Health and Care Awards – Shortlisted entries 2024

Broxtowe Learning Disability Collaborative, Nottingham West PCN and LLeisure Ltd

Broxtowe Learning Disability Collaborative designed and implemented a series of Learning Disability Health and Wellbeing Roadshows aimed at improving the outcomes and experiences of people with learning disabilities.

The roadshows provided a safe space for people with learning disabilities to have their voices heard and to share their experiences about what matters to them. They also encouraged uptake of the annual learning disability review, raised awareness of the wider determinants of health and promoted a holistic approach to health and wellbeing.

As a result, a number of actions have been implemented including training experience for every PCN trainee nursing associate, Oliver McGowan training with leisure staff, setting up sensory flu clinics for people with learning disabilities and creation of a learning disability advise and information repository.

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Targeted Lung Health Check Programme, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board

Targeted Lung Health Checks (TLHC) help to identify lung cancer at an early stage when there are more curative treatment options available. Prior to the lung health checks, less than 25% of lung cancers were diagnosed at an early stage. As part of a new innovative approach to reduce health inequalities, the TLHC team have worked collaboratively with system partners to deliver these lifesaving checks to some of the most disadvantaged groups in Nottingham.

Nottingham has the eighth highest prevalence of severe multiple disadvantage (SMD) in England and people experiencing SMD have poorer health outcomes than the general population. The lung health check service offered dedicated walk in clinics and the service was adapted to make it easier for people experiencing SMD to attend. There were 15 people identified as eligible and 13 attended during the time ringfenced for drop-in clinics, including three opportunistic drop-in patients too. All 13 patients were assessed as high risk, supporting evidence that this group is at higher risk of developing lung cancer.

Two patients were fast tracked into NUH with suspected lung cancer or other significant finding. The details were passed to key workers and hospital appointments have been attended. These patients had no symptoms prior to screening.

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The Pythian Club

The Pythian Club has successfully supported youth and adolescents through a holistic and multi-faceted approach, focusing on education, skill development, and mental health support. Their programs aim to empower young people by equipping them with the knowledge and tools necessary for future success.

Young people who require additional support, particularly those facing social isolation or mental health challenges, are referred to The Pythian Club by healthcare professionals. Through these referrals, Pythian helps bridge the gap between medical care and community-based support by offering activities, mentorship, and peer support that address physical and mental health needs.

By creating environments that are fun, inclusive, and youth-driven, Pythian has broken down barriers that often prevent young people from engaging in physical activities. They have implemented mentorship initiatives where experienced athletes worked with the youth, providing not just technical guidance but also personal development support. These mentors became role models, inspiring young participants to stay committed to their chosen sports, these relationships fostered trust and created a sense of belonging.

Digital and Social Inclusion Co-ordinators, Digital Notts

Digital Notts’ Digital and Social Inclusion workstream has implemented several initiatives to tackle digital exclusion and promote digital and social equity. It ensures that the benefits of the internet and digital technologies are available to everyone accessing health and care services across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.

Digital Inclusion Co-ordinator roles were introduced in June 2022 with the purpose of having dedicated physical resource embedded within Primary Care Network community footprints. The aim was to allow for a more proactive support offering to encourage increased adoption of system-wide digital healthcare tools, particularly with patients who would benefit most from access to digital health services.

Since June 2022, Digital Inclusion Co-ordinators, have supported over 25,000 people to get online and improve their skills and confidence using digital tools, delivered 1,948 digital skills sessions and outreach events and helped increase NHS App registrations by over 33,800.

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Swim Sista Swim, Canal and River Trust

The Canal and River Trust’s Swim Sista Swim programme is helping black women in Nottingham overcome barriers to taking part in water-based wellbeing and sports activities. Data shows that black women are underrepresented in water-based wellbeing activities and statistically the black community is at a greater risk of drowning.

