Guidance for Service Users

Please view our film below featuring a GMMH staff member, Sodi Mann, Consultant Psychiatrist from the John Denmark Unit about how to stay safe while staying in our units, aimed at all inpatients across the Trust. 

 

We want to make sure that the people we support and our staff are as safe as possible during appointments at our services throughout this time of the Coronavirus pandemic and are asking for your help by:

• Not attending your appointment if you have any Coronavirus symptoms.

• Not attending your appointment if you have been in contact with anyone who has displayed symptoms of coronavirus, or who has confirmed to be coronavirus positive, in the 14 days prior to your appointment.
• Not attending your appointment if you are feeling generally unwell, and/or have any other bacterial or viral infection symptoms (not just COVID-19). 

The symptoms are:

A high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back A new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour or, 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual) A loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you have noticed you cannot smell or taste anything or, things smell or taste different to normal.

If any of the above apply to you, please let us know as soon as possible so that your appointment can be rearranged.

Attending your appointment

• Attend your appointment at the service on your own, if there are exceptional circumstances and you need someone to attend with you please let us know at least an hour before your appointment so we can make suitable and safe arrangements. This will help to avoid large groups of people waiting in small spaces with no room to safely distance.
• Do not arrive at the service more than 5 minutes before your appointment time. If you are early, you may be asked to return closer to your appointment time. This will help to avoid groups of people waiting in small spaces.
• Only use the clearly marked entrance and exit doors.
• The space we have at our services is limited, therefore we will be limiting the number of people within the building to ensure at least a minimum social distancing space to keep everyone as safe as possible. Therefore, we ask for your patience as you may experience a delay in entering the building.
• Please wear a face covering from the time you enter the service until you leave the service. If you do not have a face covering on arrival you will be provided with one. Please remember you must wear a face covering if you are using public transport to get to your appointment. For more information about the use of face coverings whilst attending your appointment, visit: https://www.gmmh.nhs.uk/the-use-of-face-coverings-when-coming-to-gmmh.
• Please keep 2 metres apart and to follow all guidance arrows and other displayed distancing instructions.
• Please maintain good hand hygiene by washing your hands regularly (after touching your face, going to the toilet, before and after eating etc.), and make use of hand sanitiser gel which is situated at all entrances and exits. For more information about good hand hygiene, visit: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/best-way-towash-your-hands/.

If you have any questions about your appointment please contact the service as soon as possible

Please note, this document is meant to act as a general guide for appointments at GMMH. If you have any specific requirements, please contact the service in advance.

Many thanks in advance for your assistance.

 

Download our Attending Appointments foldable leaflet here:  Leaflet - Coming to your appointment.pdf

Find out more about the national COVID-19 Vaccination Programme here.

For information about COVID-19 Vaccines in British Sign Language, please click here.

For information about COVID-19 Vaccine in different languages, please click here.

Please find useful resources and information through the links below:

• Accessible formats, information for children and young people and information for adults

• Wellbeing booklet with support and advice for older people isolating at home

• Important information to keep you safe while isolating at home - Patient Leaflet

Please find below information for patients on Clozapine:

Clozapine and COVID-19 info for patients FINAL.docx

Please find the latest Fraud Alert newsletter:  COVID-19 Scams Alert #6.pdf

• Please be aware of this Track and Trace telephone scam:

  Telephone call received that went as follows:

  ???Good morning, I'm calling from the NHS Track and Trace Service. According to our system, you are likely to have been in close proximity to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. This means that you now need to self-isolate for 7 days and take a COVID-19 test.'

  'OK. Can you tell me who that person was?'

  'I'm not able to tell you that. That is confidential information.'

  'Right. Um... so ....'

  'But you do need to be tested within the next 72 hours. So can I just get the best mailing address so that we can send a kit to you?'

  'Ok (gave address)'

  'Thank you - and I just need to take a payment card so that we can finalise this and send the kit to you.'

  'Sorry - a payment card? I though this was all free?'

  'No - I'm afraid not. There is a one-off fee of ??500 for the kit, and test results. Could you read off the long card number for me, please, when you're ready.'

  'No - that's not right. This is part of the NHS so there's no charge.'

  'I'm afraid there is. Can you give me the card number please - this is very important, and there are penalties for not complying.'

  Puts phone down.

  Checks have been made with a Goverment Tracer who said - THIS IS A SCAM. "This is not how we work. There is no payment details of any kind taken by ANY of our teams. Please ,please do not give out your bank or payment details to anyone saying they are from track and trace. Track and trace will only confirm details with you and offer advice, they will not ask for any bank or payment details EVER. We will tell you who we are looking to speak to, we will give you the phone number and website to confirm who we are"
   

• 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

Befriending Phone Line for Polish Over-50s

Europia will be setting up a befriending phone-line service for Polish people who are over-50 years old. Polish people will be able to ring 0161 826 3177 and have a chat with one of our Polish staff. This phone-line is for those who just want to talk to someone. Callers can discuss whatever they like. They can ask for advice about welfare or COVID-19, or they can just talk about how they are feeling. This service will be available from Monday 27 April 2020, 10am-2pm Monday to Thursday.

They have set up a Facebook Group for Polish over-50s, where they can join and discuss things they want to raise (about COVID-19 and other things). We will also be setting up an online texting system whereby each week participants will receive texts from us in Polish with links to different resources depending on issues raised in the Facebook group.  Click here to join the Facebook Group

Europia Emergency Fund

Europia is setting up an Emergency Fund where vulnerable EU nationals living across Greater Manchester can easily apply for a grant of £30-60 to help them buy supplies such as food and medicine during the COVID-19 pandemic. Applications will open on Monday 27 April 2020 to be submitted over the phone or via an online google form.

For more information, contact fund@europia.org.uk or ring 0161 505 0456.