most. If clients are very cold, we also have access to emergency foil blankets too. Our clinicians all carry a box with them, so they can respond immediately to those in crisis.”

The UCR team in South Notts has also been working with the Morrisons supermarket in Gamston to source the items for the care packs.

James said: “The boxes were donated by a packaging company in Lincolnshire and the contents have been provided by a combination of donations from Morrisons, the general public and Nottinghamshire Healthcare staff. When a client is cold or can’t afford food or heating, this little emergency support box may be just what they need at the right time. Thank you so much to everyone that has donated so far and to Morrisons. 

“Moving forwards, we are rolling this out to more areas and the donations mean that our other colleagues in Community Nursing, Community Therapy Teams and Social Services are also able to carry an emergency box with them at all times too.”

Kelly Uveges, Morrisons Community Champion (pictured at the top with James), said: “Morrisons are keen to get involved in the community and support initiatives where they can and each store tries to support their local area. We felt that this project was something we could be involved in and have helped provide the items for the packs. This is offering support to the people that really need it and the resources are going to where they are most needed. This is what the Community Champion role is all about and is a cause I feel is important to support. “

 If you are interested in helping out, the team are looking for the following items: cup-a-soups, porridge pots and pasta meals (just add water), coffee sachets, tea bags, UHT milk, sugar sachets, biscuits and sweets, hats, scarves, gloves, torches (with batteries), handwarmers, blankets, bed socks and hot water bottles. 

You can drop off at Gamston Morrisons – you can use the foodbank cage which is opposite to the Pharmacy. Any queries email: champion.gamston@morrisonsplc.co.uk

Or you can drop with James at Cotgrave Health Centre: FAO James Hugenin, The Cotgrave Hub, Rivermead, Cotgrave, Nottinghamshire, NG12 3UQ

Rushcliffe allotments and green social prescribing

Green social prescribing is a way of connecting people to nature-based activities and green groups, projects and schemes in their local community for support with health and wellbeing. Often this will be through a referral from a Link Worker based at a GP practice or another primary care professional.

A great example of green social prescribing is the Rushcliffe allotments, started by the Rushcliffe Social Prescribing team in 2021, which you might remember as we’ve covered its official launch in this newsletter here. In November, Laura Armitage, Greenspace Social Prescribing projects Officer, visited the allotments and has written a blog about her experience, which you can read below…

Wednesday 23 November 2023

This morning was incredibly rainy but by 12 noon the sky cleared and the sun came out and I was ready for my visit to the Ruddington Allotments…

I’d been given instructions to find house number 69 and to follow a short path down the side of it until I reach a green gate. As I waited at the gate, a lady joined me wearing short wellies, a bobble hat and a warm waterproof coat – she smiled at me and asked me if I was OK.

I introduced myself and she recognised who I was as she had been told that a visitor would be coming today. Laura a social prescribing link worker who helps to run the community allotment joined us next, she was friendly and welcoming, opening the gate and directing is up to the garden allotment as she explained that she had had a few cancellations due to the weather.

To get into the allotment we passed under an archway and walked up a paved path which had raised beds on the left and a hedgerow on the right. They were more raised beds as we moved into the garden, with a summer house painted blue standing at one end, with an outdoor table and chairs.

The lovely lady I had met at the gate and Laura showed me around the plot explaining what they had done to get it to where it is in now. The garden looked really productive even in its autumn appearance with a large strawberry bed still flowering, a parsnip bed ready for harvesting and salad leaves ready for picking.

As the lady showed me round she told me how she’d started coming to the garden, explaining how it helped her to get out and that it gave routine and purpose to her week she said: “When I’m in the garden my problems disappear. Time goes by really quickly here.”

We had started weeding one of the raised beds happily chatting as we moved between here and the compost heap. Another member of Laura’s team joined us in the garden, he happily came in and got stuck in with us now around the parsnip patch. Putting on our gloves and beginning to wriggle up the parsnips, we soon realised they were larger than we thought and garden forks were pulled out of the summer house for our use. As we worked on the harvest, conversation flowed freely, a lot of it around the benefits of keeping active and how good it was to be out of the house and the office.

Laura mentioned that she had to take time out of her job to be at the allotment working with volunteers and how sometimes this could add extra pressure to her workload. But she went on to say that every time she ran a session at the garden she felt better after it: “I can go back with a clear head and be more productive.”

It also meant that she got time out in the community working with the people she was there to help. I felt that this was quite a major part of a link worker’s role and see the connection of the link worker with volunteers in the garden and members of the community as part of the job. I remarked on this to Laura, who replied: “It is good to be able to practise what we preach to people we work with.”

Eventually we stopped for tea, Laura had bought a flask of hot water and spare cups. We sat around the outdoor table in the sunshine discussing plans for the garden and things that we did in our day-to-day lives. The lady volunteer mentioned she had been reading a book but that it was quite hard going to retain the information. She and Laura went on to discuss things that might help and by the time the lady had finished describing her book she realised that she had retained more than she thought! She made a comment about finding it hard to stop sometimes and give herself the space to read and to just be. Laura turned this on its head asking: “If I say to you that I struggled to sit down and read because I feel guilty for not being active what would you say to me.”

