Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Here at Outer Hebrides Alcohol & Drug partnership we realise this is a worrying time for everyone in our community and that people may be anxious about the situation with Co-vid19 and the increased restrictions in place.
Some services have had to temporarily close but please be assured we are working closely with all agencies to ensure alternative arrangements are in place to support you and the wider community.
Please check our website where all up to date information can be found and our local Recovery Support Services Directory.
Additionally, if you require further support please contact the following national help lines –
- Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol & Drugs – SFAD – www.sfad.org.uk Telephone 08080 101011
- Cocaine Anonymous – www.cauk.org.uk Telephone 08006120225
- Alcoholics Anonoymous – www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk Tel 0800 9177650
- Breathing Space – www.breathingspace.scot Telephone 0800 838587
- Know The Score – www.knowthescore.info Helpline – 0800 587 5879
- Narcotics Anonymous – www.ukna.org Helpline – 03009991212
Links and more information
General Guidance and Support
Latest guidance about COVID-19 from NHS Scotland and the Scottish Government, including social distancing and stay at home advice – https://www.nhsinform.scot/coronavirus
HSC Workforce COVID-19 Core Brief – 25 Mar 2020 Final
How to manage our anxiety – Factsheet offering helpful advice
NHS Western Isles has produced a useful factsheet offering helpful advice on managing anxiety as a result of the ongoing coronavirus situation.
Dr Maggie Watts, Director of Public Health, said “Health boards have understandably been focusing on ensuring hospital and community services are prepared for our response to Coronavirus, but we are keen, alongside our mental health services to remind people of the importance of looking after our own and others mental health during this time.
“The first thing is to say is that it is normal to be feeling stressed and anxious right now. The vast majority of us have never experienced anything like this before but there are steps we can all take to help us cope much better in what is an anxious time.”
Alison Robertson, NHS Western Isles Clinical Psychologist, said “The uncertainty in our lives at the moment can be very hard to cope with and whilst it is hard to switch this off, there are some simple steps we can take to keep ourselves mentally well and resilient – and that can make a big difference. It is important we all take time to look after ourselves and each other.”
Support for Families about Coronavirus
Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs is a national charity that supports anyone concerned about someone else’s alcohol or drug use in Scotland. We give information and advice to many people and help them with confidence, communication, general wellbeing, and we link them into local support. We also help people recognise and understand the importance of looking after themselves.
https://www.sfad.org.uk/support-services/support-for-families-about-coronavirus
Giving the current coronavirus situation that is impacting all our lives, we wanted to let you know that our support services are still open for business. Our helpline, bereavement support and one-to-one support are all available online or by phone.
Helpline: 08080 10 10 11
Helpline email: helpline@sfad.org.uk
Webchat available on our website: www.sfad.org.uk
SFAD are able to call you, email you, host video chats and are currently looking into more ways to connect with you.
Coping in Isolation
Have a look at the Coping Calendar which provides 30 actions to look after yourself and each other as we face this global crisis together.
For those able to go out for the recommended daily walk, Paths for All have put together some top tips on walking during periods of social distancing, which may be of interest to you.
Drugs and Alcohol Support and Advice
Other online and telephone support is available such as We are With You who provide online and telephone support via the following:
https://www.wearewithyou.org.uk/ – Free confidential support to people experiencing issues with drugs, alcohol or mental health (online and telephone service). We are With You is open from 9am to 9pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 4pm Saturday and Sunday. They offer a virtual service out-with these hours.
In addition, people can make direct contact on 0333 230 9468 Or through Scotland Drinkline on 0300 123 1110
Check out https://knowthescore.info/ for more information on drugs and alcohol.
Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Probems (SHAAP) provides consistent, expert advice and advocating for effective solutions to reduce alcohol-related harms. New guidance has been issued for people with alcohol related problems and advice for heavy drinkers.
https://www.shaap.org.uk/downloads/238-new-guidance-for-covid-19-and-people-with-alcohol-related-problems/download.html
https://www.shaap.org.uk/downloads/240-covid-advice-for-heavy-drinkers/download.html
Advice for people who inject drugs during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
An information flyer which contains advice for people who inject drugs during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak: http://www.sdf.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/COVID-19-Drug-injecting-A5-Flyer-Digital.pdf
Service Providers – Guidance has been produced on contingency planning for people who use drugs and COVID-19. The intention of the Guidance is to support local areas and services in their contingency planning for COVID-19 in relation to people who use drugs and particularly the provision of opiate substitution treatment and injecting equipment provision. The situation is changing rapidly and SDF will send out revised guidance to all stakeholders and the latest version will be available on this page.
Harm Reduction Advice
For helpful harm reduction advice during Coronavirus from Crew 2000 please access the following website:
https://www.crew.scot/coronavirus-general-hygiene-tips/
CLiCK Resources
At CLiCK we are really concerned about the impact that Covid-19 is having upon the wellbeing of women who sell/exchange online in Scotland. We want to do everything we can to support them and need to urgently speak with women to ensure the Scottish Government response meets their needs.
Online chat
We are constantly reviewing our online chat times to meet women’s needs and are currently providing additional hours. This additional availability will be updated weekly on our social media pages (Twitter & Facebook). It would be great if you could share this information with your online networks and the women you support. (This week’s online chat times can be found here)
Information and resources
We have created a central resource hub as a blog on our website. Here we are providing information on a range of issues including housing, money and wellbeing. We will be constantly updating this page with new information as and when it becomes available. It would be great if you could share the attached graphic and the following text on your social media channels:
@click_scotland have created a #COVID19 resource hub for women who sell/exchange sex online to ensure you have access to the most up to date information. Check it out here: https://buff.ly/2xfi8Aq and if there’s anything else you would like to know, get in touch at click.scot/voice
Your Voice
It is vital that we speak with women now to understand their urgent needs. We are looking for women to share what their needs, concerns and priorities are during this time to ensure we can provide the right support and that Scottish Government funding is implemented in a way that is relevant to them. We would really appreciate if you could share the attached flyer with your network and share the attached graphic and the following text on your social media channels:
@click_scotland are looking for women with experience selling/exchanging sex online to share their urgent needs and priorities in order to provide the support that you need and shape the @scotgov response to #COVID19. You can make your voice heard anonymously at click.scot/voice
Service Providers
Psychological First Aid For Service Providers
Over the past few weeks the work of the National Trauma Training team has been focusing on collating and developing psychological resources in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A significant part of this work has been developing a COVID-19 specific Psychological First Aid (PFA) eLearning module on Turas, which is now live and can be accessed here.
PFA is based on a set of principles that we know help people to cope with and recover from ongoing situations like those arising from COVID-19. The module is designed to teach the principles of PFA to anyone who is delivering health or social care in order to allow them to effectively deliver PFA throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The other resources provided on the website link above provide links to helpful documents and other webpages which focus on self-care, resilience and wellbeing in healthcare staff. This website will continue to be updated.
Please also see the PFA poster summarising PFA and ‘self-care in a crisis’.
Working in homelessness settings
For those working in homelessness settings, please read the excellent guidance detailed in the link below, collated by Health Protection Scotland. Please share this with your colleagues and partners who are also working in the sector.
https://hpspubsrepo.blob.core.windows.net/hps-website/nss/2973/documents/1_COVID-19-Guidance-for-non-healthcare-settings.pdf