Coronavirus Community Hub

Supporting vulnerable people in your community

We want to make sure that during this difficult time vulnerable people can get the support they need, either from friends or family, volunteers in the community or if they are on their own from the Council.

If you are worried about yourself or someone else who is alone and in isolation, the Community Hub set up by the Council aims to help people and coordinate volunteers.

A form below is available for people who want to refer themselves, a family member or someone in the community who needs assistance.

Please always refer to the latest official government information on social distancing.

This service will prioritise those people who have no one else to help and who are the most vulnerable, for example over the age of 70, have an underlying health condition, families struggling to cope and those people who have received a letter from NHS England stating they are in a priority group.

If you cannot use the online forms please call us on 0116 275 0555 for help and support requests.

Opening hours

Monday to Thursday 9 am – 5 pm, Friday 9 am – 4.30 pm.

Clinically extremely vulnerable

Anyone who is clinically extremely vulnerable and had a letter from the Government should follow this guidance from 5th November 2020.

More detail can be found on the guidance on shielding and protecting the clinically extremely vulnerable link below.

Socialising

Clinically extremely vulnerable people should stay at home as much as possible, except to go outdoors for exercise or to attend essential health appointments.

Work

You are strongly advised to work from home. If you cannot work from home, then you should not attend work for this period of restrictions.

Education Settings

Children whose doctors have confirmed they are clinically extremely vulnerable are advised not to attend school whilst this advice is in place.

Travel

You should avoid all non-essential travel by private or public transport, this includes not travelling to work, school or the shops. You should still travel to hospital and GP appointments unless told otherwise by your doctor.

Shopping

You are advised not to go to the shops. Use online shopping if you can, or ask others to collect and deliver shopping for you. If you already have a priority delivery slot with a supermarket that will continue, you do not need to do anything further. If you need to request access to priority supermarket delivery slots a new online support service has been set up by the Government. You can register on the Coronavirus Shielding Support link below.

If you cannot access food, the community hub can offer support. This may include helping you to request a priority supermarket delivery slot or help with shopping.

From 5 November Asda stopped accepting new referrals from the National Shielding Service System for priority supermarket deliveries.  Some of those registered on 5 November may have been granted access but should have been informed by Asda if that was the case.

Asda are continuing to offer priority supermarket deliveries to clinically extremely vulnerable individuals who have already been matched on their system and accessed delivery slots, prior to 5 November. 

If you registered between 5 November - 16 November and you were a new referral, you will need to register with an alternative participating supermarket. The 6 supermarkets currently participating in the scheme are:  Iceland, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose.

Medicines

You are advised not to go to a pharmacy. You are encouraged in the first instance to ask a friend, family member, carer or a volunteer to collect your medicines for you. If none of these are available, then you will be eligible for free medicines delivery.

Accessing care and support

It is important that you continue to receive the care and support you need to help you stay safe and well. We urge you to continue to seek support from the NHS and other health providers for your existing health conditions and any new health concerns.

 

COVID-19 Community Pack

We have produced an information pack to support households and the local community during the coronavirus outbreak. The pack contains key contacts, websites and resources you will useful. We recommend sharing this pack within the community where you can to ensure that as many people as possible have the support and knowledge they need at this challenging time.