Swim Sista Swim is a 12-month programme consisting of a 10-week swim course delivered by black swimming instructors in a safe and welcoming environment in a leisure centre, followed by a 6-week introduction to paddle sports on Nottingham’s waterways. Workshops are also offered on hair care and free swim caps are offered that are larger than average swim caps and accommodate thicker, curlier hair.

The first cohort of women participating in the programme reported significant higher swim and water confidence levels with most women now self-identifying as swimmers and feeling open and confident in participating in other water-based activities such as canoeing. As a result, women reported of feeling more included in family and community activities and more likely to participate in water-based wellbeing activities that the Trust is offering as part of Nottingham & Nottinghamshire’s green social prescribing offer.

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Early Intervention Speech and Language team, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Nearly 40% of Nottingham children do not reach the expected level in communication, language, and literacy areas of learning in reception year. Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust’s Early Intervention Speech and Language Team are commissioned to provide speech and language services for 0—4-year-olds as part of the Small Steps Big Changes programme.

The team provides early support at the heart of local communities by attending playgroups in areas of high deprivation to increase awareness of the service offer and running drop-in sessions at local venues to offer parents of 0—4-year-olds support and signposting to services.  The team also offers the newly developed Tiny Steps to Talking, a group intervention for parents with one-year-olds in selected wards. They offer Home Talk, a nationally recognised at-home intervention for two-year-olds who need some help with their spoken language development, to families across Nottingham City. The team also works with interpreters to aid communication with parents/caregivers who speak limited or no English, and to support children in their home languages.

The team’s innovative and inspirational work has been recognised nationally. The team won the 2023 Nursery World Awards – Inclusive Practice Award and 2023 Children and Young People Now Awards – The Public Sector Children’s Team Award. The team have also been invited to present their work at the 2024 Children and Young People Now Conference to share valuable learning.

Theatres HIT Lists and Robotic-Assisted Surgery Programme, Nottingham University Hospitals Trust

Theatre staff at Nottingham University Hospitals Trust (NUH) have been looking into innovative ways to tackle the waiting list for routine operations and procedures, and have developed an efficient but safe programme to maximise the number of patients treated in one day, improve patient experience and reduce costs associated with waiting lists.

The programme uses high intensity theatre lists (HIT lists) to help reduce the backlog for non-emergency surgery. It also includes the use of robotic-assisted surgery, with NUH being the first Trust to implement this in the Midlands.

As well as a shorter operating time, using a surgical robot provides surgeons with better precision and accuracy, offering patients procedures that are less invasive with a shorter recovery time. Of the six patients operated, all were discharged the next day freeing up much needed hospital beds. On average, robotic-assisted surgery reduces length of stay from 5 days to 1, saving the Trust £1,628 per patient.

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Acute Home Visiting Service for Mid Notts, Primary Integrated Community Services Ltd

Any housebound or care home patient requiring an acute same day visit from a GP is seen by a highly skilled and experienced Advanced Nurse Practitioner. They will be an independent prescriber, highly experienced in Primary Care with good skills and competencies in treating urgent conditions, including acute respiratory and cardiac conditions, saving GP time and reducing cost of delivering the care, reducing hospital conveyancing and emergency admissions.

Patients acutely unwell are seen quicker by the team, providing reassurance and treatment earlier than if waiting for a GP visit. Patient surveys feedback near 100% satisfaction.

In the past 12 months we estimate that over 2,500 emergency admissions have been avoided equating to an annual cost saving of £3.375m in secondary care, keeping beds free, preventing unnecessary ambulance journeys, and over 50% reduction in clinician cost per visit. The service delivery costs are £700k pa proving a 5 fold return on investment.

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Advice On Prescription, Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice run the ‘Advice on Prescription’ service which supports people with problems around low income, housing and debt, with most people experiencing multiple disadvantages.

The service offers a dedicated referral pathway for medical practitioners and social prescribers to refer clients who are experiencing non-medical problems that could have an impact on their long-term health. By supporting people at the earliest stage and providing a proactive service for those who need it, the service is helping to lessen the impact of debt.

