Update on our services

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Since the start of lockdown at the end of March, most of the team here at Adapt (NE) have continued to work from home. Our advocacy service has been as busy as ever, providing support remotely to people across the county through our NHS, Care Act, Relevant Person Representative, Independent Mental Health and Independent Mental Capacity advocacy services.

Healthwatch Northumberland’s information and signposting service has been busy helping people find out about changes to services, where to get support locally and listening to people’s experiences of health and social care. The team are holding some online public forums starting from this week, and you can find out how to get involved here.

We are looking at ways we might be able to safely provide the dial-a-ride transport service again in the future. We have been able to help a number of people get to urgent hospital appointments where they have been unable to access any other transport. This was done following social distancing guidelines on our vehicles. If you have issues with getting to medical appointments we might be able to help so do get in touch.

Through our facilities at Café @ Burn Lane we have been able to provide space for volunteers to produce freshly cooked meals for members of both Corbridge and Allendale Lunch Clubs. These have been well received and we’re very pleased to have been able to help. The café will have to stay closed for now until we receive further advice from the government. Although we are permitted to open for take away food, we recognise that there are plenty of businesses in the area providing this service and we have decided not to take custom away from those already offering these services.

We have taken the decision to de-register as a provider of Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks, as we need individuals to visit us at our offices to do this. With staff working from home and social distancing measures in place for some time to come, we feel we can no longer offer this service. Any DBS checks that are currently being processed will be completed. There are many online DBS services which will be able to help if you need one.

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Latest Coronavirus Information

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The main symptoms of coronavirus are: a new, persistent cough, a high temperature and loss of sense of taste and/or smell. If you have any of these symptoms you should stay at home and self isolate.

Find more information below.

 

 

Test and Trace – how it works

 

NHS 111 coronavirus service

 

NHS common questions

 

Northumberland Communities Together

 

NorthumberlandCVA – what’s on offer in your area

 

Government guidance on staying at home – including easy-read and other languages

 

GOV.UK information on coronavirus and the situation in the UK

 

World Health Organization: coronavirus myth busters

 

What to do if coronavirus is affecting your mental health

 

NHS Volunteer Responders Service

 

Changes to council services in Northumberland

 

Every Mind Matters advice and tips

 

Guidelines for Safe Shopping

 

A Childrens’ Guide to the Coronavirus

 

Coronavirus – What is Shielding?

 

Coronavirus and Domestic Abuse

 

Changes to Citizens Advice Services

 

Young Minds – coronavirus and mental health

 

Supporting someone with sight and hearing impairments

 

Autism and coronavirus

 

Most pharmacies across Northumberland have made changes to their opening times, so we recommend you check with yours before making a visit. Opticians and dentists are not holding routine appointments. If you need urgent care from these services please call them for help and instructions. You can find your local pharmacist dentist or optician at the NHS Service Finder.

Keeping People Connected: A new specialist phone support service for people with learning difficulties and/or autism in Northumberland during the Covid-19 outbreak. Call 0300 303 2789 or email keepconnected@wearepeoplefirst.co.uk.

More information can be found at the Healthwatch Northumberland Coronavirus Information Page

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Be Alert to Coronavirus Scams

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Here are just some of the coronavirus scams we are aware of, but please note that criminals come in all shapes and sizes and can contact you at the door, by phone, post or online

  • People offering miracle cures or vaccines for coronavirus – there is no specific treatment for coronavirus (COVID-19). Treatment aims to relieve the symptoms until you recover
  • Home cleaning services
  • People impersonating healthcare workers, claiming to be offering ‘home-testing’ for coronavirus – this is a scam and these kits are not currently available to buy
  • Emails saying that you can get a refund on taxes, utilities or similar are usually bogus and they are just after your personal and bank details
  • There are lots of fake products available to buy online that say they can protect you or cure coronavirus. These will not help and are designed to take your money
  • There are new mobile phone applications that claim to give you updates on the virus but instead, they lock your phone and demand a ransom
  • People offering to do your shopping or collecting medication and asking for money upfront and then disappearing

Your bank or the police will never ask for your bank details over the phone.

  • LATEST NEWS from Northumbria Police:
    There is a scam going around on social media where they send the victim a text message saying they have been seen out of their house on more than one occasion, which has resulted in them being fined £35. There is a link for the victim to click where they can enter their cards details.
    The scammer has sent a previous message which makes it appear to be from gov.uk so looks makes it look legitimate.
    Please beware and do not fall for this one

Tips to avoid being scammed:

  • Be cautious and listen to your instincts. Don’t be afraid to hang up, bin it, delete it or shut the door
  • Take your time; don’t be rushed
  • If someone claims to represent a charity, ask them for ID. Be suspicious of requests for money up front. If someone attempts to persuade you into accepting a service they are unlikely to be genuine. Check with family and friends before accepting offers of helps if you are unsure
  • If you are online, be aware of fake news and use trusted sources such as gov.uk or nhs.uk websites. Make sure you type the addresses in and don’t click on links in emails
  • Only purchase goods from legitimate retailers and take a moment to think before parting with money or personal information
  • Know who you’re dealing with – if you need help, talk to someone you know or get in touch with the organisations below.
  • Protect your financial information, especially from people you don’t know. Never give your bank card or PIN to a stranger

Contact information:

  • If you think you’ve been scammed, report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 and if you need advice, call the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133. If you are in immediate danger, contact the police on 999.
  • Contact your bank if you think you have been scammed.
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Northumberland Communities Together

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Northumberland County Council is launching a new initiative – Northumberland Communities Together-  to support the phenomenal volunteering networks that have been rallying support across the county in response to COVID-19.

