Celebrating Collaboration, Connection and the Future of Primary Care: Reflections from the Nottingham Primary Care Conference 2026
On 9 June 2026, colleagues from across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire’s primary care workforce came together for the Nottingham Primary Care Conference, a day dedicated to celebrating the people, ideas, and partnerships that continue to shape the future of primary care.
Bringing together a diverse range of professionals including GPs, advanced practitioners, pharmacists, nurses, allied health professionals, community colleagues, and non-clinical teams, the conference created an opportunity for people across the system to connect, share experiences, and explore how we can continue to work together to support a sustainable and thriving primary care workforce.
The conference provided a valuable space away from the everyday pressures of practice, allowing colleagues to reflect on the current workforce landscape, learn from different perspectives, and consider practical actions that can be taken forward into their own roles and organisations.
Bringing the primary care workforce together
The focus of the conference was centred around understanding the changing landscape of primary care and exploring how collaboration, development, and innovation can support the future of healthcare.
The key objectives of the day were to:
Understand the current workforce landscape in primary care and the direction of travel for the future.
Share practical ideas that support career and role development, retention, teamworking, and collaboration between professional groups.
Learn across professions and sectors.
Leave feeling energised with realistic and positive actions to take back into practice.
Throughout the day, delegates were encouraged to look beyond individual roles and professions, recognising that the strength of primary care comes from the collective contribution of everyone working across the system.
The conversations throughout the conference highlighted the importance of creating opportunities where colleagues can learn from each other, share what works, and build stronger connections across healthcare.
Collaboration at the heart of primary care
A key theme throughout the conference was the importance of collaboration.
Primary care is made up of a wide range of professions, each bringing different skills, experiences, and perspectives. Bringing these groups together helped create meaningful conversations around how we can improve teamwork, support colleagues, and ultimately provide better care for our communities.
From networking conversations to workshops and discussions, the day encouraged attendees to connect beyond their usual teams and explore new ways of working together.
The conference was a reminder that everyone working within primary care has a role to play in influencing change, supporting colleagues, and shaping the future direction of services.
Inspiring leadership and community-focused care from our keynote speakers
Dr Nicole Atkinson – The importance of neighbourhood working
Dr Nicole Atkinson, Chief Executive of Nottingham CityCare Partnership, opened conversations around leadership, integrated working, and the importance of community-focused healthcare.
With over two decades of clinical and leadership experience, Nicole shared her journey across primary care, urgent and emergency care, and integrated care systems, highlighting the importance of collaboration in reducing health inequalities and improving outcomes for local communities.
Her reflections reinforced the value of neighbourhood working and the need for services to work together around the needs of the population.
Nicole’s session encouraged delegates to think about how strong partnerships across healthcare and communities can help create more connected and effective approaches to care.
Dr Marcellus Baz BEM – Creating change through purpose and hope
Dr Marcellus Baz BEM, Founder and CEO of Switch Up and the Marcellus Baz Foundation, delivered a powerful and inspiring session focused on resilience, inclusion, and the impact individuals can have in creating change.
Sharing his personal experiences and his work supporting communities affected by crime, poverty, and social exclusion, Baz spoke about the importance of listening to people’s stories, creating opportunities, and recognising the potential within every individual.
His message of hope, purpose, and believing in the ability to make a difference resonated strongly with attendees.
For many delegates, his session was a powerful reminder that positive change often begins with one person taking action and inspiring others along the way.
Thank you to all our speakers over the day!
We had a jampacked agenda and want to express our thanks to all the speakers who made our conference educational and energetic. Also a big thank you to our MC, James for keeping us to time and our spirits high!
Putting our Workforce First: An introduction from NATH and Phoenix
Nicola Payne (Programme Manager, NATH)
Dr Gemma Wilkinson (Medical Director, Phoenix Programme)
Workshop 1A – Designing a Career That Works for You
Lucy Cassidy (System Leader, NHS and ICB)
Workshop 1C – Realising the Potential of Digital in Primary Care - For You, Your Teams and Your Patients
Paul Miller (Head of Primary Care IT, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB)
Rosie Hercek (Project and Business Change Manager, Digital Inclusion Lead, Digital Notts)
Workshop 2B – "Primary Care for Every Community – What Does Cultural Competence Look Like in Practice?"
