As Nottingham's largest provider of NHS community health services we are celebrating Community Services Week, highlighting the vital role we play in keeping communities healthy.
Judith Douglas, Director of Nursing, Allied Health Professions and Quality, has been a qualified Nurse for 40 years and shares what makes her proud to work in community services, and why it is important that they are empowered.
Who we are and what we do for the community?
Nottingham CityCare is the largest provider of NHS community health services in the city.
As examples, we run services for people aged 0-19, and look after mums who are teenagers and just starting the journey to being a good mum. We have a community nursing service and provide stroke and rehabilitation services, such as Mosaic (our physiotherapy service).
We also have specialist services for palliative care, Huntington's disease and neurology conditions, as well as respiratory and cardiac services.
We have a full range of services geared up to keeping patients in their own homes. They also make sure that when patients are admitted to an acute hospital they come out as swiftly as possible. Discharge-to-assess services and integrated care home services provide support wherever those patients live and whatever their needs are. They make sure patients are safe, healthy and kept as well as they can be with the conditions they have.
What makes you proud to work in the community sector?
Community health is very special because you’re actually invited into patients’ homes and that is a privilege, as well as bringing levels of responsibility.
It's just lovely to see patients thrive and be as well as they can be and have the support they need to enable them to stay at home.
Some services like our homeless health service, which is very bespoke, makes sure that patients in very difficult situations can access healthcare that sometimes isn't readily available or known about.
We help the most vulnerable people in society to access the care they need at the time they need it.
What are some of the positive impacts of CityCare’s local community-led initiatives?
We have an urgent treatment centre to provide walk-in care and attention when that's required.
We work closely with hospitals to make sure patients are discharged with the packages of care they require and the help and support they need.
Working with teenage mums, our homeless health services and looking after really vulnerable members of society, that's what makes me proud.
The teams and staff we employ make a difference every day. They make sure patients are better off for having met us.
The care we provide is of the highest standard and has compassion. I'm very proud of our staff, I'm very proud of the complexity and breadth of services we offer, and I’m very proud of the way our staff go out and provide care in sometimes very difficult situations and scenarios.
It’s not always easy, but staff keep coming into work and giving their best. That's what makes me proud.
Why do you think it's important that community services are empowered?
It's really important that we empower community services because it's an opportunity in primary care and in our communities to actually see patients earlier, undertake earlier screening and have conversations about health and wellbeing and health promotion.
It’s also about ensuring patients can stay at home or in their preferred place of care – whether that’s a nursing home or a residential home – and actually getting the services they need at the time they need them.
We know the issues that hospitals are having in relation to discharge and capacity. So it's really important those patients that need to go into hospital are assessed and go into hospital, but those that don't can stay at home .
We provide really good integrated care and services and it's important for that to be recognised, so patients aren't kept in hospital when they could be at home or admitted when they don't need to be admitted.
We can provide care and support in their preferred place of care.
Date published: 22 September 2025
