Join the health and care conversation!

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Join the conversation in the Healthwatch Northumberland Annual Survey 2025.

This is a chance to let local health and social care champion Healthwatch Northumberland what you think of the NHS and social care services you and your family have used in the last year.

This will also help set work priorities for the coming year.

You can leave feedback on what went well and what could have been better, and which services in particular you would like to see improve.

This could be mental health services, opticians, community services, care at home, NHS 111, nurses, GP services, ambulances, hospitals, care homes or any other NHS or social care service you have used.

Your views and experiences continue to help decision makers understand key local issues and how well services are working for you, your family and our communities.

Your views will be shared anonymously and stored in line with general data protection regulations.

It’s quick and easy to share your thoughts and experiences online, or you can get in touch to ask for a paper copy and freepost envelope, or an easy read version. If you would like to complete the survey over the phone please call 03332 408468, or text 07413 385275 to arrange a call back. The closing date is 16 March 2025.

Thank you for having your say and helping us to help providers improve care services in our area.

Healthwatch Northumberland Annual Survey 2025

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Job vacancy: Travelling with Confidence Team Lead

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Job title: Travelling with Confidence Team Lead

Responsible to: Director

Responsible for: Project Worker, Travel Champions and volunteers

Contract: 28 hours per week

Salary: £30,000 pa, pro rata £22,703

Travelling with Confidence is a brand new project funded by the Motability Foundation. It aims to increase opportunities for people with learning disabilities in the North East and Cumbria to enjoy and benefit from the ability to travel.

We are also recruiting for a Travelling with Confidence Project Worker

Purpose

  • To manage the Travelling with Confidence team
  • To lead our learning disability-targeted Travelling with Confidence project, deliver independent travel training courses, and recruit, train and coordinate Travel Buddy volunteers
  • To deliver our Getabout travel information and access provision
  • To lead the delivery of this team’s projects and contracts to achieve the objectives of this work area – Access to Travel
  • To improve travel experiences for people who live in Northumberland
  • To lead on complex aspects of project development and delivery, and championing co-production, practice-driven learning and development in your team
  • To represent Adapt (NE) and your area of responsibility to funders, stakeholders and partners

 

You can find more details in the job description and person specification below.

If you would like an informal chat about this opportunity, please call Chris Barker on 01434 600599.

Please send completed application forms, along with the GDPR consent form to chrisb@adapt-tynedale.org,uk, Or post to Adapt (NE), Burn Lane, Hexham NE46 3HN.

 

Travelling with Confidence Team Lead Job Description and Person Specification

Travelling with Confidence Team Lead Application Form

GDPR consent form

 

This vacancy is now closed.

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Job vacancy: Travelling with Confidence Project Worker

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Job title: Project Worker

Team: Travel with Confidence

Responsible to: Travelling with Confidence Team Lead

Hours: 14 hours per week

Salary: £25,000 pa pro-rata £9,459

Travelling with Confidence is a brand new project funded by the Motability Foundation. It aims to increase opportunities for people with learning disabilities in the North East and Cumbria to enjoy and benefit from the ability to travel.

We are also recruiting for a Travelling with Confidence Team Lead

Purpose of the post

  • Support a team of three Travel Champions
  • Carry out community engagement activity with the aim of recruiting people to our Independent Travel Training Programme and community travel support
  • Support the Travel Champions to conduct Quality Checks of local public transport services and to contribute their ideas for improving local travel
  • Carry out all aspects of project management including planning, delivery, monitoring, and evaluation
  • Work with colleagues to develop and promote Adapt (North East), its reputation and work

You can find more details in the job description and person specification below.

If you would like an informal chat about this opportunity, please call Chris Barker on 01434 600599.

Please send completed application forms, along with the GDPR consent form to chrisb@adapt-tynedale.org,uk, or post to Adapt (NE), Burn Lane, Hexham NE46 3HN.

 

Travelling with Confidence Project Worker Job Description and Person Specification

Travelling with Confidence Project Worker Application Form

GDPR consent form

 

This vacancy has now closed.

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New project to tackle travel barriers

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New project to tackle travel barriers for people with learning disabilities

Travelling with Confidence is a brand new project funded by the Motability Foundation to increase opportunities for people with learning disabilities in the North East and Cumbria to enjoy and benefit from the ability to travel.

The project is a partnership of six local charities, led by Your Voice Counts working in conjunction with Adapt (NE), Bridge Creative, Darlington Association on Disability, People First and Skills for People.

Training and peer support are at the heart of Travelling with Confidence, which will see people with learning disabilities receive accredited travel training so they can deliver bespoke awareness raising sessions and become buddies to help others overcome their own barriers to travel.

A network of Travel Champions with learning disabilities will also be established to engage with the transport sector and provide opportunities to influence policy and practice among local providers.

Lindsay Henderson, Head of Communities at Your Voice Counts, said “We know from experience that people with learning disabilities often have transport issues and find moving around and travelling to be an overwhelming experience that they often avoid. This means they can miss out on opportunities that would have a positive impact on their lives.

“Through this project, we’ll be providing bespoke training and support to give people the tools and confidence they need to access different methods of transport. Not only that, we’ll be doing it in a way that empowers people with learning disabilities to share their experiences, support their peers and influence how decisions are made.

“At Your Voice Counts, we’re passionate about breaking down barriers and finding ways for people with lived experience to bring about change so I’m excited to get the project off the ground with our like-minded partner organisations and see what we can achieve across our region. Thank you to Motability Foundation for our funding!”