Outcomes are measured via case studies, detailed data and outcome surveys with clients. The service has seen a significant improvement in well-being, with a 50% improvement in feeling more optimistic about the future. The public value of improving clients’ wellbeing equates to £1.01million. 

MEN AT THE EDGE, Oasis Community Church

The MEN AT THE EDGE Project started four years ago following fundraising and time spent restoring property and portacabins at the EDGE site on Plantation Hill in Worksop. The project started in response to a high suicide rate for the area and evidence showed that men were experiencing issues with mental health, unemployment, physical health and disability and isolation.

The team restored a derelict site and began a project to create a safe space for men in any and of need. Sessions ran several mornings each week with another special morning for veterans, social evenings, men’s breakfast project, lifeline educational projects.

The EDGE is a place of safety, security, solace and support and the number of men accessing it has been growing week by week. The EDGE offers support before, during and after other interventions. People need the service to find a place they can belong and find ongoing care and support from people who care for the long term.

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Nottinghamshire County Council Adult Social Care Commissioning Team and ADVIS in partnership with Nottinghamshire Deaf Society, NHFT Deaf MH Team and Deaf Co-production Group

The Nottinghamshire County Council Adult Social Care Commissioning Team and Adult Deaf and Visual Impairment Service (ADVIS) are working with partners to tackle barriers faced by Deaf people, which can lead to poorer outcomes.

Work includes redesigning the service following coproduction, co-designing the new prevention offer, joint working with key teams creating a Deaf Partnership Group and Deaf Professionals Group and improving information sharing arrangements with partners.

The partnership work has already led to the Deaf Mental Health Team identifying the need to improve their accessibility and this work is underway. The group also delivered an event to celebrate the developing local offer and worked with people with lived experience to develop materials, delivered opening/closing speeches, and create video-recorded feedback in BSL. Learning is also be shared through a regional sensory group.

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Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Universal Healthy Start Vitamin programme, Nottingham City Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, Nottingham University Hospitals and Sherwood Forest Hospitals

Nottingham City Council and Nottinghamshire County Council Public Health Teams worked with Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) and Sherwood Forest Hospitals (SFH) to trial a universal vitamin starter pack offer.

The universal Healthy Start vitamins project aims to promote effective health conversations across the City and County, address health disparities, and reduce access barriers. This promotes higher vitamin adoption among pregnant individuals, including those currently eligible for free vitamins through the NHS Healthy Start scheme.

Maternity staff provided vitamins to all pregnant people during routine midwifery appointments from booking through until the baby’s birth. Public Health teams worked with Communication and Marketing colleagues to create a toolkit of resources.

City & County Public Health teams worked together to create and analyse the results of surveys to gather feedback from maternity staff and pregnant/post-natal individuals about the programme. An evaluation report based on these surveys showed strong support from both groups, enabling City and County Public Health teams to secure internal approvals for continuing the universal distribution of prenatal vitamins until 31st March 2026, beyond the initial 12-month funding period.

Jane Ferreira: Waiting well, living well with MSK Together, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board

Jane Ferreira, Head of MSK Together worked with partners and people with lived experience to drive measurable improvements for people on the MSK waiting list.

The team organised events to support people’s needs beyond medical care and harnessed community and voluntary sector resources to address key social determinants of health, such as mental wellbeing and access to community support.

The success of the project stems from a creative, innovative approach that embraces teamwork, co-production, and community strengths, resulting in significant outcomes for people awaiting MSK treatment. Results include 282 personalised conversations, over 500 interactions with community and voluntary services, and 220 direct referrals.

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Pharmacy Primary Prevention Service, Primary Integrated Community Services Ltd

The pharmacy primary prevention service aims to help improve the health of patients by utilising the full potential of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians within general practice.

Nottingham West Primary Network identified hypertension as a clinical area to focus on as the area was below national average for diagnosis. A specialised clinical pharmacy team was formed to help screen, diagnose, and manage hypertensive patients across 12 practices. 

