Pythian Club showcases its preventative work in the community

Our Chair Dr Kathy McLean joined Claire Ward, Mayor of the East Midlands, on a visit to The Pythian Club this week to see first‑hand the organisation’s powerful impact on local communities and young people.

Founded in 2014, The Pythian Club has grown into a respected, award‑winning community organisation dedicated to empowering young people and supporting neighbourhood resilience. Based at the Heathfield Community Centre in Basford, they deliver programmes spanning education, mentoring, sport, behaviour support, and community safety.

Their wide range of activities includes multi‑sports sessions, targeted mentoring, support for those experiencing homelessness, and safety patrols in partnership with NET Nottingham Trams. These initiatives offer young people opportunities to thrive while also contributing directly to safer, healthier communities.

Dr Kathy McLean said: “We heard just how important the work of the Pythian Club is to the local community, including its work to support people into volunteering and employment, providing opportunities to be active, its mentoring work with young people and support for people experiencing homelessness.

“Through our continued focus on neighbourhood development, it will be vital for us to work with grassroots organisations like the Pythian Club to ensure they are involved in shaping future support for people living in their area.”

Mayor Claire Ward said: “The Pythian Club shows the incalculable value of community-led organisations which are grounded in place. Their services have grown from relationships, showing a deep understanding of what young people need to flourish.”

“Both Kathy and I know that our regional organisations have a role to play in ensuring that groups like The Pythian Club have the space they need to do this important work, and we will work together to ensure that they are considered as we invest into the region, set strategy, and commission key services.”

Kathy and Mayor Claire identified some shared priorities for the future, including youth trailblazer initiatives, work to support men and boys, mental health prevention work and using data to identify risk earlier and support prevention.

The Future of Primary Care podcast

A new podcast, hosted by ICB Chair Dr Kathy McLean, is available featuring experts from across the new cluster system of Derby and Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire (DLN).

The new episode takes a deep dive into primary care, thinking about where it fits into the ten year plan, how we can motivate the workforce and the opportunities and challenges for the coming year.

Kathy’s guests are: Clive Newman, Derby and Derbyshire ICB Director of Primary Care, Dr Sunil Hindocha, Medical Director, Lincolnshire ICB and Dr Stephen Shortt, Deputy Medical Director, Nottinghamshire and Nottinghamshire ICB.

This will be part of a regular podcast series called Healthy Conversations, where Kathy talks to people working in a range of organisations across the DLN system from hospitals to the local authority and voluntary sector. Kathy leads discussion on the challenges and opportunities of providing healthcare, what’s already working well and how best we can work together to improve our population’s health.

Subjects in this podcast include access to general practice, stewardship, examples of best practice and the role of Primary Care Networks.

Kathy says: “Primary care is at a critical point in its history with potential for the future. We don’t have to reinvent, we can share things across the cluster. We have to give people hope that it can be achieved.”

Listen here.

New NIHR Primary Care Commercial Research Delivery Centre

A primary care consortium led by the University of Nottingham Health Service has been awarded one of 14 new National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Primary Care Commercial Research Delivery Centres (PC-CDRC) in England and the only one in the Midlands region.

The University of Nottingham Health Service is working in partnership with Nottingham City GP Alliance, Brierley Park Medical Group and Chilwell Valley and Meadows Practice. More than £14m has been awarded to the PC-CDRCs across England to expand commercial research delivery and contribute to increasing patient access to clinical trials in primary care, supporting the shift of research as well as care from hospitals into community settings and accelerating the development of new medicines, vaccines and therapies.  

This success builds on many years of primary care research capacity building and experience by the partner organisations in delivering primary care clinical trials across the Integrated Care System (ICS) including with underserved groups. Many congratulations to all those involved.

Dr Simon Royal, Research Lead at University of Nottingham Health Service said:

“This is an excellent opportunity for us to share learning with our colleagues across the ICS and boost commercial research capacity for the region.  Our goal is to bring the potential benefits of participating in these studies, especially access to innovative new treatments not currently available on the NHS, to as many people as possible.”

Dr Dave Briggs, ICB Executive Director of Outcomes (Medical Director) said:

“A key aim of the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICS Research Strategy is to undertake research to improve the health and care outcomes and reduce the health inequalities of our population. It is really important that clinical trials take place in primary care closer to where patients live and that population groups who have historically been under-represented in research have the choice to participate so that everyone can benefit from clinical research. This is a fantastic achievement for all involved and demonstrates the strength of research expertise, infrastructure and culture in our system.” 

