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Posted on 7 Oct 2024

Nottinghamshire Healthcare is delighted to have colleagues shortlisted in two categories of the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICS Integrated Health Care Awards .

 

Our Early Intervention Speech and Language team has been shortlisted for the Equity Award, and the Diabetes Transition and Young Persons’ Service at Sherwood Forest Hospitals Trust, has been shortlisted in the Best Outcomes Award category. Dr Gemma Paszek, Lead Clinical Psychologist in Nottinghamshire Healthcare’s Physical Health Psychology Service, is part of the Young Adult Diabetes Service.

 

Becky Sutton, Chief Operating Officer at Nottinghamshire Healthcare said: “Huge congratulations to colleagues involved in these teams on being shortlisted. They both do fantastic work improving the lives of children and young adults, helping them to live their lives to their full potential. Wishing them the best of luck for the ceremony.”

The project SLT team, commissioned by Small Steps Big Changes (SSBC), offer two early language packages of care: 1) Home Talk offered across all of Nottingham City and 2) Tiny Steps to Talking which is available for families living in the SSBC wards (Aspley, Bulwell, Hyson Green and Arboretum and St Ann’s). SSBC is one of the lottery funded  ‘A Better Start Partnerships’ which is a programme of activities designed to give every child the best start in life. 

The team were initially commissioned in 2021 to offer Home Talk for children and families in the SSBC wards, and from April 2024 this has been extended across the city.

All sessions focus on working closely with parents to help their child’s communication and language through play. Home Talk includes activities such as singing, book sharing, no cost play ideas and messy play. Home Talk involves coaching parents in evidence-based language strategies to support their child’s communication development. The team works closely with our bilingual co-workers and interpreters to offer our services to all families who need it. 

The team recently won the ‘Nursery World Award’ for inclusive practice and one of judges noted that the service showed ‘inclusivity at the heart of practice’. 

Julia Harris said “We are so proud to represent and show off the good work we do at Notts Healthcare. We value the importance of a good quality evidence base in speech and language service provision, and we focus on keeping children and families at the heart of what we do. We are committed to providing parents / carers and children with the best possible support to help children to develop their language and communication skills, giving them the very best start in life.”

The Diabetes Transition and Young Persons’ Service, funded through an NHS England Pilot Scheme, have developed innovative care provision for young adults 18-25 years with diabetes. The team have adopted a fully integrated approach, placing the psychologist and dietician as core members of the team, providing joint clinic appointments with a consultant endocrinologist and diabetes specialist nurse.  Young adults typically have poorer blood sugar control than children and older adults, leading to long lasting negative health impacts.  The team are an excellent example of the benefits of the true integration of physical health and mental health provision and they have seen some remarkable benefits for the young adults they are working with, including dramatic reductions in hospital admissions and increased stability in blood sugars.

Dr Gemma Paszek said: “As Clinical Psychologists working in physical health, we strive to promote the added value of psychological care for patient wellbeing and health outcomes. The respect and appreciation for my profession I feel from colleagues in the young adult diabetes service has been encouraging and gratifying. To have the work we are doing showcased on a wider platform, and for the benefits of integrating physical and psychological care to be acknowledged and commended; I feel proud and enthused.