Midlothian Sure Start scheme wins UK Integrated Health Award and receives award from HRH The Prince of Wales

 Staff from the scheme attended a glittering awards ceremony held at BAFTA in London on Thursday 20th March to receive their award and prize money of £5,000 from HRH The Prince of Wales, founder and President of The Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health. The ceremony was presented by the nation’s most famous gardener, Alan Titchmarsh MBE, an active supporter of The Prince’s charity work. 

The Integrated Health Awards put the spotlight on services around the UK which help and empower people to manage their physical, emotional and mental health better.   

The Foundation’s Chief Executive Kim Lavely said: ‘The Integrated Health Awards show how creative and innovative approaches to health can make an enormous difference to individuals and communities. Midlothian Sure Start won the top award because the staff there understand that health and emotional wellbeing are directly affected by poverty, education, self-esteem and lifestyle factors like diet and exercise. They are dedicated to improving children’s life chances both by working with children directly and by supporting their parents and helping them to do the best job of parenting they can.’

Midlothian Sure Start won the overall UK award, sponsored by Nelsons, which has been a committed supporter for many years of The Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health. Robert Wilson, Chairman of Nelsons, the UK’s largest manufacturer of natural medicines, said:  ‘As a company that strongly advocates an integrated health approach, with complementary and conventional medicine working alongside each other to provide the best solution for patients, Nelsons is extremely to proud be the sponsor of the UK Integrated Health Award again this year. These important projects and practitioners demonstrate that an innovative approach to health and wellbeing can make a real difference to people’s lives.’

The award for best integrated health project in Wales (kindly sponsored by the Welsh Assembly Government) went to the Condition Management Programme from the Rhondda Cynon Taf and Bridgend district in south Wales, which helps incapacity benefit claimants to improve their health and confidence and where possible return to work. 

The award for best integrated health project in Northern Ireland (kindly sponsored by the Northern Ireland Department for Health, Social Services and Public Safety) went to Little Orchids, a nursery for children with special needs in County Londonderry.

Overall UK winner

Midlothian Sure Start runs six family support centres, providing services and support for vulnerable families with very young children. As well as dealing with the challenge of parenting a naturally demanding age group, many of these parents are dealing with their own difficulties, including poverty and drug addiction.

Although there are Sure Start schemes across the UK, the judges felt that the innovative Midlothian scheme stood out for its determination to strengthen parents’ ability to maximise their children’s potential. The children are helped to reach their developmental milestones in a 'learning through play' environment, and are encouraged to eat healthy foods. The parents attend support groups which provide respite while at the same time offering support. Also available is a range of personal development courses and counselling for individuals, couples and families. Healthy living support on offer includes help with weaning, healthy

eating, cooking skills and exercise. Services offered include complementary therapies (including baby massage, aromatherapy, reflexology and homeopathy),  parenting skills, literacy and numeracy classes and play therapy.

Wales winner 

Staff from Wales winner The Condition Management Programme were presented with their award by HRH The Prince of Wales at the ceremony and also received £2500.

The Rhondda Cynon Taf and Bridgend district in south Wales was once home to a thriving coal mining industry but pit closures in the 1980s devastated the local economy, creating widespread unemployment and demoralization. Today, around one in five people of working age in this part of Wales claim incapacity benefit. 

The Condition Management Programme gives these people back their hope and pride with an individually tailored service that helps claimants gain the confidence and skills to manage their health condition and hopefully in time return to work. The programme improves people’s whole quality of life, not just their benefit status.

One-to-one and group activities aim to improve emotional, mental and physical wellbeing and to tackle problems like depression, anxiety and chronic loss of confidence. The combination of practical career advice with other self-management techniques helps people to improve their health, motivation and employment prospects. 

Northern Ireland winner 

Northern Ireland winner the Little Orchids nursery from Waterside, County Londonderry, were also presented with an award by HRH The Prince of Wales and received £2,500. Little Orchids helps pre-school children with a range of special needs to achieve their full potential and wherever possible to enter into mainstream education.

But it’s not just there for the children - it also provides invaluable support for the parents. The nursery staff train parents in how best to help their children, including techniques for communicating with their children, learning about healthy eating and the calming effects of massage. They bring together parents who because of their children’s disabilities can sometimes feel marginalised and disadvantaged, and even put on special pamper days for parents where they can receive relaxing treatments such as reflexology, facials and aromatherapy, and learn stress management techniques.

