Issue 16 - Catch up with PCP, projects and services

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Issue 16

PCP invests to remain 'Pioneering'

The Pioneering Care Partnership (PCP) is renowned as a multi-award winning, regional charity committed to help improve the lives and health of local communities. PCP is proud to manage the Pioneering Care Centre in Newton Aycliffe, and after over 25 years of success, some areas need a bit of a refresh!

People come from far and wide to access one of the only full accessible hydrotherapy pools in the North East. Previously offering over 17,000 appointments every year, it was well loved but ever-so-slightly tired with outdated plant equipment, which meant the odd breakdown or two.

Carol Gaskarth, PCP’s Chief Executive, said, “People who access hydrotherapy report significant health benefits, but we were finding it difficult to keep the pool operational with many parts obsolete.

“This led us to re-look at the Pioneering Care Centre overall, and we concluded Options, a co-produced service for adults with learning and physical disabilities, also needed more space. Operation ‘Centre Renovation’ was born!

After years of planning, community fundraising and securing grants, and with post-pandemic building costs spiraling, PCP agreed to fund almost £1m from charitable reserves.

The organisation is built on the foundation of being ‘pioneering’; we keep this in the forefront of our planning, and we recognise

the value the Pioneering Care Centre brings to the community.

“This significant investment from the charity will see the number of people able to access hydrotherapy double and, with state-of-theart facilities, upgraded jets, new changing facilities and improved accessibility throughout. The renovations to the hydrotherapy pool will offer clients a fully brand new pool - the experience will be second-to-none.

To read more about our centre redevelopments, click here.

To keep up to date with the latest developments in this process, you can follow along here.

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£400 donated to Options

The Pioneering Care Partnership’s (PCP) Options service would like to extend its appreciation to Shildon’s Busy Bees, who have kindly donated £400 to support its members.

Carol Gaskarth, PCP Chief Executive, said: “The Busy Bees have most definitely been active raising funds for many local charities; we're thrilled they're supporting PCP.

“Options were delighted with the £400 donation, the members will use the funds to do something fun and engaging. Thank you Busy Bees, for spreading joy across communities and for your continued support."

Linda West, Options Services Coordinator, shed light on what the funds

Healthwatch Sunderland shines a light on health and social care stars

The independent champion for health and social care in Sunderland has visited five care homes to recognise individuals and staff teams for making a difference.

Healthwatch Sunderland appeals for nominations throughout the year, with an opportunity to nominate both individuals and whole staff teams that provide a positive health and social care experience.

Anna Gillingham, Healthwatch Sunderland Engagement Coordinator, said; “It was a pleasure to present these care homes and Cathy with a Star Award, which recognises individuals and organisations within Sunderland’s health and care sector for the great work they do.

will be used for and said: “We are hoping to put this fabulous donation towards a new smart TV where we can access our social media and use for research.

“It will allow us to keep sessions interesting and hands on for members to do their own research on topics we learn about.”

“Recognising those who work in our health and social care services and strive to make a difference to people’s lives is so important – as it celebrates the fantastic work taking place.”

To read more about Healthwatch Sunderland and their Star Award, click here.

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Read more about this donation here.

For National Apprenticeship Week, we spoke to Dan Kamp, Administrator Apprentice for our County Durham Resilience Team.

Can you give an overview of your role?

Since I started at the Pioneering Care Partnership (PCP), I have spent a lot of time working alongside internal staff, external organisations/services to provide the best support to clients. My regular duties throughout the week are printing materials, letters and inputting client data. I work full time and tend to focus on my apprenticeship assignments two days a week when I work from home.

Day by day might look something like this, however, it can vary. I start at 9am, and the first thing I do is catch up on any emails. 10am I look at the spreadsheet with people who wish to access the service. Before lunch, I will prepare any letters to send. The rest of the day tends to vary depending on various factors such as how busy we are or just what is most urgent.

What do you like about working for the PCP?

My role started with PCP on 9th October 2023 as an Administration Apprentice. One of the memorable moments for me is attending the Christmas staff meeting at Bowburn Hall Hotel, this was a fun meeting and it was great to meet new people. Something I strive to achieve while working at PCP is to complete my apprenticeship and secure a role within the organisation.

What is the most rewarding aspect of the role?

Working as part of a team is rewarding to see the work that staff do to support clients and to know that I am involved in that work

It feels good to help people, even something as minimal as making sure they get the correct support really feels rewarding.

