Gaddum

27/02/2026

Do you have lived experience of accessing Adult Mental Health Services?

We’re looking for lived experience leaders to join our Coproduction Management Group (CMG). This is a paid opportunity.

🧩 Purpose of the CMG:

The CMG Panel provides lived experience leadership to help monitor and guide the quality, impact, and accessibility of coproduction both within Gaddum and the wider system. (ICB/GMMH/NHS)

🧩 What You Will Do:

- Attend a quarterly 2‑hour meeting
- Read documents in advance
- Help identify impact, gaps, risks, and needs
- Review basic financial information related to coproduction
- Check for EDI, parity, and accessibility issues
- Offer constructive challenge and suggestions
- Help ensure coproduction is done with people, not to them

🧩 Who We Are Looking For:

- People with lived experience of Adult Mental Health Services (Primary and Secondary Care) (service use, caring, community leadership, etc.)
- No formal qualifications needed
- Able to read short documents independently
- Able to be involved in discussions
- Comfortable giving balanced challenge
- Reliable and able to attend quarterly meetings

If you would like to apply, please fill out our expression of interest form here: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=XoJ1QUfAqEy-_yg1H8pgjWBDM72PyHJPpJqe7maHUKVUNTNDMzhSUUNaUU1BMVdRUkdENFRGRVNOQy4u&route=shorturl

Or, for more information, please email our coproduction team: coproduction@gaddum.org.uk

26/02/2026

Thanks to everyone who joined us for a - very windy! - walk around Peel Park 🙂

Getting outside in nature (even when the skies are grey) always lifts our mood 🌳

If you're a carer in Salford, we'd love for you to join us at our upcoming events.

Find out more & sign up here: https://www.gaddum.org.uk/events/

25/02/2026

Do you have lived experience of a long-term condition, or care for someone who does?

We’re inviting four people to join our LTC (Long Term Condition) Lived Experience Oversight Group to provide lived experience insight and guidance, to ensure the LTC engagement programme is co‑produced, inclusive and represents real, lived experience.

This is a paid role for 12 months, with quarterly meetings starting in March. There will be opportunities to take part in focus groups and support wider engagement work.

To apply, please fill out the form here: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=XoJ1QUfAqEy-_yg1H8pgjW1iotxRHO1Ir2xAUOPY7FxURUg3TkZVRDdEMUFHSTVFNDA1TUxWWUQ5Ui4u&route=shorturl

Or, for more information, email our coproduction team: coproduction@gaddum.org.uk

24/02/2026

A behind-the-scenes shot from our recent filming with Manchester Mind 🎬

We sat down with Elizabeth Simpson, CEO of Manchester Mind, Ben Whalley, CEO of Gaddum, and Lily Huggins, Head of Community at Gaddum, to talk about what's been achieved so far and what's next for our joint Recovery in Community (RiC) service, which supports people to leave mental health inpatient care and stay well in the community.

More to follow 👀

A huge thank you to Neil Bauckham for filming and editing! 🎥

19/02/2026

During a recent creative workshop, we asked young carers to share their experiences of being a carer, and their preferences for how they would like to be treated by healthcare staff.

They said:

"I want them to be kind and nice."
"I want them to respect my choice."
"I want them to help more."
"I want my mum to be treated kind and loved by my mums doctors and to me."
"I would like them to treat me how staff treat others with kindness and respect."
"I would like them to be kind to me and mum and not be rude."

Listening and acting upon the voices of young carers is vital to shape how we can best support YC's in their caring role. Drawing is a great outlet for young carers - and people of any age - to express their thoughts and feelings.

A big thank you to all young carers in Salford for taking part, and for producing these awesome drawings 🤩

17/02/2026

Happy Lunar New Year to all who celebrate! 🎇

Lunar New Year (sometimes called Chinese New Year) marks the beginning of the new year in the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar.

Lunar New Year originated in China, but the festival is also celebrated in several East and Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam and Korea, as well as in communities around the world.

The Chinese zodiac follows a 12-year cycle, each year represented by an animal: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. Each year also corresponds to one of five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, or earth.