Find out more at 14 new centres to bring commercial research into primary care | NIHR

Toy Library showcases innovative approach to supporting families

Dr Kathy McLean, Chair of NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), visited the Toy Library in Bulwell this week to find out about its innovative approach to supporting families.

The Toy Library was founded 45 years ago and has evolved since then to offer family support services and child development through play. Community involvement, co-production and lived experience are at the heart of all Toy Library activities.

Services offered by the Toy Library include:

  • The award-winning Family Mentor support service which offers tailored support to families of 0 – 4 year olds. Evidence shows that the programme is making a meaningful difference in children’s lives, offering guidance and encouragement during the most formative years. The service is currently funded through the Health Inequalities Investment Fund, administered by the ICB.
  • Room to Play, which offers free, universal sessions, 6 days a week. The Room to Play centre is located prominently on Bulwell’s high street, offering a drop-in model, to improve accessibility.
  • Work with 5-14 years olds, supporting them to develop through 121 and group-based sessions and holiday activities/projects.
  • Targeted sessions for hard-to-reach 9-13 year olds including children and young people who have been excluded from school
  • Organising child centred community events in school holidays.
  • Signposting families to other services including health and dental services and local food banks.

Kathy said: “It was impressive to see how the Toy Library is working with local families to offer them the services and support they need. They also demonstrate a commitment to inclusivity, with translators available on-site, strong partnerships with local primary schools, and dedicated sessions for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

“This is an excellent model for community-based support which is helping to tackle this issue and I can see the potential for inspiring similar initiatives in other areas of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.”

Dr Kathy McLean visits Nottingham’s Urgent Treatment Centre

Today, Dr Kathy McLean, Chair of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), visited the Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) operated by Nottingham CityCare. She was welcomed by Jim Quinn, Head of the UTC, and Dr Nicole Atkinson, Chief Executive of Nottingham CityCare, for a behind-the-scenes look at the healthcare facility.

The UTC has been a cornerstone of urgent care in Nottingham since 2000, evolving from a Walk-In Centre to an Urgent Care Centre, and now to its current form. It serves not only the Nottingham conurbation but also patients from across the county and neighbouring counties.

Open every day of the year from 7am to 7pm, the centre sees an average of 190 patients daily, with peaks reaching up to 250. It provides care for a wide range of minor illnesses and injuries, without the need for an appointment – though patients referred from other NHS services can book ahead.

The centre is staffed by nurses, paramedics, and physiotherapists all working at the top of their licences. It also boasts an on-site x-ray facility delivered in partnership with Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH), exemplifying strong cross-organisational collaboration. One of the UTC’s standout features is its full access to the majority of patients’ GP records. This enables clinicians to view previous tests, diagnoses, and treatments, and ensures that all care delivered is added to the patient’s record—supporting continuity and safety across the system.

During her visit, Dr McLean saw firsthand some of the innovative practices at the UTC. One such example is the use of advanced splinting technology for fractures, allowing patients to avoid traditional plaster casts. This not only improves patient experience but also reduces pressure on hospital services.

Reflecting on her visit, Dr Kathy McLean said: “I was incredibly impressed by the Urgent Treatment Centre. It’s a brilliant example of integrated care in action – from the partnership with NUH for x-ray services to the seamless use of patient records. CityCare’s work here is not only compassionate and responsive, but also innovative and connected to our neighbourhood health priorities.”

For more on the UTC’s work and innovations, visit Nottingham CityCare’s news page.

Dr Kathy Mclean visits some of Nottinghamshire’s smallest patients on tour of the new Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at QMC

Dr Kathy McLean, Chair of NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire’s Integrated Care Board, visited the newly opened Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Queen’s Medical Centre (QMC) recently.

Kathy spoke to staff and saw how new systems and ways of working had been embedded.

Rachel Boardman, Director of Nursing and People for Family Health, Lleona Lee, Neonatal Consultant and Zara Doubleday, Neonatal Matron, showed Kathy around and talked her through the improvements, from the calming reception sky lighting to the sound proofed flooring across the unit.

Costing £32million and designed to be a home-from-home for babies and their families, the NICU at QMC is the largest in the East Midlands in terms of cots and footprint, with carefully thought-out areas such as quiet family rooms, play areas for older siblings and glazed screens between bays for increased privacy.

