Ways to Wellness UK

12/01/2026

It was great to see so many people at the Northumberland launch event for our psychosocial employment support project today 🙌

This is part of the North East Combined Authority Economic Inactivity Trailblazer, through which we've been funded by the Department for Work and Pensions - DWP to deliver client-led support for people who feel unable to work due to pain or their health.

This is not about making anyone start or return to work before they feel ready to.

It is aimed at supporting people in the self-management of their pain or persistent physical symptoms, so they can find the space and energy for more meaningful activity in their lives, including around work or taking steps towards work.

Our psychosocial employment support is available to clients across Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, North Tyneside and Northumberland.

Find out more ⬇️ https://www.waystowellness.org.uk/psychosocial-employment-support

Psychosocial employment support for people with chronic conditions and pain Psychosocial employment support - client fact sheet Quick links: BackgroundPart of the North East Combined Authority (NECA) Economic Inactivity Trailblazer, Ways to Wellness is funded by the Department for Work and Pensions....

06/01/2026

Read the From Newcastle blog on See the Whole of Me — a powerful animation co-created with mums and mums-to-be that illuminates the importance of active listening in maternity care 👩🏽‍🍼

Dr Caroline Claisse from Open Lab, Newcastle University discusses how researchers and the VCSE sector worked together 🤝 to explore opportunities and challenges in the service design of maternal mental health care provision in .

She hopes the animation will prompt more dialogue around maternal listening with mums and key actors across the VCSE sector and the NHS.

Created by Roots and Wings CIC, with original artwork by Olga Mashanskaya, the animation draws on workshops led by researchers from Open Lab - Newcastle University, Newcastle University, in collaboration with The Happy Mums Foundation, with input from Ways to Wellness among other VCSE organisations.

The project was funded by INCLUDE+ Network and the Centre for Digital Citizens, and supported by community partners including Cumbria CVS (Council for Voluntary Service), Healthwatch Cumberland, Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership, and Women UP.

'See the Whole of Me' is an animation illuminating the importance of active listening in maternity care - read about the collaborative process behind it.

27/12/2025

Catch up with all things happy mums from the past year.

23/12/2025

It's a bittersweet Christmas Eve Eve in Ways to Wellness' world as today we bid a fond farewell to our Head of Implementation Ang Broadbridge, after four years with the organisation.

Please join us in wishing her the best of luck in her next steps, as well as a restful and joyful festive break!

22/12/2025

🎉 As we wrap up the year at Ways to Wellness, we’d like to take a moment to thank our wonderful staff, partners, and collaborators for their hard work, commitment, and support throughout the year.

Our office will be closed for the festive period from Wednesday, 24 December and will re-open on Friday, 2 January.

Wishing everyone a very , and we look forward to working together again in the new year.

19/12/2025

Thanks to Newcastle Hospitals Charity through its arts programme, in partnership with Northern Lights Newcastle, Gail and Matthew Rich were able to take their daughter Jessica, who we support through our SPACE Pilot project at the Great North Children's Hospital, to enjoy the 2025 Northern Lights event, which is taking place until New Year's Eve in Leazes Park, Newcastle upon Tyne.

A big thank you for helping us give our families this very special festive gift!

Find out more about how the programme supports families on our website at https://www.waystowellness.org.uk/space-pilot, and find out more about this particular family's journey at https://thenicolerichfoundation.org.uk/

17/12/2025

What a great way to end the year!

🏅 Ways to Wellness received the Bronze Better Health at Work Award, which recognises the efforts of employers across the North East and Cumbria to empower and educate team members to better look after their health and wellbeing.

We started this journey in April, and since then we have:

✅ Learned how to sleep better with Professor Jason Ellis, Director of the Northumbria Centre for Sleep Research

✅ Found out how to prevent and manage MSK issues with our Chair and former GP, Dr Guy Pilkington

✅ Walked more than one million steps for Diabetes UK

✅ Made room in our working day for some mindful movement and creativity, which has included sessions on chair yoga and meditation.

We aren’t stopping there. Today we’re enjoying a taster session on breathwork from specialist coach Laura Duffy.

We’d like to thank all our health advocates for all their work this year: Rachael Jones, Jule Coulson, Becca Gray and Emily Barker – and all our team members for embracing our activities so enthusiastically.