Has there been any additional training you’ve done since you started working for the PCP/ and starting your apprenticeship?

When I started at PCP, I began with the mandatory e-learning courses, it covered everything from fire awareness to manual handling and ones that are core to my role as an Administration Apprentice, such as GDPR/Data Protection Act. These were completed in my first couple of weeks at PCP. Following on I have taken part in several different training courses, from building personal resilience to change to a minute taking course. I have also done some excel training. Future plans for training are the upcoming time management training with PCP and A mindful approach to stress management in February.

Read Dan’s full staff spotlight here.

Staff Spotlight - Dan Kamp 3

PCP achieves ‘Maintaining Excellence’ award by prioritising workplace health

The Pioneering Care Partnership (PCP) is proud to celebrate its success in prioritising the health and wellbeing of its staff. PCP has been recognised for ‘Maintaining Excellence’ award by the Better Health at Work Award (BHAWA) County Durham, showing that the charity's commitment to ‘Health, Wellbeing and Learning for All’ doesn’t stop at the people it supports.

The Better Health at Work Award supports organisations to improve workplace health. By signing up to the award, organisations are supported by a dedicated workplace health team, helping them to improve staff health and wellbeing through a range of activities and policy changes.

Stockton-on-Tees Wellington Wellness Event

On Wednesday 27th March, our Stockton-onTees Community Wellbeing Champions (SCWC) joined forces with Wellington Square to launch ‘Wellington Wellness’ - a new health and care community initiative.

A range of health and wellbeing services from the area attended the event, providing advice and support to the local community.

To read more about the SCWC and their partnership with Wellington Square, you can do so here.

Carol Gaskarth, PCP’s Chief Executive, said "PCP is proud of the health and wellbeing strategies we've developed to support our growing workforce.

You can read the full story here.

The next ‘Wellington Wellness’ event takes place on Wednesday 7th August, from 10am until 2pm.

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My name is Laura Cruddace, I work as the Administrator for the County Durham Resilience Service. I started my Business Administration Level 2 apprenticeship with the Pioneering Care Partnership (PCP) in late 2012 - 11 years ago! Before PCP I looked around for different jobs, volunteered in a hairdressers for a while but decided it wasn’t for me. I was undecided at the time about completing a college course, in what I don’t know - who does when you leave school? The wage and learning on the job jumped out at me which is when I knew this was the route I wanted to take.

I heard about the role at PCP on Indeed and the job title was Project Admin Apprentice. The role entailed working on various different projects and services within PCP. As soon as my first week was complete I felt so comfortable and knew that this was the place I wanted to work. Throughout my journey as an apprentice my skills as an administrator and my own personal skills grew. I was communicating with internal staff, external organisations, organising events, being involved with volunteers and so much more! This increased my confidence massively.

Currently I am working full time with the County Durham Resilience service as the service's administrator. The job role entails working alongside partner organisations, supporting internal staff and communicating daily with external services and members of the public. My regular duties are data input, contacting service users, attending meetings and events to promote the service and organisation. As well as sourcing venues and arranging meetings, recruiting volunteers, developing systems, linking in with our marketing department and so much more.

A day-to-day in my role is never the same, but one thing that is continuous is providing admin support to our team and clients to build resilience within communities. We are here to help people, bridging the gap between services, and helping to improve social wellbeing and mental health. Recently PCP recruited an Dan, Administrator Apprentice for our service who I am now supporting throughout his apprenticeship and passing on the knowledge I have gained over the years.

Working at the PCP is very rewarding, the help and support that the organisation offers to the community is phenomenal. It’s great to see what a difference we all make to people’s lives. Something I strive to achieve is to just continue to do what I am doing while supporting our new apprentice throughout his journey with PCP.

PCP is a great place to start your career, everyone is so welcoming and helpful to help you progress within your role.

Read Laura’s full staff spotlight here.

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Staff Spotlight - Laura Cruddace

Local community-focused arts charity prioritises workplace health

Jack Drum Arts has started its journey in prioritising the health and wellbeing of its staff by signing up to the Better Health at Work Award (BHAWA).

The BHAWA is delivered by the Pioneering Care Partnership (PCP), and encourages organisations to improve the health and wellbeing of their employees

Healthwatch South Tees GP Booklet Success

GP access was one of the biggest complaints and concerns our Healthwatch South Tees teams received through their Information and Signposting service, leading to the teams producing a GP resource document.

This has been a huge success, with primary care services from across the country requesting use of the resource!

