Latest Updates

Stay at home if you have coronavirus symptoms

Stay at home if you have either:

• a high temperature – you feel hot to touch on your chest or back

• a new, continuous cough – this means you've started coughing repeatedly

Do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.

You do not need to contact 111 to tell them you're staying at home.

Testing for coronavirus is not needed if you're staying at home.

How long to stay at home

Unity services remain open, however we have reduced the opening hours in Workington. This is due to a temporary reduction in staff, therefore we have grouped the service provision to Whitehaven.  

However, we recognise the provision of needle exchange is essential, therefore we are providing a drop in 3x per week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 2pm - 4pm from the Unity base in Workington.

Contact details on the Unity page here: www.gmmh.nhs.uk/unity

The single most important action we can all take, in fighting coronavirus, is to stay indoors in order to protect the NHS and save lives.

When we reduce our day-to-day contact with other people, we will reduce the spread of the infection. That is why the government is now introducing new measures to protect us all during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This means that we have made changes to visitor arrangements from now (24 March) until further notice.

As such it has become necessary to stop visitors to our inpatient wards. We appreciate that this may cause distress to both patients and their loved ones, but can assure you this is not a decision we have taken lightly.

The only exceptional circumstances where one visitor – an immediate family member or carer – will be permitted to visit are listed below.

• The patient you wish to visit is receiving end-of-life care.

• You are a parent or appropriate adult visiting your child.

Please contact the ward or department in advance to discuss appropriate arrangements.

Your health, safety and wellbeing, that of our patients, communities and individuals and teams across the organisation remain our absolute priority.

We are currently looking at alternative options to support contact for those people who require ongoing support to keep them well. Where possible, please use either a mobile phone or social media to stay in touch and speak to the appropriate ward to discuss other options for maintaining contact.

We will be reviewing these arrangements regularly depending upon the circumstances and as things change.

Please rest assured we have fully scoped out the procedure for transferring our patients to hospital to receive treatment not able to be provided in a mental health setting.

Our staff understand that this may be a worrying time for you and will do their best to keep you updated.

The best and latest information on coronavirus (COVID-19) is on www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

Thank you for your continued support and understanding at this challenging time. 

In line with social distancing guidance issued by the government, a number of our premises are temporarily closing indefinitely to remove any potential risk for centre users.

While we understand you may have some concerns, we would like to reassure you that we are taking this measure to maintain everyone’s safety.

Our staff understand that this may be a worrying time for you and will do their best to keep you updated.

All other GMMH services will run as normal currently, but the locations below are closed:

• No.93 (Health and Wellbeing Centre)
• Achieve, Bolton (St Andrews locality) – the closure will be reviewed at the end of April
• Bolton Primary Care Psychological Therapy Service base (33 Victoria Square, Bolton)

We are making every effort to reduce the spread of the virus, and as such minimising the amount of people to our centres is essential.

No.93 (Health and Wellbeing Centre) are looking to support vulnerable centre users through an outreach food programme and will be keeping touch with them on a regular basis to prevent them being isolated.

Bolton Primary Care Psychological Therapy service are still taking referrals via their admin email: BoltonPCPTS@gmmh.nhs.uk – send as a high priority email, titled 'Referral' and giving the Paris ID (please do not attach and patient-identifiable information to the referral).

The health, safety and wellbeing of all our service users and staff is an absolute priority and we will work within the guidelines issued by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to ensure all premises are safe and meet the necessary requirements.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) presents with flu-like symptoms including a fever, a cough, or difficulty breathing.  We know that some simple public health advice can help stop the spread of the virus. Please help by following advice to: 

• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after using public transport. Use a sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available. 
• Always carry tissues with you and use them to catch your cough or sneeze. Then bin the tissue, and wash your hands, or use a sanitiser gel. 
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands. 

If you have any questions about coronavirus or are worried about any aspect of your care please talk to the clinical staff caring for you.

The best and latest information on COVID-19 is on the https://www.gov.uk/guidance/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-information-for-the-public.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

• Please be aware of the following scam making its rounds on social media saying ‘For your free £258 award from the Government to assist you during the Coronavirus outbreak, just enter your bank details’Identity_Fraud_E_Screen.pdf [pdf] 118KB

 

• Another scam to be aware of is a penalty payment for leaving your home. Please see below for details