The Ways to Wellness Persistent Physical Symptoms (PPS) pilot, which has been running since April 2024, is showing promising improvements in wellbeing for clients across four GP surgeries in Newcastle –upon –Tyne.

Long-term conditions are a major driver of NHS costs, estimated to exceed £115bn each year, a figure reflecting the complexity of care needed by those with chronic conditions including asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), diabetes, arthritis, epilepsy, osteoporosis, high blood pressure, and heart disease. 

With this in mind, Ways to Wellness is sad to confirm that the project that led to our founding is to come to an end this summer, having supported more than 11,000 client journeys over the last 10 years. 

Today is World Day for Health and Safety at Work, a UN-backed global initiative designed to raise awareness of good practice and protect people in carrying out their roles – whatever they are!

We talk about how our new SOS ID Badges are keeping our staff safe at work.

Internet access is vital in our lives, whether for work or staying in touch with friends and family. Yet, two million households lack home internet, and 2.4 million can’t afford a mobile phone. 

North East England has one of the highest rates of digital exclusion, with 8% of people offline, according to research from the North East Local  Enterprise Partnership (LEP)’s Skills Advisory Panel. 

As a National Databank Hub, Ways to Wellness’ link workers can now issue SIM cards to the most vulnerable individuals they are working with, helping improve that community access that is so vital to our quality of life. 

Ways to Wellness is paying its learning forward this #SocialPrescribingDay by investigating the ways in which the delivery of community health services can best support specific groups of people.

In addition to hosting social prescribing link workers operating within some of of our pilot projects and prototypes, we often take a role grounded in research in order to further our mission to tackle health inequalities. 

Case in point is a study we're involved in to identify the ways in which link workers can best support young mums and birthing parents with their mental health. 

Ways to Wellness is thrilled to announce the expansion of one of our most impactful projects.

The Innovation Challenge Fund by NHS Charities Together has granted Newcastle Hospitals Charity £200,000to support a partnership with Ways to Wellness to further expand our SPACE Pilot project, a collaboration with the Great North Children’s Hospital that sees social prescribing link workers placed alongside clinicians treating children with chronic conditions. 

The move comes after an evaluation by researchers that proved the positive impact of the pilot’s work so far.

Ways to Wellness is looking for a Communications and Marketing Officer to join our friendly, supportive and committed team in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Whether you have some experience or are at an early stage in your communications career, applicants should be professional, efficient, and possess excellent written, digital, and interpersonal skills.

The full-time equivalent salary for this post is £26,000pa (£15,600pa actual for 22.2 hours a week; flexible working will be considered), and the deadline to apply is 5pm on 28 February.

Ways to Wellness is to co-deliver a project to support young mums in the region with their mental health.

We have joined forces with the Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA) and Sunderland Counselling Service to trial an intervention in which a specialist social prescribing link worker will offer both emotional and practical care to some of the women and girls in our communities most at risk of pre and postnatal mental health issues.

Read Ways to Wellness’ response to the Government’s consultation on the future of health services in England. Pictured is our Chief Executive Sandra Mitchell-Phillips.

Fay Howell’s work as a specialist social prescribing link worker exemplifies how such roles enhance patient wellbeing, build resilience, and create cost-effective healthcare solutions. Fay’s story sheds light on the often-overlooked human and systemic benefits of social prescribing. 

We are delighted to share that our collaborative Maternal Mental Health Prototype project has won the prestigious ‘Women’s Health Innovation’ Award at the Bright Ideas in Health Awards 2024. “A remarkable contribution to women’s health in NENC.”

We’re a #BIHA2024 finalist! Our work on Maternal Mental Health Service social prescribing link worker prototypes has been shortlisted at this year’s Bright Ideas in Health Awards!

Working with clients in Newcastle based GP surgeries, this is a great opportunity for experienced Link Workers or anyone starting out in social prescribing and wanting to develop their skills and experience as a Link Worker, within a proven, successful project.

This October Ways to Wellness has featured in some significant national reports and events. These highlight our commitment to tacking health inequalities, creating opportunities for healthcare innovation, and collaborating with the latest developments in public health.

Over the past two years Ways to Wellness has been leading conversations about maternal mental health and service design in North East and North Cumbria. Find out more on how we engaged diverse groups in co-creation activities to promote listening and develop innovative pathways.

Earlier this year, our Development Lead spoke to The National Academy of Social Prescribing about our pilot programme, PROSPeR, offering social prescribing support to people on the waiting list for hip and knee surgery.

Our Chief Executive, Sandra Mitchell-Phillips, discusses how secondary care can benefit from the social prescribing revolution in her blog for NHS Providers.

We are sad to announce the closure of our collaborative VCSE Maternal Mental Health Services Link Worker project.  Over the past two years Ways to Wellness has been prototyping what good maternal mental health support looks like for mums and mums to be experiencing mild to moderate mental health needs. 

The Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Maternal Mental Health Services Prototypes managed by Ways to Wellness are Highly Commended in the category Positive Practice in Perinatal and Maternal Mental Health in the National Positive Practice in Mental Health Awards.