Find out more about Northumberland Communities Together

 

The three Food Bank sites in West Northumberland sites are closed to the general public due to coronavirus restrictions, but there is a delivery service for those that need it at this difficult time.

West Northumberland Food Bank

 

More useful information can be found at the links below.

NHS 111 – check if you have coronavirus symptoms

NHS coronavirus advice for everyone

Every Mind Matters – coronavirus and your mental health

Mental Health information from Healthwatch

Volunteer for Northumbria Healthcare

Changes to council services in Northumberland

Be alert to coronavirus scams

 

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Customer Notice 20 March 2020

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UPDATE Monday 23 March

As the government has asked for all cafes, pubs and restaurants to close, we cannot go ahead with our plans to open Cafe @ Burn Lane. Our office is open for shorter hours with most staff working from home. Please get in touch if you need to – we will get back to you although it may take us a little longer than usual. 

Like most other organisations, we are having to change the way we operate amid the coronavirus outbreak. Our office opening times are reducing so please bear with us if it takes us a little time to get back to you.

We have lots of regular customers and we wish to still support them and our community. From Monday 23 March Café @ Burn Lane opening times will reduce to 9.30am to 2.30pm.  We are taking the guidance from the government seriously and as such have removed some of our tables to provide a bigger distance between tables. Our hygiene regime is of the highest standard and we have commercial sanitising products for cleaning.

Hopefully warmer weather is on its way and we can get our outdoor seating back onto the patio. Then if you are having a walk you can have a coffee whilst still social distancing.

We are also encouraging people to use our takeaway service. Call ahead on 07864 692627 and we will have your order ready for you.

As we are a community café we wish to continue to support people and as such we are moving to producing takeaway meals which we can offer for home delivery; more details to follow soon.

We would appreciate all our customers if possible could pay by card .. Thank you

Supporting our communities and families who will be most impacted by the loss of income during this time is very important to us. If you would like to make a donation to the café we will use that money to provide meals for local families, especially those who are hardest hit by the school closures.  You could also choose to buy a gift voucher for when things are back to normal and you can come and enjoy a meal.

To finish, some good news  – CHIPs are back on the menu!

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SpeakUp2020 in the Healthwatch Northumberland Survey

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Healthwatch Northumberland has a survey each year, asking about your health and social care experiences in the previous 12 months. It might be a new year but your experiences from 2019 still matter. You can feed back as a patient or carer.

By sharing what went well for you, what might be improved and what is important to you, you can help the team set work priorities for the coming year and help make a difference to care services locally.

Share your views online or call 03332 408468 for a postal copy with freepost return.

More about Healthwatch Northumberland and how you can get involved.

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Community Information Morning February 2020

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Call in to our next Community Information Morning where you can pick up advice and information about health, wellbeing, transport, money and things going on in your area. This time we have Tynedale Hospice at Home, Northumberland Cancer Support Group, Alzheimers Society, Action on Hearing Loss, Healthwatch Northumberland and Macular Society coming along, plus help around Attendance Allowance and also Support Planners from Northumbria Healthcare.
Join us for a cuppa and a piece of cake in the Resource Room – just through the door from Cafe @ Burn Lane.

 

Adapt (NE) Community Information Morning

Wednesday 19 February 2020, 10.30am – 12.30pm

Adapt (NE), Burn Lane, Hexham NE46 3HN

Free entry, all welcome!

 

Dates for the rest of the year for your diary:

Wednesday 13 May, Wednesday 19 August and Wednesday 18 November

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Creating Space Craft Sessions 2020

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Creating Space is a new craft group for wellbeing taking place here at Adapt (NE) in Hexham. Run by local people, the group is looking for more members to make it viable in the longer term. This is a friendly and supportive space for those who might find getting crafty helps with low mood and improves wellbeing. The next sessions will take place on Thursdays 23 and 30 January and 7 February, between 9.30am and 11.30am. Please come along if you are interested or call Claire on 01434 600599 to find out more.

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Energy Advice Drop-in Session

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Citizens Advice Northumberland is holding an Energy Advice Drop-in Session here at Adapt (NE) on Monday 20 January, between 10.00am and 1.00pm, as part of the Big Energy Saving Week. Call in to Cafe @ Burn Lane/the Resource Room to speak to a specialist energy adviser about the energy costs within your home and see if you can start saving straight away! Bring along a recent energy bill if you can. No appointment is needed. All advice is confidential, impartial and free.

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Christmas and New Year Hours

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Christmas and New Year:
Our offices here at Adapt (NE) will close at 5.00pm on Monday 23 December and re-open on Thursday 2 January.

Cafe @ Burn Lane will close at 4.00pm on Monday 23 December, re-opening in the new year on Monday 6 January.

Thank you for all of your support and custom this year; we wish you all a happy and peaceful Christmas time.

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