In the first year, 3250 patients were reviewed.  312 patients were newly diagnosed with hypertension, and it is estimated that the service freed up 3203 general practice appointments in the first year.

A referral service was developed to refer in new hypertensive patients, with 565 referrals made from  June 2023 to March 2024.  Case-finding continues on a smaller scale focusing on patients with health inequalities, such as people living in more deprived areas, smokers, high alcohol intake, obesity.

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Diabetes Transition and Young Persons’ Service, Sherwood Forest Hospitals Trust

The Diabetes Transition and Young Persons Service at Sherwood Forest Hospitals Trust has developed innovative support for young adults aged 18-25. Young adults with diabetes are at greatly increased risk of diabetic ketoacidosis admission, especially at time of transition. Diabetes is also associated with higher rates of depression, anxiety and completed suicide.

Multidisciplinary clinic appointments provide proactive, holistic care by destigmatising discussion about psychological issues. Pre-clinic questionnaires ensure appointments focus on the young adult’s own concerns.

Routine psychological screening identifies patients needing psychological therapy and is used for risk assessment for more vulnerable patients. Psychological support can help in managing diabetes and in reducing the risk of diabetes complications.

The innovative approaches taken by the team have led to improved health, wellbeing, self-reliance and resilience in the patients. The team have a 93% attendance rate at clinic and have seen significant reductions in HbA1c (blood glucose) levels, a 30% reduction in emergency diabetic ketoacidosis admission and 40% reduction in length of stay. They have also seen meaningful improvements to patients’ mood and quality of life since the service commenced.

Supported Independent Living Service, Bassetlaw Action Centre

The Bassetlaw Action Centre launched a Supported Independent Living Service to help older and vulnerable people remain safe in their homes for longer, improve their housing situations, and foster stronger social connections.

The service addresses the critical needs of older and vulnerable residents by providing personalised housing advice, assistance with welfare benefits, and practical support to keep their homes warm and safe. By ensuring clients are in more appropriate housing and improving their access to necessary resources the service directly tackles the root causes of health inequalities.

Through enhanced befriending options and community transport solutions, the scheme is reducing loneliness and social isolation among our clients. The service addresses the multifaceted needs of its clients, including housing, health, financial well-being, and social connections, ensuring a well-rounded support system. These improvements have helped to address the underlying factors contributing to health inequalities and social isolation, leading to improved quality of life for clients.

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Opportunistic Flu Vaccinations, Nottingham City and South Nottinghamshire Place Based Partnerships

Like all vaccination uptake, flu is impacted by deprivation and ethnicity. Clinicians from the City and South Place Based Partnership Secondary and Primary Care Interface Group discussed how Nottingham University Hospitals Trust (NUH) could offer flu vaccines on site to improve equity of vaccination uptake. The project team was made up of representatives from NUH, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board and NHS England, working closely with primary care.

The team created a daily data flow of all unvaccinated patients which was ‘matched’ with NUH outpatient data. Unvaccinated patients attending outpatients were texted, prior to their appointment, offering them a vaccination on site. The offer was also promoted via posters, leaflets and via consultations.

In total 1249 people received a flu vaccination at NUH. 83% of those vaccinated were in the ‘at risk category’ – where the ICS only achieves 41% uptake. Last year, NUH sent text messages to over 5,000 people, demonstrating an excellent example of leveraging technology to deliver a targeted approach that encourages the uptake of preventative interventions.

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Healthy Little Minds, Small Steps Big Changes

Some parents and primary carers face severe, complex, or enduring problems in their early relationships with their babies. This puts baby’s emotional wellbeing and development at risk, with lifelong emotional and physical health implications.