This booklet can now be accessed here.

Fun at Primrose Lodge

Over at Primrose Lodge, there have been a wide range of activities going on!

They celebrated Chinese New Year, decorating with traditional decorations and enjoying a feast. Patients were involved in the food prep and cooking, learning new skills along the way! Other activities included making hot chocolate with all the trimmings, a visit to a cat café in Durham and a lovely fresh walk at Hardwick Park.

Read about the work our workplace health team have been doing behind the scenes, with Jack Drum Arts here.

Healthwatch South Tees have also held a number of community focus groups that has enabled them to evidence the impact of this resource on local people. This information is being collected, and will be available soon!

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Quilling Course success at the Pioneering Care Centre

On January 22nd, Bishop Auckland College began their five-week quilling course at the Pioneering Care Centre.

The ‘Introduction to Quilling’ course taught attendees the basic skills of quilling, as well as providing a safe space to share feelings, create art and crafts, relax and build up selfesteem and confidence.

Stockton Community Wellbeing Champions Diabetes support group

Our Stockton Community Wellbeing Champions are hosting a diabetes peer support group on the last Tuesday of every month!

The team will be at Starfish in Stockton-on-Tees from 1pm to 3pm, providing a safe space for people to discuss their experiences of diabetes.

The next session takes place on Tuesday 30th April.

Healthwatch South Tees team building

On Tuesday 6th February, our Healthwatch South Tees team had a team building event where they shared ideas and information.

The team building exercise was a lot of fun, and even though the winning team had less resources they worked well together to build the biggest structure.

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Easter fun day

On Wednesday 3rd April, the Pioneering Care Centre held its annual Easter Fun Day!

The event saw members of the public come along to enjoy an interactive storytelling session, free face painting and a wide range of Easter crafts.

Thank you to all who attended our Easter event - we hope you had an ‘egg-cellent’ time!

County Durham Resilience welcomes new Psychology team members

“I’ve worked in Psychology for 24 years. I worked in Forensic Psychology for many years before focussing on clinical practise. I have experience & qualifications in Occupational & Coaching Psychology.”

I love working in the County Durham Resilience team because our team are open minded & progressive. Every team member truly cares and wants to give clients the best experience possible.

Previous to the current role, I worked as a support worker on inpatient wards, which at times was challenging but I loved it, and this provided me with the experience to become an Assistant Psychologist.

I love the diversity of our team members within the resilience team. Each individual has different qualities and strengths to bring to their work.

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My name is Gaynor Tucker and I am the Communications Officer at Healthwatch South Tees which covers Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland. My background has always been in administration and my previous role was working for the Primary Care Team within the North East and North Cumbria ICB.

Previous to that I worked in my family’s business where I was responsible for the update of the website and social media. These past two roles have helped immensely in knowing about the NHS and how Primary Care works and also how to update and create websites. I do not work direct with members of the public but I do spend one day a week on our information and signposting service where I talk to members of the public about their experiences in Health and Social Care.

I work four days a week and I am off on a Thursday so that I can be available to pick my daughters up from school. In my role as we cover both Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland, I have to do everything twice so when I update the websites I have to do both Middlesbrough’s and Redcar & Cleveland’s! The same for social media, it usually needs to be done twice so can be time consuming. We are currently promoting our STAR Awards. This is an award for someone, an organisation or service who has gone the extra mile in a health or care service to make a difference for others in South Tees. You can nominate here! This is taking a lot of time contacting external organisations and asking them to also promote, as well as all of the admin that comes with organising a large event.

I started the role in December 2022 and love working within this team. It is a very rewarding job in itself but I also love working for such a supportive organisation as a whole in PCP. One memorable moment is the Menopause event we held in October last year. It was heartfelt, heart warming and informative.

My role is solo but as a team I think we all support each other and definitely all work as a team. Although my role isn’t engagement I do find myself sometimes going to events to help out and speak to members of the public which is very rewarding!

Pioneering Care Partnership (PCP) are proud to deliver Healthwatch South Tees, a fantastic service that are here to find out what matters to the people of South Tees and help make sure their views shape the health and social care support needed.

Read Gaynor’s full staff spotlight here.

Staff Spotlight -
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Gaynor Tucker

Renovation Updates Options Room Hydrotherapy Pool

Since the last edition of the newsletter, the Options Room renovation has made significant progress!

The external work is almost complete, with the windows and door fitted. The room is now ready for its internal fit out, which includes a brand new kitchen, kindly donated by Magnet Kitchens!

