Welcome to our first edition of PPG News!
Gloucestershire NHS News
Community Hubs established to support patients
A number of ‘community hubs’ have been set up in health centres and surgeries across the county to support patients who need face to face medical support and may have possible symptoms of coronavirus. Read more here. You can also watch a short video with Jeremy Welch explaining what the hubs are for and how they are run.
Temporary changes to Minor Illness and Injury Units - Some temporary changes to Gloucestershire’s Minor Injury and Illness Units (MIIUs) have been announced in order to strengthen staffing at a smaller number of sites. Read more.
Changes to hospital services - Our hospitals have changed the way they are delivering their services in response to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak including increased use of technology and telephone appointments, prioritising urgent and emergency operations and restricting visiting. Further information is available here.
COVID-19 Information – available in other formats - The NHS Gloucestershire CCG website provides a range of information about COVID-19 including information in other languages and formats, such as Easy Read. Some of this information is provided at a national level, whilst other documents have been translated specifically for the CCG. These can all be viewed here.
Other community information
Gloucestershire Community Hub This hub has been established in collaboration with all local councils, police and healthcare services.
We know that there is already a lot of great community support happening across the county and in many areas neighbours are organising themselves locally to offer their help to those who need it.
We are conscious that not everyone has these local connections so we have created this community help hub to match local people who need help, with others who can provide the help they need. You can use the link below to offer help, register yourself or a neighbour who needs help, or sign up a local business who can support others during this time: https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/gloucestershires-community-help-hub/
Message from Gloucestershire Carers Hub We understand that this is a worrying time for carers and, as such, are doing all we can to support carers through this situation.
Most of our communication channels remain open, though for the safety of carers and our staff, we are no longer providing face to face services. We are still available to offer support to carers during our normal opening hours (9am to 5pm Monday to Friday, but we will keep this under review and amend as appropriate) including information, advice and guidance over the phone and through our website, email and social media. Please do keep checking our website and social media for up to date information. The latest information from the government relevant for carers can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-social-distancing-and-for-vulnerable-people/guidance-on-social-distancing-for-everyone-in-the-uk-and-protecting-older-people-and-vulnerable-adults
At times like this contingency planning is at the forefront of our mind. Therefore, if you would like to talk about what might happen if you or your cared for becomes ill, please do phone. Whilst we may not be able to process registrations for the Carers Emergency Scheme as normal, we will continue to start the registration process for any carer who wishes to do so. We would request that carers are mindful that the registration processes may take longer than usually expected. It is really helpful to talk through emergency planning, even if you do not formally wish to register with the Carers Emergency Scheme. Information regarding the local Carers Emergency Scheme is available- https://gloucestershirecarershub.co.uk/carers-emergency-scheme/
We recognise that this is an increasingly isolating time for carers and we want to assure carers in Gloucestershire that we are here if you want to talk to someone. We will also be providing outreach calls to carers known to us, to offer emotional support, information, advice and guidance, as well as a conversation about contingency plans.
Of further interest may be the ‘Jointly App’ which is supported by Carers UK. The app is available free of charge to all carers registered with the Gloucestershire Carers Hub. The app is there to support you with your caring role, and you can allow multiple individuals to log in and update information. The app can act as a live record of what is happening with the person you care for including appointments, updating medical details and medication.
If you are a carer, please get in touch. If you know someone who is a carer, please look out for them at this time:
Phone: 0300 111 9000
Web: www.gloucestershirecarershub.co.uk
Email: carers@peopleplus.co.uk
Social media: Facebook- Gloucestershirecarershub
Twitter: @GCarersHub
Instagram: Gloucestershire_Carers_Hub
For Young Carers, please contact Gloucestershire Young Carers http://www.glosyoungcarers.org.uk/ Tel: 01452 733060
Age UK
Age UK Gloucestershire has had to reconfigure the way we deliver support to Gloucestershire’s older people. We are currently providing support in 3 main ways:
- Our Help Team is available Monday – Friday 9am – 4pm to help older people resolve specific problems. We have up to date information about local resources and support. Call us on 01452 422660 to access the Help Team, or email essentialinfo@ageukgloucestershire.org.uk to let us know about essential services you are offering locally.
- Our Out of Hospital Team continues to support older people recently discharged from hospital who need guidance to stay well at home through in depth welfare calls.
Supporting Older People to stay connected:
- We recognise that social isolation and the associated wellbeing issues are a real and serious issue for older people. We have set up a new Freephone telephone number for people who are alone and who want to have a friendly conversation with a staff member or volunteer. Call us on 0800 2980579, Monday – Friday 9am – 4pm
- Look out for our Greet Your Street Campaign. We are encouraging everyone to make a cup of tea, open your windows or front door and Greet Your Street at 11am every day. Wave, smile, say hello to your neighbours, share a joke, reassurance and stay connected, just remember to stay at least 2 metres apart.
- We are compiling tips from our Older People’s Springboard Groups about how to stay connected, including virtual ‘Get Connected’ workshops and one-to-one telephone support to help older people make the most of the resources and social opportunities access to technology can offer. Call 07511 223995 to find out more.
Support for Communities who want to help:
- Signposting individuals to existing local groups, and central hub resources.
- Support and advice for local community groups to support older people safely and effectively.
Please share with your colleagues, teams and please do signpost older people you are working with (or know personally) to our website www.ageuk.org.uk/gloucestershire.