Lisa Jones, Director of Charitable Operations at the Motability Foundation, said “We’re delighted to award Your Voice Counts with this grant to work in partnership with local organisations to improve access to opportunities for people with learning disabilities in the North East and Cumbria.

“Your Voice Counts, together with its partners, will offer travel awareness training and peer support, supporting people with learning disabilities to travel independently and confidently. Awarding grants to established and local organisations like these helps us to make an immediate difference to the transport needs of disabled people.”

For more information visit the Motability Foundation website

 

 

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Christmas and New Year 2024/25

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Due to heating issues, our main office will be closed on Tuesday 24 December and reopen on Thursday 2 January 2025.

Cafe @ Burn Lane will close on Tuesday 24 December and reopen on Monday 6 January.

We would like to wish all of our members, customers and supporters a happy and healthy Christmas and we look forward to seeing you all in the new year.

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Cafe Assistant vacancy

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We’re looking for a self-motivated and friendly Cafe Assistant to join the team at our busy community cafe, Cafe @ Burn Lane.

Job Title: Cafe Assistant

Hours: Part-time – various hours available

Responsible to: Operations Manager

Base: Café @ Burn Lane, Hexham

Salary: £11.44 per hour, National Minimum Wage

Are you

  • Experienced or have a keen interest in food preparation and baking?
  • Good with people and comfortable to communicate at all levels?
  • A self-motivator with the ability to cope in a pressurised environment?
  • Able to adopt new working systems?
  • Knowledgeable about Health and Safety?

If so, we’d love to hear from you!

All the details of this opportunity can be found in the Job Description and Person Specification below.

For an informal chat about the role please call Clare on 01434 600599 (option 1) or email: generaloffice@adapt-tynedale.org.uk.

Please return the application form, along with the signed GDPR consent form to:

Clare Loughlin, Adapt (NE), Burn Lane, Hexham NE46 3HN, or email it to: generaloffice@adapt-tynedale.org.uk.

 

Cafe Assistant job description and person specification

Cafe Assistant application form 

 

 

 

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Join our team! Minibus Driver wanted

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Job opportunity – Minibus Driver

We have a vacancy for a part-time bus driver to help deliver our transport services across the region.

Working hours: A minimum of nine hours Monday to Friday, with occasional weekend work. These will be by negotiation and discussed at interview.

Rate of pay: £11.44/hour

Requirements:

  • Category D1 clean driving licence enabling you to drive minibuses
  • At least two years of previous driving experience
  • Good communication skills
  • Honesty and reliability
  • Positive attitude
  • An existing enhanced DBS check or willingness to undertake one – paid for by Adapt (NE).

To apply please complete the application form and return to: GeneralOffice@adapt-tynedale.org.uk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Thank you for attending our 33rd AGM

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Pictured, left to right: Annie Bishop, Adapt (NE) Vice Chair, Liz Prudhoe, Director, Lorraine Hershon, Chair and Lucia Bridgeman, High Sheriff of Northumberland.

Thank you to everyone who attended our 33rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Thursday, 14 November. It was lovely to welcome many new and familiar faces to the meeting at our hub on Burn Lane, Hexham. It was a great opportunity to reflect on the past year and our plans for the future, from transport to our Cafe @ Burn Lane. We hope to welcome you to our next AGM!

Photo of people sat in the room, with a presentation on the wall.

You can now read our 2023-24 Annual Report here. You can view the AGM presentation here.

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Annual Report 2023-24

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In review of the last year, Liz Prudhoe, Director says:

“As we look back on April 2023 to March 2024, it is reassuring to recognise we are continuing to deliver on our aims, sustainably building on our work and adding new services. This year we welcomed North Shields Primary Care Network Social Prescribing Service to our social prescribing offer.

We continued to develop Northumberland Learning Disability Network working with partner organisations and groups who provide services for people with learning disabilities. We continued to work with our partners across the North East on the ‘Good Life Collaborative’, a partnership for organisations working for people who are learning disabled to develop new services.

It feels a good while since the COVID-19 pandemic, although we recognise that COVID is still very much active. It is pleasing to witness our offices being a hub of activity again with lots of people returning to face to face meetings, although it is fair to say that work patterns have changed and there is greater flexibility for staff.

Café @ Burn Lane has welcomed customers old and new; it has however, felt the impact of the cost of living crisis due to the rising cost of food. Nevertheless, we have worked hard to keep prices in the cafe as low as possible.

We feel we have lots to look forward to in 2024/2025 and plan to continue what we are doing and keep developing services as we go. I wish to record my thanks to all of our board members for their continued support and guidance, and to our staff who are committed to their roles and work hard throughout the year.”

Read more in our Annual Report 2023-24 or download a pdf version.

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Green wellbeing opportunities fairs

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These free events from Northumberland Wildlife Trust are a chance for you to find out more about voluntary opportunities in nature. Plus green based activities that can benefit our mental and physical wellbeing.

Details:

Saturday 2 November, 11am-2pm, Hauxley Wildlife Discovery Centre

Monday 4 November, 11am-2pm, Hirst park Pavilion, Ashington

Monday 11 November, 11am-2pm, Ridley Park Pavilion, Blyth

Wednesday 13 November, 11am-2pm, Newbiggin Sports and Community Hub

get involved – try new things – chat – learn new skills – make a difference – volunteer – try out!

For more details email joanne.burke@northwt.org.uk.

These events have now passed.

 

 

 

 

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