We already have our sights on silver!

11/12/2025

Great to be at today’s Deprescribing in Pain and Mental Health event at Durham University - an interdisciplinary conversation with health researchers and practitioners to discuss in chronic pain and mental health.

In recent years, many prescribers have begun rethinking their reliance on medications such as opioid painkillers and antidepressants. It’s been valuable to join this conversation, especially as Ways to Wellness took part in the collaborative project TAPER2 - supporting people to ‘wait well’ for surgery through opioid deprescribing and social prescribing.

Read more about TAPER2 🔗 https://www.waystowellness.org.uk/newsblogs/ways-to-wellness-rewarded-for-its-partnership-working-at-the-newcastle-hospitals-celebrating-excellence-awardsnbsp

We’ve heard insightful talks from several contributors. Jonathan Coates from St Anthony’s Primary Care Centre and Pharmacy in Walker spoke about working in an area facing significant challenges.

Matt Williams, Psychological Welfare Practitioner at St Anthony's Health Centre, discussed the important role of language in helping patients build psychological flexibility.

Neil Heffernan, Pharmacist, St. Anthony's Pharmacy, explored what happens after the GP interaction ends and the wider societal problem of seeking a quick fix.

Through all the talks, there is a theme of strong relationships being key.

08/12/2025

Childcare: What happens when the system designed to support families works against them?

Listen to Amanda Bailey from the North East Child Poverty Commission, Ang Broadbridge from Ways to Wellness UK, and Dr Steph Scott from Newcastle University on Alison Dunn’s This is the North podcast talk about the childcare issues facing families across the North East.

They share real-life stories of families struggling to make it work, whether it’s the strain that comes from depending on relatives for support, the rising costs of childcare for households already stretched by the cost of living, or the complicated nature of trying to access it.

Listen
🔗Apple podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ep-41-childcare-what-happens-when-the-system-designed/id1716538462?i=1000740209508
🔗Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/1yIsq8aKSK5AGM0ySS5nrZ?si=RTy8dcN0QFuYP5cyzhwJ0w&nd=1&dlsi=40083c5b74f74ad2

Read more in the Health Equity North Childcare should not be a luxury report 🔗https://www.healthequitynorth.co.uk/app/uploads/CHILDCARE-REPORT-FINAL.pdf

03/12/2025

⚽ We were thrilled to invite on the pitch with the Your Move participants!

Today is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, for many teenagers living with long-term or acute health conditions, taking part in traditional football sessions can be challenging. Your Move, a collaboration between Ways to Wellness UK and Northumberland FA, is breaking down barriers to access England’s national sport.

Hear from Kylla Sjoman, a former Champions League star who now works as the EDI Officer for Northumberland FA, talking about how this inclusive football project came to life and the impact it’s already having.

Funded through The FA's Journey to Inclusion Fund.

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/champions-league-footballer-backs-phenomenal-32862113

Find out more about how SPACE Pilot supports children with complex healthcare needs and their families ➡️ https://www.waystowellness.org.uk/space-pilot

Kylla Sjoman has swapped the Champions League for the Northumberland FA and supported an innovative scheme helping youngsters with long-term health conditions back into sport.

26/11/2025

👋 Visit us today at the Developing NHS Innovation Conference in London!

This event brings together patient groups, government organisations, industry partners and NHS teams to accelerate the adoption of new healthcare innovations.

We’re delighted to be part of the exhibition. Say hello and pick up a Ways to Wellness tote bag before they're gone.

Let’s shape the future of healthcare together. 🌟

20/11/2025

Fantastic to be at the Population Health 2025 Conference on giving all children the 'Strongest Start', where our Head of Implementation Ang Broadbridge is a panellist.

Key messages so far have included “let’s 'Think Child' with urgency”, and how vital lived experience is to shaping practice.

It has also been great to hear among delegates that social prescribing and the VCSE sector are seen as key players crucial to the overall picture.

One standout statistic to consider is the fact it costs a family £35 for a paediatric outpatient appointment, factoring in travel, time off work, and food.

All in all today is serving to act as a rallying cry to urgently invest in our children and families!

https://centreforpopulationhealth.co.uk/2025-conference