We have almost 20,000 Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (CEV) residents in Buckinghamshire. All CEV residents will be receiving a letter from Government in the next couple of days explaining the extra steps that they should take to protect themselves, with the main message being stay at home as much as possible. As with the lockdown back in March, the Council is mobilising and redeploying some staff to provide essential support for residents, including:

• The support hub service will support those who are clinically extremely vulnerable with access to food and essential goods. The service will start to contact residents from Monday (9th Nov). There is a list of key contact details to be shared with anyone who may need support, in the table below.
• CEV residents can request priority supermarket delivery slots and request support from the Council via gov.uk
• All residents can find support on our online directory directory.buckinghamshire.gov.uk by entering their postcode
• Vulnerable adult social care clients are being contacted regularly throughout the lockdown period

Contact details to share with residents who need support

Impact on our services

We will provide further service information as soon as it is available and will be updating you – and our website – with service changes as they are announced. More detail will be available on our website, but the top line on key services is as follows:

·        Leisure centres in Buckinghamshire will be closed. Country parks remain open with some restrictions in place. Parks and playgrounds will also remain open; however other facilities including outdoor gyms, sports courts, and museums will be closed.

·        Household Recycling Centres will remain open and operate as usual.

·        Crematoria are operating, with funerals of no more than 30 people in attendance. Registry offices are not conducting any wedding ceremonies, but births can still be registered.

·        Libraries will be closed. All current loans will be extended until we are open again and no fines will be charged. However, Aylesbury, Beaconsfield, Buckingham, Chesham and High Wycombe libraries will re-open on Tuesday 10 November. Opening hours and access arrangements at these five libraries can be viewed on the library pages on the council website.

·        Family centres will continue to offer support, advice and guidance on an appointment-only basis. This may be by telephone or online. Appointment-only health clinics will continue to run from the family centres. If anyone needs urgent support and has a family worker, they should call them directly. If any family needs help or advice and they don’t currently have a family worker, they can contact the Buckinghamshire Family Information Service on 01296 383 293, or make an online request for support.

Support for businesses and employees

We have had confirmation from the Chancellor that the national furlough scheme will be extended to March. In addition, anyone on a low income who can’t work from home and who has been told by NHS Test and Trace to self-isolate may qualify for a £500 Support Payment. Details of the Test and Trace Support Payment, including eligibility criteria and how to apply are available on the council website. The government has also announced further financial support for eligible businesses and we will be making payments soon, once we have the full details about the eligibility criteria. We will outline the criteria and how to apply for this support as soon as possible.

Testing for coronavirus in Buckinghamshire
It’s essential that everyone who develops symptoms of coronavirus, no matter how mild, books a coronavirus test. Everyone in the household should self-isolate until the result is received. There a several ways to get tested, including now two walk-through testing sites at High Wycombe (Buckinghamshire New University, Queen Alexandra Road) and Aylesbury (the Gateway office car park, Gatehouse Road). There is some misunderstanding around testing at the moment, but the most up-to-date information about testing is as follows:

• Everyone is eligible to get a test if they have symptoms however mild
• Children can, and should, get tested
• There is capacity for testing, with up to half a million tests being done every day
• Test sites are open 7 days a week
• You can (and should) leave home to get a test even during lockdown

Visiting loved ones in care homes
The Government has now published its advice on this and I’m sure it will be a comfort to many families that care homes are able to provide safe visits during this lockdown period. This gives our local care homes the go-ahead to permit visits in a safe way but please make sure you liaise directly with the care home you will be visiting to check what arrangements they have in place first; each care home will need to undertake a risk assessment and determine if it is able to accommodate safe visits.  It might therefore take a little while for the necessary measures to be put in place at some settings to allow safe visits to go ahead.

Support continues for domestic abuse under COVID restrictions
Someone living with an abusive person during the new national restrictions, may find it more difficult to protect themselves. If you’ve seen or heard something relating to a neighbour, family member or friend, please report your concerns – someone’s life may depend on it. It’s really important to let people know that advice and support continues to be available despite the challenging times. If you, or someone you know, are suffering from domestic abuse please get help by reporting to Thames Valley Police or call the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0808 2000 247 or visit https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/. Further information about November’s White Ribbon campaign about domestic abuse can be found at: https://www.whiteribbon.org.uk/.

Mental health resources in Buckinghamshire

There will be people everywhere who are feeling the strain of the current situation, but no one should suffer in silence. There is an extensive list of websites, apps, and phone lines below which can offer support to anyone – young or old – during this difficult time.

Telephone help lines:

·        The local NHS has launched support telephone lines for adults, and children and young people earlier this year. This service is available 24/7, and aims to take the pressure off the 111 service. There are 2 dedicated lines:

o   Adults: 01865 904 997

o   Children and young people: 01865 904 998

·        Silver Line is a helpline for older residents: 0800 470 8090

·        Samaritans – Freephone 116 123 – open 24 hours

·        Saneline – 0300 304 7000 – 4.30 pm to 10.30 pm daily

·        Rethink – 0845 456 0455 – 10 am to 2 pm Monday to Friday

·        FRANK – 0800 77 6600 – open 24 hours

·        No Panic – 0844 967 4848 – 10 am to 10 pm

·        Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in Buckinghamshire 01865 901 951

Apps, web, or text services 

·        Healthy Minds is the self-referral site for NHS mental health support in Buckinghamshire

·        Young Minds – a service for young people, with dedicated coronavirus pages

·        Stay Alive is a suicide Prevention mobile phone app, search ‘stay alive’ on your app store

·        Mind UK, a national mental health charity, has resources online

·        Elefriends safe online space to listen, share and be heard

·        The Mental Health Foundation offers some useful tips on how to look after your mental health

·        Shout is a 24/7 crisis text line. Text SHOUT to 85258

·        Prevention Matters can support people to stay independent and help to support residents with telephone contact; they will also know where to refer to if more intense support is needed.