Ways to Wellness rewarded for ‘Partnership Working’ at Newcastle Hospitals’ Celebrating Excellence Awards 

The TAPER2 team was honoured to receive the ‘Partnership Working’ award at the recent Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s annual Celebrating Excellence Awards, in recognition of its collaborative approach to helping people ‘wait well’ for surgery through opioid deprescribing and social prescribing. 

The project was part of the North East’s Waiting Well programme, which aimed to support people on NHS surgical waiting lists across the region. Evidence showed health inequalities could exacerbate people’s symptoms and lead to longer recovery times following surgery. 

The North East has some of the starkest health inequalities in the country, and the programme provided people with support around fitness, weight management and mental health, demonstrating that this could significantly improve post-surgical outcomes. 

Collaboratively working to help people ‘Wait Well‘ 

TAPER2 brought together healthcare professionals and social prescribers, including the Ways to Wellness PROSPeR (Perioperative Social Prescribing) team and the Deep End Network of GP practices, to support opioid deprescribing and help patients manage their symptoms through non-pharmacological means. 

• 90 people accepted deprescribing support 
• 46 also received social prescribing support through Ways to Wellness 
• Medicines included codeine, morphine, tramadol, and gabapentin 

The results from TAPER2 showed a 64% overall reduction in analgesic prescriptions, and 74% of patients supported by Ways to Wellness reduced their opioids by more than 50%. 

One participating patient said: “My link worker takes the time to listen to me, which I find very valuable. It is nice to have someone who understands my situation and can help with the little things, as well as making me feel valued.”

Patients didn’t just reduce their opioid use. Ways to Wellness used Triangle’s Wellbeing Star to measure outcomes, and many participants showed significant improvements in areas such as symptom management and emotional wellbeing. 

By combining clinical expertise with a person-centred, holistic approach, the programme achieved: 

• Positive impacts on patient health and recovery after surgery 
• Fewer additional treatments (e.g. for managing side effects) 
• Reduced healthcare costs 

Partnership in action 

The TAPER2 project shows how collaboration between primary and secondary care, community organisations, and Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) partners can deliver tangible improvements for patients and the wider health system. 

“We’re delighted that Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has recognised the powerful impact of collaboration in addressing health inequalities,” said Thomas Lovedawn, Team Lead for PROSPeR at Ways to Wellness.  

“By providing holistic care alongside medical interventions we can begin to tackle health inequalities in the communities that need it most.” 

Building on this success, the project is being tested in different communities across the North East.  

Ways to Wellness would like to thank Consultant Anaesthetist James Prentis, the Waiting Well Lead, the Deep End Network’s Strategic Manager Nicole Madden, Inpatient Pain Nurse Specialist Angela Telford and Senior Clinical Pharmacist for Integrated Care, Rachel Vincent.