Annie Alleyne (Race Health Inequality Programme Lead – Nottingham City Place-Based Partnership)
Keynote speaker: Anything is possible
Dr Marcellus Baz BEM (CEO and Founder, Switch Up and the Marcellus Baz Foundation)
Keynote speaker: What is neighbourhood working and why does it matter to me?
Dr Nicole Atkinson (Chief Executive, Nottingham CityCare Partnership)
Workshop 1B – Help the Helper
Dr Jessica Lewis (Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Primrose Psychological Services)
Workshop 2A – Challenge with Compassion: Navigating Difficult Conversations at Work
Lucy Cassidy (System Leader, NHS and ICB)
Interactive session – world cafe: Understanding the workforce and understanding your role within it
Kate Knowles (spoke about Advanced Practice)
Hollie Bloom (spoke about Housebound Nurse Team)
Darcie Parry (spoke about Care Coordinator Role)
Michele Tuttle (spoke about Apprenticeships)
Natasha Davidson (spoke about Where to focus your energy)
Paul Wade (spoke about Radiology Referral Training for Advanced Practitioners)
Laura Bryden (spoke about Allied Health Professionals)
Brooke Dennis (spoke about Next Generation: How they support the community)
Panel: Primary Care Workforce: What next?
Dr Nicole Atkinson (Chief Executive, Nottingham CityCare Partnership)
Sarah Partridge (Workforce Development Lead Pharmacist, NCGPA)
Dr Gemma Wilkinson (Medical Director, Phoenix Programme)
Dr Manik Arora (Local Improvement Coach: National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme (NNHIP), Nottingham City Place-Based Partnership)
Laura Bryden (AHP Ambassador, NATH)
Kirsten Taylor (PCN Lead Nurse (South Notts), PICS)
Claire O’Mara (Senior Transformation Manager, Primary Care Transformation Team, N&N ICB)
Dr Joanne Taplin (Clinical Lead for INT Development, South Notts)
Workshop 2C – Emotional Intelligence and Behavioural Styles at Work: Building Self-Awareness, Communication and Resilience
Neil Arrowsmith (Leadership and Management Programme Lead, MBKB)
Celebrating innovation across primary care
As part of the conference, colleagues were invited to showcase their work through a poster competition celebrating innovation across primary care.
The competition highlighted examples of projects, ideas, and improvements taking place across services, showcasing the creativity and dedication of the primary care workforce.
The submissions demonstrated the commitment of teams to improving services, strengthening patient care, and finding new ways to respond to challenges within healthcare.
We would like to congratulate Robin Mullen, who was awarded Highly Commended for their poster, and our winners Dr Emmanuella Ugo and Dr Fizza Fatima
Notts Primary Care Conference Poster Submissions
Congratulations to our winners!
Winners - Dr Emmanualla Ugo and Dr Fizza Fatima
Highly Commended - Robin Mullen
Creating an inclusive conference experience
At NATH, we recognise that creating inclusive spaces is important to ensuring everyone can participate fully.
The conference included a dedicated quiet space for anyone who needed a moment away from the main event environment, helping create a more accessible and welcoming experience for attendees.
Delegates were also encouraged to share any dietary or accessibility requirements in advance so that everyone’s needs could be considered.
Reflection from the NATH Team
"Attending the NATH & Phoenix collaborative conference was a truly energising experience. It was fantastic to see such a diverse mix of colleagues from primary care, community services, social care and the voluntary sector all in one room, united by a shared ambition to work more collaboratively.
The keynote contributions from Nic Atkinson and Marcellus Baz were particularly powerful and thought-provoking, offering real insight into leadership, inclusion and the importance of community voice.
The event reinforced the value of collaboration and left me feeling both proud of what we are building through NATH and optimistic about the impact we can achieve together."
Nicola Payne, Programme Manager
"The conference was a great networking opportunity and proved invaluable in sharing NATH offers with primary care colleagues. I enjoyed meeting up with familiar faces and many colleagues I’d not met before.
