As a data-driven organisation, Ways to Wellness has been looking at new digital and technological solutions to ensure the information we capture helps with health system innovation, by fully demonstrating the impact of the non-medical interventions we test, on patients, communities, and healthcare infrastructure – and showcases the difference made by our specialist link workers.  

Ways to Wellness is proud to share this new animation on the transformational power of listening which captures the real voices and mental health experiences of a group of mums and mums-to-be. 

Ways to Wellness CEO Sandra Mitchell-Phillips recently attended The King’s Fund Conference on the government’s 10-year plan for healthcare in England.

Here are her thoughts on the event, which featured keynotes from both Health Secretary Wes Streeting, and North West Mayor Andy Burnham.

Ways to Wellness has joined forces with Northumberland Football Association (FA) to ensure more of the region’s young people can access England’s national sport.

‘Your Move’ is a programme of inclusive training sessions for teenagers with acute or long-term health conditions that make it difficult to take part in traditional footballing environments - made possible by the FA’s Journey to Inclusion Fund.

Change is a given in the healthcare landscape, and while that has always been the case, the shifts taking place currently need to go further than ever before.

Anticipation was therefore rife for months ahead of publication of the government's 10-year plan for healthcare in England. Now it’s out, the system has already begun to react.

The ‘three radical shifts’ the plan is calling for, namely hospital to community, analogue to digital, and sickness to prevention, are admirable aspirations, but I can’t help but feel there are probably more questions than answers at this stage of the game.

Ways to Wellness is looking for a new part-time Head of Finance to join our small, supportive and dedicated Senior Management Team.

Robust and sustainable finance sits at the heart of our organisational strategy, ensuring we are well-positioned to continuously achieve our charitable aims, so we can maximise our impact and meet regulatory obligations.

The successful candidate, who should be a qualified accountant with demonstrable experience of seniority within financial management, preferably gained from within the charitable or public sector, will build strong relationships throughout the organisation and among our partners.

The full-time equivalent salary for this post is £50,000pa (£20,000pa to £25,000pa actual for up to two-and-a-half days a week), and the deadline to apply is 9am on 8 August.

The government’s 10-year plan for healthcare in England, published yesterday, emphasises local, personalised, holistic healthcare, delivered by strong multi-disciplinary teams with non-clinical support at their core. For that to become a reality, good integration will be key. So we chatted to Tracy Huitson, Practice Manager at West Road Medical Centre in Newcastle upon Tyne, and our own Steffen Laukard about how they’ve worked together to bring this vision to life for our Persistent Physical Symptoms prototype.

Two of Ways to Wellness’ team have been involved in shaping a study diving deeper into the costs of childcare and access challenges for families across the North East.

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!