In Nottingham, as in many parts of England, specialised parent-infant relationship interventions were unavailable until Small Steps Big Changes commissioned Healthy Little Minds, delivered by Nottingham City Council Early Help and CAMHS. This specialised parent-infant relationship team works with families to increase the opportunities to develop a secure attachment and improve the parent-infant relationship. Each assessment by Healthy Little Minds includes dedicated time to understand diversity in family structures and functions. Parents report this is crucial to creating a trusted relationship and a key mechanism to achieving change. To reduce barriers to support, parent resources are made available in the five most common languages in Nottingham.

Evaluation shows that Healthy Little Minds significantly improves infant social and emotional development, as well as parental depression and anxiety, with positive improvements observed for 85.2% of infants and 82.9% of parents.

Amy Roach, Integrated Care System (hosted by Sherwood Forest Hospitals Trust)

Amy has been nominated for her tireless dedication and remarkable achievements in promoting health and diet with a focus on climate sustainability.

Amy has single-handedly transformed hospital menus across all hospitals using the supplier Compass Foods. Her efforts have led to increased uptake of plant-based meal options for patients, promoting healthier eating habits and supporting sustainable practices. Amy’s initiative is leading the way for a shift towards more nutritious, plant-based meals among patients, in not just our hospitals but all national hospitals with Compass contracts.

In addition to her work on sustainable hospital nutrition, Amy has worked closely with the most deprived school in Ashfield to educate future generations about diet, climate change, and personal responsibility. Through engaging and informative learning material, she has empowered students with the knowledge to make informed dietary choices and understand their role in combating climate change. Amy’s efforts have enlightened young minds and instilled a sense of responsibility, fostering a generation of environmentally conscious individuals.

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Rhubarb Farm

Rhubarb Farm has made significant improvements that align perfectly with the Social Value Award criteria, demonstrating sustainable health and care services while supporting vulnerable communities.

Expanded Employment Support: The introduction of our Progression Project has been a transformative addition, offering tailored employment and training pathways. This initiative has successfully supported our volunteers—who often face barriers like unemployment, addiction recovery, or criminal records—in gaining the confidence and skills needed to secure employment. This not only improves individual economic prospects but also reduces community-wide health inequalities by addressing one of the key social determinants of health: unemployment.

Community Pantry Initiative: In response to the rising cost of living, we launched the Community Pantry, providing affordable, nutritious food bags twice a week. This service directly addresses food insecurity in our community, ensuring that vulnerable populations, including older isolated individuals and those with mental health challenges, have access to essential resources. This initiative has been crucial in reducing health disparities by ensuring that all community members can maintain a healthy diet, regardless of their financial situation.

Enhanced Community Engagement: Through our Corporate Challenge Days and partnerships with local businesses and government bodies, we have deepened our community connections. These collaborations not only bring additional resources and awareness to our enterprise but also foster a supportive network that benefits the entire community. This collective effort strengthens our ability to deliver sustainable health and care services, ultimately enhancing the well-being of the populations we serve.

Initiatives have been successful because they directly address the root causes of health inequalities, such as unemployment and food insecurity, while fostering a strong, supportive community. By going beyond standard service delivery and working closely with a diverse range of partners, Rhubarb Farm has created sustainable, impactful solutions that resonate deeply with those most in need.

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Macmillan Beyond Diagnosis Service, Self Help UK

This Macmillan Beyond diagnosis Service has delivered lifechanging support to people affected by cancer in South and Mid Notts. By supporting improvement of wider wellbeing needs, it has helped people to get their lives on track through difficult times, improving cancer journeys and addressing the social determinants of health.

Working in partnership with the client, referrers, and other professionals, the service takes a multi-disciplinary approach. By casting a wide net, the service ensures people’s life needs are met and they can take control of their wellbeing, maximising empowerment and ongoing stability.

In the last 12 months, the service has supported 434 people with physical, emotional and practical support including shopping, digital inclusion and being accompanied to appointments. It also facilitates entry into community and support groups, where the client can receive peer support, empowering the community at a grassroots level. 87% of people said they were more able to manage their condition as a result.