Rachel Boardman, Director of Nursing and People for Family Health said: “We discussed with Kathy the learning from this unit that we have been able to take forward into other projects, such as our Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, which has recently been refurbished.

“By carrying out a project as large as the NICU expansion and approaching it the way we did, we have been able to learn so much and look at different ways of working for other areas in the hospital too.”

Visiting the specially designed side rooms of the NICU, colleagues talked Kathy through how they had designed them to ensure that everything was off the floor to make it a clearer working space. They also discussed the importance of the new technologies that had been implemented, how they have been utilised to improve patient care, and how changes such as the flooring and monitor levels have made an impact on the noise levels, which is so important for babies at this stage in their development.

The group also shared how the new unit had helped with recruitment and retention, with things like dedicated areas for teams to be together making a big impact on staff wellbeing.

The tour included visiting areas such as the dedicated parent laundry room, which means that parents do not need to go home to do their laundry, and the family lounge which includes a kitchen space where families can make meals and have some time together.

The tour ended with a discussion with staff around what they would like to see more of, how they could be further supported and the benefits of all the support services such as dietitians and speech and language therapists being in the same space.

Kathy said: “I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to show me around the unit. It is obviously a very busy unit, but there is still that calm atmosphere that prevails, and I think that is so important in a unit like this that is caring for such tiny babies.

“It has been great to speak to staff and hear their different accounts of how the unit works and the benefits for both staff and patients. It is clear that the unit has been really well thought out to consider everything that may be needed for the families that need to use it.”  

Nottingham Women’s Centre showcases its vital work

Dr Kathy McLean, Chair of the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), visited Nottingham Women’s Centre recently to learn about their vital work to improve health outcomes and reduce inequalities.

The visit offered Kathy a first-hand look at the Centre’s trauma-informed, person-centred approach to supporting women. The Centre, which has been open for over 50 years, provides a safe, welcoming space for women to access services, build connections, and take steps toward recovery and empowerment.

The Centre offers a wide range of services, including counselling, casework for women on probation, therapeutic support, and wellbeing activities. One of its key focuses is supporting women transitioning out of the criminal justice system. This work is crucial in breaking cycles of reoffending—especially given that nearly 60% of women reoffend within a year of release.

Kathy said: “I heard powerful stories from women whose journeys from crisis to stability were made possible through the Centre’s wraparound support.

“And with more than half of the women using the centre being from minority ethnic backgrounds, the work they do to offer health literacy programmes for migrant women and a community languages counselling service is incredibly important.

“The Centre is a powerful example of how the voluntary sector can drive prevention, reduce health inequalities, and deliver social value.”

The Centre also provides practical support through a mini emergency foodbank, hygiene bank, and open-access facilities where women can cook, shower, and rest—no questions asked. Its women-only library and archive further enrich the space as a cultural and educational hub.

Find out more about Nottingham Women’s Centre

Lung Cancer Screening podcast

Find out how the lung cancer screening programme in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire has one of the best uptake rates in the country.

Dr Kathy McLean, Chair of the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board, interviews Emma O’Dowd, Respiratory Consultant at Nottingham University Hospitals Trust and Katie Lee, Lung Cancer Screening Programme Project Manager at NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board.

Read the transcript

Proud moments for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire at the HSJ Digital Awards

Nottingham and Nottinghamshire were proudly represented at the HSJ Digital Awards 2025, which celebrate excellence in digital innovation across the NHS.

Andrew Fearn, Chief Digital Officer for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) and NHS Derby and Derbyshire ICB, was Highly Commended as ‘Digital Leader of the Year’ for his instrumental leadership in advancing digital health initiatives for the East Midlands Radiology Network.

Andrew said: “It was really nice to be in a room of digital enthusiasts showing the NHS show it should be done… a great night!”

Nottingham University Hospitals Trust were also Highly Commended for their ‘One Version of the Truth’ hospital discharge dataset agreed by all partners. This supports collaboration across health and social care partners in managing the timely, safe and appropriate discharge of people from hospital. This has supported better practice and decision-making and is helping more people to go directly home, in a shorter time.

Rosa Waddingham, Chief Nurse at the ICB said: “Well done to Andrew and the One Version of the Truth team for being highly commended at these prestigious national awards. These achievements reflect our dedication to digital excellence in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire and its positive impact on patient care.”