The hydrotherapy pool renovations have also made significant progress, with the pool extension created.

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Stockton-on-Tees Community Wellbeing Champions wellbeing walks

Our Stockton-on-Tees Community Wellbeing Champions are hosting a series of wellbeing walks over the coming months.

The walks are taking part as follows:

24th April - Ropner Park, meet at the fountain

15th May - Preston Park, meet at the café

Options attend Aycliffe Mayor’s Charity Civic Dinner

Representing the Pioneering Care Partnership (PCP) and its Options at PCP service, Brian and Rachel got suited and booted for the Aycliffe Mayor’s Charity Civic Dinner last month.

Brian and Rachel are members of PCP’s Options service, and took on the role of representing the charity and its longestrunning service for the evening

26th June - Tees Barrage, meet at car park opposite the white water rafting.

All walks run from 11am until 12pm. Why not come along?

Bobby and Carol celebrate their 50th birthdays!

On Thursday 14th March, staff came together to celebrate the 50th birthdays of Bobby and Carol!

Our fabulous Options at PCP members presented them with their gifts. We hope you both enjoyed your special birthdays!

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Time to Talk Day

On Time to Talk Day, PCP staff gathered in the Garden Kitchen at the Pioneering Care Centre for a ‘cuppa’ and a chat.

Stamp It Out kindly donated some Time To Talk Day mugs to staff, which provided useful information around talking about mental health, and important contacts for those who are struggling.

Thank you to all who attended!

Healthwatch Stockton-on-Tees annual event 2024

On Wednesday 21st February, our Healthwatch Stockton-on-Tees team held their annual event at River Tees Water Sports Centre.

The event was attended by our team, colleagues, volunteers and members of the public. The aim of the event was to discuss the health and wellbeing priorities in the area for the year ahead.

Thank you to all who attended!

Together 21 celebrates World Down Syndrome Day

Our Together 21 service celebrated World Down Syndrome Day with a special performance at the Pioneering Care Centre.

The children perfomed ‘We All Stand Together’ by Paul McCartney and The Frog Chorus.

You can now watch the performance here!

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Hi I'm Bill, I am the Volunteer Officer with Wellbeing for Life and I started the role in September 2020, during lockdown. Previously I worked in the voluntary sector for 15 years for Groundwork, an environmental charity. I then spent a year in the middle of that working for the MP in Bishop Auckland. Before that I had 24 years with Royal Mail going from Postman to manager!

My previous jobs working within communities and volunteers, has been a massive help in the current role. It has given me an understanding of the volunteer journey and the needs of local communities. I work with colleagues in PCP and Wellbeing for Life to create relationships with our Wellbeing Hubs and individual volunteers with the aim of embedding the five ways to wellbeing our local communities (Connecting, Being Active, Keep Learning, Taking Notice and Giving).

My job is to recruit volunteers, train them and get involved in the Wellbeing for Life team's delivery. Typically I will be dealing with requests from members of the public who want to volunteer.

I may be meeting someone to outline the roles available and see if we are a good fit for them or signposting them to other opportunities. I may be running training courses such as Making Every Contact Count for volunteers and for our Community Wellbeing Hubs. Or I could be hosting a volunteer event promoting the service and volunteering.

I love being able to give people opportunities to grow their skills and confidence. Volunteers come for many reasons and from many backgrounds. Whether it is someone trying to connect with others. Someone trying to improve their employment prospects. Those who have finished their employment journey and are wanting to give back to the community, there is something for everyone.

I undertook Level 2 training, Community Health Champion - this is what we offer to volunteers (its not compulsory) and I wanted to experience it to find out how it can help with the volunteering roles.

I can genuinely say that PCP has been the best place to work in my career. There is a real sense of team and so many people willing to help you. In Wellbeing for Life what I like is that to some extent you can make the role whatever you want it to be - you get told where you need to go but how you get there is very much down to you.

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Staff Spotlight - Bill Oxbrough
here.
Read Bill’s full staff spotlight

Staff Pet Profiles

Socks - 18 Years Old

“He used to belong to a neighbour however came to ours about 11 years ago & every time we gave him back he always returned until he stayed for good.”

“He is a local celebrity in our village & has his own Facebook page because people love to hear about him & how he is doing He loves peoplehe often goes to visit the primary school. He has even been featured in the leavers assembly at the school.”

