Coronavirus – Help & Support

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 NATIONAL LOCKDOWN

Northumberland has now – along with the rest of the country – moved into national lockdown from 6th January 2021. Stay at home.

For more information on what this means see the Gov.UK website.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-lockdown-stay-at-home

 

NHS OFFICIAL COVID 19 NORTHUMBERLAND MENTAL HEALTH PRIMARY CARE SUPPORT

– Updated 27th November 2020

Very useful information on the full range of support services available with details of the services, and contact numbers etc.

Click on this link to access PDF copy of information.Link to PDF copy of information.

SCAM

Northumbria Police have notified us on 5th January 2021 of the following scam;

We are aware fraudsters claiming to be officers from our Force and the National Crime Agency have been cold-calling people, asking them to purchase Google Play cards.
Scammers have been reportedly calling people purporting to be law enforcement and claiming there are issues with their would-be victims’ National Insurance number.
If you receive a call like this, do not transfer any money, give any personal details, or purchase any type of vouchers.Ask for an incident number and hang up. When you are sure the line is cleared, check this with us by calling 101 or using our online reporting tool.Remember, your bank and the police will never:
• Ask you to transfer money out of your account
• Ask you to withdraw money to hand over to them for safe-keeping
• Send someone to your home to collect cash, PINs, cards, vouchers or cheque books
• Phone and ask you for your full PIN or full banking passwordYou can report suspected fraudsters to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040, or online here https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/

ALNWICK FOOD BANKfoodbank

If you are in critical need or know someone who is, Alnwick Food Bank may be able to help provide food.

Website: https://alnwickdistrictfoodbank.co.uk/

Email: alnwickdistrictfoodbank@gmail.com

Telephone: Northumberland Adviceline (Citizens Advice) 03444 – 111-444 (Mon-Fri 10-4pm)

If you have food that you want to donate to the foodbank, please take it to one of the collection points in the area such as at Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, or the Co-Op.

 FOOD PARCELS

Some highly vulnerable residents are received Government food parcels on a regular basis and have queried about how to cancel these as they have other shopping arrangements in place. We have been sent the following information from NCC Communities Together.

If you have been receiving a weekly government food parcel but no longer require it, please do the following.

How to stop the weekly government food parcels (information provided by Alnwick Medical Group):

Go online to GOV.UK website where you registered as shielded.

  1. https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus-extremely-vulnerable
  2. Go to the question

Do you have a way of getting essential supplies delivered at the moment?

  • You previously answered “no” to this question as you did not have a way of receiving food. If you can now get a delivery slot or you have a volunteer doing your shopping, please now reply “yes” to this question. You will then be removed from the Government distribution list. Deregistering will not affect your supermarket priority status.  

Or

If someone refuses the parcel when delivered it will cancel it. They will then be removed from the Government distribution list. Deregistering will not affect their supermarket priority status. 

Or

Call 0800 028 8327

Please have your NHS number with you when you call. This will at the top of the letter you have received letting you know you are clinically extremely vulnerable.

Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice have advised there are still open and running  services via telephone or online.  They  will endeavour to continue to support the people of Northumberland during this situation.
Northumbria policeBe Cyber Aware – Northumbria Police
Northumbria Police have launched a Cyber Aware campaign to help the public tackle and protect themselves from the growing cyber threats we see reported on a daily basis. Included in this is a new suspicious email reporting service, helping the public to fight back against phishing. To find out more  and for tips on the 6 most essential protective behaviours, visit their website: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/cyberaware
Domestic Abuse – Information from Northumbria Police
For two million victims of domestic abuse, home may not be the safe place it should be.We can help support you if you are experiencing domestic abuse, you can contact Northumbria Police by telephone on 101 or 999 in an emergency.If you dial 999 and are unable to speak, the emergency operator will ask you to dial 55 and to follow their instructions to quickly put you in touch with police.You can also get information and report incidents online via our website www.northumbria.police.ukThere is also a wide range of support services that we work closely with to support victims of domestic abuse.These services are available across our force area and offer fantastic support to victims in need of advice and information.Area specific:Northumberland
DASN – Domestic Abuse Service Northumberland
01670 820199
logoCancer Awareness
A real and growing concern is about lockdown effects on people who fear they might have cancer. There was huge drop in referrals the week before Easter and referrals are still much lower than they normally are. The specialists in the NHS have capacity now but are concerned over the backlog of people who have not been coming forwards. The Big message from the NHS National Cancer Patient Forum is:

Get people to come forward if they have concerns. The earlier cancer is detected the better the outcome. This is really important.

For more advice : on Cancer https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cancer/symptoms/

 

Aging Well in Northumberland – Call Companions

Re-engage (formerly Contact the Elderly)  have suspended their regular social gatherings and have created a new service for older people called ‘Call Companions’.

A trained volunteer calls the same older person between two and four times a month at a mutually agreed time for an informal chat. Calls  last for around 30 minutes. The programme is  aimed at people who are;  75 or older,  living alone with little or no contact with family or friends,  struggling to leave their house in normal times.

If you know anyone who would benefit from call companions, please refer them using the simple online form. Don’t forget to get the older person’s consent first. You can find the form on the Re-engage website at  https://www.reengage.org.uk/refer/

Page updated: 12th July 2020