Runners Up

Two runners-up in each category (Wales, Northern Ireland and UK) were presented with certificates by HRH The Prince of Wales.

UK joint runner up - The Women’s Service, Purley, Surrey

The Women's Service in Purley in Surrey, provides holistic care for women experiencing a mental health crisis, helping them to develop new strengths. The large 1920s house and gardens offer a safe, supportive environment and an individualised approach which helps patients find their own path to mental wellbeing.

UK joint runner up - The Fatigue Management Service for Cancer Patients, Manchester

The Fatigue Management Service at the Neil Cliffe Cancer Centre in Manchester is a multi-disciplinary team offering a range of services which aim to help patients suffering from cancer-related fatigue. Patients gain support and insight through sharing their experiences and come to understand that they should not feel guilty if they have less energy for their families and friends. They are taught techniques for coping with their fatigue, including reflexology, massage, the use of essential oils and a tailored exercise programme.

Wales joint runner up - Plas y Mor Integrated Housing Care and Support Scheme, Carmarthenshire

Plas y Mor, in Burry Port in Carmarthenshire, provides environmentally sustainable housing, care and support to tenants aged 55 and over, and also acts as a welcoming day centre for older people in the local community. With an emphasis on healthy independent living, the scheme is light years away from the depressing stereotype of residential care homes.

The residents of Plas y Mor really do have the best of both worlds: the main objective of the scheme is to facilitate independent own-home living, but when extra care is needed professional help is readily available.

Wales joint runner up - Velindre Cancer Centre, Cardiff

Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff provides specialist non-surgical cancer services for the people of South East Wales, serving a population of 1.5 million people.  Rehabilitation is given equal priority alongside diagnosis and treatment.

The therapy services team provides holistic support to patients from diagnosis and throughout their cancer journey, helping them to maximise the benefits of treatment, and to manage the unpleasant and often painful side effects of treatments. They provide treatment interventions to in-patients on busy wards, in out-patient departments and community-based outreach clinics for people who have problems with mobility or in cases where continual trips to and from hospital are becoming stressful.

Northern Ireland joint runner up - The Mater Green Gym, Belfast

Since it started in March 2006 the Mater Green Gym – run by Conservation Volunteers Northern Ireland along with nursing and occupational therapy staff from Belfast’s Mater Hospital - has had a hugely beneficial impact on the lives of people with long-term mental ill health in Belfast.

The conservation work the patients undertake develops a strong sense of team spirit and gives them pride in what they create, as well as friendship and the health benefits of physical activity and fresh air. It creates an opportunity for people at risk of social exclusion to be part of a positive and meaningful community activity. Regular locations for the conservation work include a wildflower nursery, a tree nursery and the Mater Day Hospital gardens.

Northern Ireland joint runner up - Voices Self-Management Programme, Belfast

Rethink Northern Ireland, based in Belfast, were runners-up for their ‘Voices Self-management Programme’, a 12-week course which aims to support and facilitate people’s endeavours to take active steps towards their own recovery. The self-help groups are run by people who have themselves experienced mental illness, and people on the courses can either self-refer or be referred by a social worker or community psychiatric nurse.

Notes to editors and media contacts

1.         The Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health

The Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health encourages a culture of health and wellbeing with people and communities taking more responsibility for their own health. It believes that poor health does not exist in isolation, but is a direct consequence of our lifestyles, our cultures, our communities and how we interact with our environments. The Foundation is a charity founded by HRH The Prince of Wales in 1993.  

2.         Integrated Health Awards judges

Dr. Michael Dixon, Chair of NHS Alliance and Visiting Professor of Integrated Health at the University of Westminster; Kim Lavely, Chief Executive of The Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health; Professor Steve Tomlinson, Provost, Cardiff University; Professor Suzanne McDonough, Professor of Health and Rehabilitation, University of Ulster; Anne Wadsworth, voluntary sector strategic development specialist; Barbara Lantin, health writer and former Chair of the Guild of Health Writers; Dr. John Briffa, holistic doctor, author and journalist.

Media contacts

Natasha Finlayson at The Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health on 020 3119 3118 or mobile 07894 540620 out of office hours and on the day of the ceremony (Thursday 20^th March), or Jemma Roche at The Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health on 020 3119 3108.  

Please note that this event will be covered by the royal rota – queries about the rota should be directed to Miss Eva Omaghomi in the Clarence House press office on 020 7024 5510.

Photographs will be available on the site from late afternoon on Thursday 20 March