Owner: Donna Sheavills

Evie - 8 Month Old

Evie is a toy cavapoo puppy, who is currently only eight months old!

Wendy got Evie from a local breeder, and has raised her ever since!

Evie loves going on walks, as well as playing with her ‘hoomans’ and other pooches on the beach

Owner: Wendy Hadlington

Peer Support - Introducing Rae Dixon

“I’m Rae, the Project Lead for our new Community Mental Health Transformation Peer Support service. I started out working in clinical mental health services and have now found a love for working in the community. I believe that peer support is an essential component to recovery and am very excited about this service. I enjoy music, art, pottery and walking, with a background in therapeutic arts. I am currently undergoing more training in trauma-informed practice which will inform how the service delivers support.

The service offers 1:1, group, and virtual peer support for those living in County Durham who are aged 18 years or over. Our Peer Support workers have a wide range of knowledge and personal experiences with mental health

Wellbeing For Life new training team

Capacity Building Training Team are back up to full capacity!

After a long period without a full team, everyone at Wellbeing for Life would like to formally welcome three new trainers to the Capacity Building Training Team.

services, and they are there to uplift, empower and inspire the people we support.”

For further information about Peer Support please contact Rae Dixon at:

rae.dixon@pcp.uk.net | 07712671862

Nik sums the team’s thoughts up well, “I love our training team, in the briefest of time periods we've established compatible and efficient working strategies alongside a great rapport and ability to laugh, a lot!”

Daneka, Nik and Sarah-Louise joined over the festive period and quickly settled into the service. They are already reviewing and updating our training packages as well as delivering training and renewing connections with local businesses and organisations. Tracy Bushnall, Team Lead, said “It is brilliant to see how they are working together after only a few weeks in their roles. They recently experienced a ‘baptism of fire’ when delivering four excellent days of training to over 300 students at Bishop Auckland College.”

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Cancer Awareness updates

Andrea Mackrell, Cancer Awareness Worker was invited as guest speaker to the Harbour corporate event on Friday, 8th December 2023 at the Durham Centre where she presented to an audience of more than 200 guests.

Harbour works with families and individuals who are affected by abuse from a partner, former partner or other family member. Andrea covered general cancer awareness, the importance of screening and how Harbour could make a positive difference with their client group on a daily basis. The presentation was received positively with excellent verbal feedback given. It was a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness to a huge audience.

Joining the Dots - What is HOPE?

What is HOPE? HOPE is a course developed by Macmillan Cancer Support and Coventry University to support people after cancer treatment.

Each course is run by a health and social care professional and a trained volunteer who has a personal experience of cancer. Clients can share their experiences and get support from others going through the same kind of things.

It helps strengthen coping skills for dealing with different problems like anxiety, fatigue, and concerns for the future, so clients can feel more like themselves again.

Vicki Moffatt, Programme Manager at Joining the Dots said, “The course will help you to rediscover your inner strengths and resilience to help you cope emotionally, psychologically and practically.”

The next HOPE courses are taking place as follows:

8th April to 20th May (excluding 6th May

BH) – Tesco, Consett

9th April to 14th May – Healthworks, East Durham

Find out more or book a place here.

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Workplace Health continues to excel

The Workplace Health team have been working with Hartlepool Borough Council to support their delivery of the Better Health at Work Award.

We have a contract in place until the end of March 2024, further strengthening our relationship.

Becky Gustard continues to deliver the support in the Hartlepool area, working with companies such as Stage Coach and Cleveland Fire Brigade.

Becky will also be working to increase the companies that have signed up to the award so please let her know of any interested potential organisations in this area.

We hope to continue beyond April 2024 and a detailed proposal has been submitted which we excitedly await the outcome of.

For more information, you can contact the team at workplacehealth@pcp.uk.net

Happiness Hubs celebration event

On Thursday 7th March, our Happiness Hubs project came together at Redworth Hall Hotel to celebrate the great successes of the project over the last four years.

We’d like to say a big thank you to all staff and Happiness Hubs recipients who came along to the celebration, as well as those who spoke at the event!

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Pioneering Care Partnership (PCP)
Office: Pioneering Care Centre Carer's Way Newton Aycliffe DL5 4SF
@PCPandCentre @PioneeringCare @PioneeringCare Pioneering Care Partnership Pioneering Care Partnership
For any enquiries regarding this publication, contact jenny.lee@pcp.uk.net Registered
Tel: 01325 321234 Email: enquiries@pcp.uk.net Website: www.pcp.uk.net

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