Our Story: From Brighton Health and Wellbeing Centre to WellBN

A reflection on eleven years of growth, learning, and care.

2013 – Planting the Seed

Brighton Health and Wellbeing Centre was founded in 2013 with a bold idea – that healthcare could be different. That people deserved to be seen as whole beings, not a list of symptoms or diagnoses. Founded on the belief that true wellbeing extends beyond medicine, we wanted to create a space where physical, mental, and emotional health could be supported together — compassionately, creatively, and inclusively.

From the start, we brought together GPs, nurses, pharmacists, counsellors, complementary therapists, artists, and community members. Our approach was collaborative and experimental. We didn’t want to replicate the traditional model of primary care, we wanted to reimagine it.

“We didn’t want to replicate traditional care — we wanted to reimagine it.”

2014 – Building a Community of Care

Our first full year taught us that innovation in healthcare means listening, deeply. We listened to patients who told us they wanted time, understanding, and continuity. We listened to clinicians who longed for space to work holistically.

We began integrating art and creativity into wellbeing, hosting exhibitions and workshops. This was not a side project: it was central to our philosophy that healing happens in community.

“Healing happens in community.”

2015 – Growing the Team and Vision

With growing demand, we expanded our multidisciplinary team. More practitioners joined with backgrounds in nutrition, mental health, physiotherapy, and mindfulness. We started building partnerships across Brighton’s health and social sectors, learning how to collaborate in ways that honoured both evidence and empathy.

It wasn’t always easy. Integrating conventional and complementary approaches meant bridging cultural divides in medicine. But it was worth it, every time we saw a patient empowered to take part in their own recovery.

“Every empowered patient reminds us why this work matters.”

2016 – Learning, Adapting, Listening

This was a year of consolidation and reflection. We learned how important it was to measure outcomes — not just in numbers, but in stories: the person who regained confidence, the family who felt supported, the staff who rediscovered purpose.

We also began shaping what would become our “trauma-informed” approach to care. Understanding that many people’s health journeys are shaped by lived experiences of trauma, inequality, and disconnection changed the way we listened, treated, and designed services.

“We embraced trauma-informed care.”

2017 – Deepening Roots in the Community

By 2017, our identity as a community-based, person-centred practice was clear. We began hosting more outreach events, talks, and collaborations with local charities and wellbeing organisations.

Our commitment was to equity, ensuring that everyone, regardless of background or circumstance, could access compassionate care. Brighton’s diversity inspired us; it reminded us that inclusion is not just an aspiration, but a daily practice.

“Inclusion is not an aspiration; it’s a daily practice.”

2018 – Innovation in Primary Care

We began exploring how digital technology could help us reach people in new ways without losing the human connection at the core of our ethos. We integrated new systems to support continuity of care and communication across our teams.

We also deepened our learning culture, sharing research, holding reflective practice groups, and inviting staff and patients alike to help us co-create what wellbeing should look like in the 21st century.

“We fostered a culture of shared learning and co-creation.”

2019 – A Practice of Possibility

“From problem to purpose — this simple shift guides us.”

Before the world changed, 2019 was a year of possibility. We were experimenting with new models of group consultations, social prescribing, and creative community care.

Our guiding question became: How do we move from “what’s the matter with you?” to “what matters to you?”

That simple shift — from problem to purpose — continues to shape everything we do.

2020 – Resilience and Reinvention

Then came the pandemic. Like every practice, we faced enormous pressure, but also profound learning.

In those months of uncertainty, our team’s compassion and adaptability shone through. We learned to deliver care in new ways, often through screens but still anchored in human connection.

We supported patients and each other through isolation, anxiety, and loss; while holding fast to the belief that wellbeing is not just about survival, but meaning.

“We supported patients and each other through isolation, anxiety, and loss.”

2021 – Becoming WellBN

As the world emerged from crisis, and wellbeing was at the forefront of everyone’s priority, we were presented with the opposrtunity to share our hollistic approach with a wider community. We merged with Benfield Valley Healthcare HUb (BVHH).

Brighton Health and Wellbeing Centre had grown into something bigger than a single location. We had become a network of people and practices working together across Brighton and beyond, rooted in shared values and a holistic approach to care.

So we became WellBN — a name that reflected our purpose: Wellbeing for Brighton and beyond.

This wasn’t just a rebrand; it was a renewal of vision. A recognition that our work had evolved from an experiment in integrated care to a movement for compassionate, connected healthcare.

“A name that carries our renewed vision and commitment.”

2022 – Integration and Impact

Under the WellBN banner, we continued to build integration across services. Pharmacists, GPs, nurses, mental health practitioners, social prescribers, and wellbeing specialists worked side by side, united by shared principles rather than divided by professional silos.

We focused on sustainability, supporting staff wellbeing, digital transformation, and greener practice. We began to explore how the principles of trauma-informed care could be embedded at every level, from how we greet people at reception to how we design systems.

“We focused on diversity, equity and inclusion.”

2023 – Leadership Through Values

As healthcare across the UK struggled with burnout, demand, and inequality, we found strength in our founding values: compassion, creativity, and connection.

We shared our learning with others, mentoring newer practices and contributing to conversations about what primary care could look like when led by wellbeing rather than workload.

We saw our team continue to innovate; from group clinics to wellbeing hubs; and our patients continue to remind us that healthcare works best when it is built on trust.

“Our team continue to innovate; from group clinics to wellbeing hubs.”

2024 – Continuing the Journey

Eleven years in, WellBN stands as a testament to what can happen when a team believes in care as a relationship, not a transaction.

We are still learning, still listening, still evolving. Our work now reaches beyond the clinic walls, into communities, schools, and systems; to ask the same question that guided us from the start:

What does it truly mean to be well?

“What does it truly mean to be well?.”

2025 and Beyond – The Future of WellBN

As we look ahead, our vision is simple but profound:

To continue reimagining primary care as a place of healing, inclusion, and empowerment. To nurture the wellbeing of our staff as much as our patients. To work collaboratively, creatively, and courageously for the health of our community and our planet.

We set up Brighton Health and Wellbeing Centre 11 years ago with the belief that every person is unique and this continues to be the ethos of WellBN.

There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to health. In medicine this is sometimes called “n = 1”: it means that the most important person is you, the individual in front of us. Your story, your experiences, your body and your life circumstances shape what is needed for your care. Rather than treating symptoms in isolation or following a formula, we work with you to understand what is really going on and what matters to you. Together, we make a plan that feels right for your health, your wellbeing, and your life. This is healthcare that listens, adapts, and evolves; one person at a time.