The lady volunteer thought for a moment and explained how she needs the time to care for herself, saying how it could be a real pleasure curling up in a blanket with a book and hoping the book would be so good that the cup of tea made as you sat down had gone cold before you noticed. Laura listened closely and at the end talked about being compassionate to yourself when needed.

The talk turned to hobbies and activities, the changing seasons and eventually to getting up and washing and distributing the parsnips. As we got up, the volunteer mentioned issues with her mental health and well-being but said that now she had a plan. She said: “I know this day I do this, that day I do that, so I know I won’t just be sat around each day and I feel better.”

The harvest had filled three buckets so everyone was able to take some home – the rest were placed in buckets and taken to a central point in the allotments near a water tap where there was a rack for a local cafe to pick up from. Another grower from the allotments joined us in this central section amazed at the amount of parsnips and she messaged the local cafe to make sure they knew to drop by for a collection.

We all left the allotment together all still chatting and in good spirits the lady volunteer looking forward to the next session!

Introducing Broxtowe Health and Wellbeing coach Gareth Dixon

Last month, South Notts PBP News visited Gareth Dixon, Health and Wellbeing Coach in Broxtowe,  and took part in his exercise class for local people living with long term conditions. 

Gareth, who works for PICS across Nottingham West Primary Care Network, recently featured in a campaign from NHS England that launched across the country in October 2022. The campaign highlights just some of the new roles and specialist services available from local Primary Care Networks. 

The entire campaign features lots about the roles over posters, flyers, social media posts and more. Watch the video above to find out more about Gareth and the work of a Health and Wellbeing Coach. 

Feedback on the ‘Future of Healthcare in Rushcliffe’ events

 

During 2022, Rushcliffe health and wellbeing professionals held two free events to help local people understand more about changes to local health and wellbeing services.

People came along to listen to local GPs, mental health consultants, social prescribers, physios, pharmacists, council members and voluntary and community sector leaders talk about services and developments across Rushcliffe Primary Care Network. They also had the opportunity to talk about their own experiences and share ideas for improvements.

In addition to presentations and roundtable discussions, there was a bustling marketplace with exhibitor stalls manned by local health, care and Community Voluntary Service organisations.

The aim of the events was to look at how, through working together, we can enhance the health, wellbeing and resilience of local people and services. It’s hoped we can develop a shared vision for the future health of Rushcliffe with patients and residents as equal partners, while at the same time considering how we do this in a sustainable way aligned to NHS environmental commitments.

The events were attended by over 200 local people who shared their thoughts on local health and wellbeing services and how they could be improved. These comments and ideas were taken away and discussed and below are the outcomes of these discussions.

Further events are planned for 2023 so watch this space!

Congratulations to our Community Voices event  iPad winner Georgia

 

On Saturday 2 July, we held our very first Community Voices engagement event for young people at Nottingham Arena, with all the young people who joined us to share their views being treated to an ice skating session with their parents at the close of the event.

It was a really fun, action-packed morning with lots of discussion about what the young people loved about the area they live, in terms of health and wellbeing, local amenities and activities on offer, and what they didn’t like.

To support this piece of work, we also ran an online survey with a prize draw to win an iPad. All the young people who attended the Community Voices event were entered into this draw and the lucky winner was Georgia, who we surprised at her school, East Leake Academy, in early December. Georgia was presented with her prize by our Clinical Lead, Dr Nicole Atkinson and Academy Principal Blake Francis – pictured with Georgia above.

Involving people as we shape health and wellbeing services in South Nottinghamshire is vitally important. And as a partnership we’re really keen to hear young people’s voices. Georgia was a fantastic participant with lots of great ideas. Well done Georgia!

The key issues highlighted by local young people included having safe green spaces, local activities they can do with their friends, more support for bullying and additional mental health support in schools and in local communities. We will be publishing the full feedback report in early 2023 so watch this space!

Killisick residents set to benefit from NHSEI Prevention Programme 

 

We’re pleased that Killisick, in Gedling, has been selected as one of five pilots in Nottinghamshire and Nottingham to be funded through NHSEI Prevention Programme to promote happy and healthy communities in areas where the greatest health inequalities exis

Key to the project is a community engagement approach to ensure purposeful and sustained approaches to tackle health inequalities through co-production 

To begin to understand the local community, we have started with a collaborative approach to community engagement involving partners from a range of organisations with an active interest in the Killisick area. Partners include representatives from Gedling Borough Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, Active Notts, Newark and Sherwood CVS and other local organisations.

We have been working with partners and together, over the last few months, we have held a series of conversations with residents and stakeholders in the Killisick area to try and understand what it is like living there and any impact this has on people’s wider health and wellbeing. The pictures are from a recent stakeholder event at Gedling Borough Council. 

There have been successful engagement days including a Summer Fair and a cost of living event where local residents were given the opportunity to talk to partners about living in Killisick. Following these events, key themes have started to emerge from conversations. With this in mind, residents and stakeholders will be invited to work with partners to shape long term sustainable solutions which will have a positive impact on residents’ future health and wellbeing.

Partners are still keen to hear from more residents and stakeholders that live or work in the Killisick area. If you would like to share your experiences then please contact community@gedling.gov.uk