My key highlight was the keynote speech by Marcellus Baz. It really brought home the importance of collaborative working which resonated with the speech by Nicole Atkinson on neighbourhood working. I left the event feeling inspired by the amazing work done by colleagues across primary care."
Michele Tuttle, Learning and Development Lead
“This was my first attendance at the NATH primary care conference and I felt really proud to be a part of something so uplifting and celebratory.
Primary care can sometimes feel isolating, exhausting and frustrating and yet on Tuesday the room was full of positivity.
To sit and listen to Baz was my absolute highlight of the day. What a privilege to have the chance to hear him talk about his life and achievements. He really made me feel that one human with a passion and purpose really can make changes in our world.”
Laura Bryden, AHP Ambassador
"I always enjoy conferences - they give me a chance to reconnect with colleagues, meet new people, and return to work feeling inspired to try something new.”
I had not come across the PBP maturity matrix before, but we tested it in the session and found it very usable if done as a team.
It has encouraged me to start discussions about using it at organisational level, starting small to make it achievable and sustainable while supporting practical action to reduce inequalities across our services and patient populations going forward.”
Sarah Partridge, Pharmacy Associate
“The Primary Care Conference was, in my eyes a timely reminder of the importance of each individual working in primary care.
A collection of people from a number of different backgrounds and professions including Drs, nurses, paramedics, pharmacists, physiotherapists, non-clinical roles. Working at different levels from trainees to clinical directors and everything in between. By working together across disciplines and areas we can share ideas. Find out what works and what doesn't work.
It turns out that we all have a lot in common and having some time together can help us focus on the big picture and to refocus on the way we want to provide care and the way we want to work going forward.”
Paul Wade, Primary Care Advanced Practice Lead
Being part of this event was a truly special experience, and one that I’ll remember as I come to the end of my time with NATH. After being involved in planning, promoting and supporting events throughout my journey here, it felt meaningful to be part of this final event and see everything come together.
What stood out most was the passion, collaboration and commitment from everyone involved. From the conversations with attendees to seeing people connect, share experiences and learn from each other, it was a great reminder of the impact these events have in bringing the primary care community together.
Thank you to everyone who has supported me, shared their knowledge and made my time with NATH so memorable. I’ll be leaving with so many valuable memories and a huge appreciation for the amazing work happening across primary care.
Pranjali Shewale, Communications and Engagement Assistant
A Truly Positive Experience
The feedback from the day was overwhelmingly positive. The combination of high-quality learning, meaningful conversations and a supportive environment made the conference both impactful and enjoyable.
What stood out most was the energy in the room, a shared commitment to learning, improving and supporting one another.
Feedback - key takeaways from the conference
Structural lunch break for my clinical team. Considering Apprenticeship. Seeking help from NATH about promoting research at the practice. Thinking of practical way to support Switch Up.
Will be more proactive in giving my feedback on any health inequalities that I am aware of
Look at training and development opportunities. Copilot roll out. Encouraging collaborative working.
Think outside of the box when looking to collaborate for neighbourhood working.
Cultural awareness and consider how we invite different races to the practice and how can we make this equitable. How will I get involved and what are the opportunities to be involved with neighbourhood health
Looking ahead
The Nottingham Primary Care Conference 2026 was a celebration of the strength, dedication, and passion within the primary care workforce.
The day highlighted the importance of collaboration, shared learning, and creating opportunities for colleagues to connect across roles and sectors.
The conversations and connections created during the conference will continue to support the ongoing journey towards a more connected, inclusive, and sustainable future for primary care.
Thank you to everyone who attended, contributed, shared their experiences, and helped make the event such a meaningful and inspiring day.
Explore Our Upcoming Events
We continue to deliver a range of CPD events and training opportunities throughout the year, with new sessions regularly being added to support your development.
Alongside this, we are actively shaping our upcoming training programme, ensuring it remains aligned with the evolving needs of our Primary Care workforce.
✨ Keep an eye out for what’s coming next, we have plenty in the pipeline!
Got a training need? Chat with us about your development options
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