According to Chinese astrology, the horse is defined by traits such as confidence, responsibility, and intelligence. The year of the horse is also associated with moving forwards, independence and endurance 🐎

13/02/2026

This Valentine’s Day, we’re celebrating a kind of love that’s sometimes overlooked: self-love 🩷

A huge thank you to our Salford carers who joined us for a crafty afternoon creating bracelets and self-love jars.

Everyone wrote down positive affirmations about the qualities they love in themselves, along with their favourite self-care activities, and added them to their decorated jar.

The idea behind self-love jars is simple but powerful: whenever you're feeling low or need a little boost, simply pick out an affirmation or positive reminder about what you love about yourself.

How will you be celebrating this Valentine's Day? 🩷

12/02/2026

Shining a light on: Barbara Burford 🌟

Barbara Buford was a medical researcher and a pioneer for equality and diversity in healthcare.

Born in Jamaica in 1944, Barbara later moved to London with her family in 1955. She studied medicine at London University before going into medical research within the NHS, specialising in electron microscopy in postgraduate teaching hospitals.

In the 1980s, she led a team that was instrumental in several breakthroughs in heart and lung transplant surgery for infants and children.

In the 1990s, Barbara worked on several equality and diversity projects, including 'Positively Diverse', a set of equality guidelines designed for the NHS, and 'Race to Improve', which involved consulting with older people from minority ethnic backgrounds to improve services.

The latter resulted in multilingual touchscreen information points in community settings, as found in most hospitals and GP surgeries today.

This list of achievements is not exhaustive; Barbara was instrumental in paving the way for change within healthcare, later receiving an honorary doctorate from the University of Bradford to recognise her pioneering work in equality and diversity.

Although Barbara sadly passed away in 2010, her influence and impact across healthcare, equality and diversity lives on to this day.

What an incredible person Barbara was - wouldn't you agree?!

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🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ LGBT+ History Month, founded by the LGBT+ education charity School's Out - Le***an, Gay, Bisexual, Trans History Month UK - is an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of LGBT+ people, historically and from the present day.

The 2026 LGBT+ History Month theme of 'Science and Innovation' celebrates the contributions of LGBT+ people, past and present, to this field.

11/02/2026

If you’re a carer living in Salford, or caring for someone who lives in Salford, why not join us at one of our carer drop-in sessions?

📍 Where: Moya Cole Hospice, Little Hulton (M28 0FE)
🕑 When: Tuesdays, 2.00 - 4.00pm
📌 Where in the building: The hospice café

You’ll have the chance to chat informally with a member of the Salford Adult Carers Outreach Team in a relaxed, friendly setting.

How we can help:

- Support with completing referrals into the carers service
- Advice, information and signposting
- Providing a listening ear
- Book follow-up, one-off appointments if you need more support around a specific issue

No appointment needed; just pop by for a chat and some support. We look forward to welcoming you 💙

10/02/2026

This week (9–15 February) is Children’s Mental Health Week, a national awareness and fundraising campaign led by Place2Be

The week exists to empower, equip and give a voice to children and young people across the UK.

This year’s theme, , highlights how a sense of belonging - within families, friendships, schools and communities - can play such an important role in children’s mental health and wellbeing.

We really value this message; it echoes our own sentiments around the importance of togetherness and community.

That's why we've partnered with Kentown Support to support children with life-limiting conditions and their families across Greater Manchester, offering emotional care and therapeutic support.

As part of this partnership, Gaddum provides:

- Open-ended counselling for parents and carers
- Creative and play-based therapy for children and siblings
- Bespoke bereavement support for families following the loss of a child

At the heart of our partnership is a shared commitment to helping families and children feel supported, connected and cared for during incredibly difficult times.

09/02/2026

Some great job opportunities are available at The Brunswick Centre - Kirklees Calderdale 🎉

🚨 We’re Hiring! 🚨
Join our team as a Youth Worker (Systems Change Lead) or as a Support Worker (LGBTQ+ Children, Young People, and Families) and be part of an amazing, committed team challenging stigma, bias, and inequalities.

ℹ️For more information, click the link below:
https://www.thebrunswickcentre.org.uk/vacancies

06/02/2026

Some lovely feedback about our carer's services for young people in Salford 💙

Young carers are aged up to 18, and often take on practical and emotional caring responsibilities, tasks usually expected of adults.

We look after young carers with support, a listening ear, life tools and regular groups and activities.