For all health and care staff
Andy's Man Club - a free peer-to-peer group that provides a place for men to come together in a safe and open environment to talk about the issues or problems that they have faced or are currently facing. See Andy's Man Club flyer
https://www.facebook.com/mindyamarras/ Mind Ya Marras Mens Group
Bereavement support:
Cruse - support for bereavement
Just ‘B’ - telephone trauma and bereavement counselling
Childhood bereavement network - a hub for those supporting bereaved children and young people
Support for bereaved people
Supporting families affected by suicide | If U Care Share
https://www.sueryder.org/how-we-can-help/bereavement-information/grief-kind/griefkindclasses Sue Ryder - Grief Tutorials
https://assisttraumacare.org.uk/our-service/traumatic-bereavement/ - Traumatic Bereavement Support
https://www.brake.org.uk/how-we-help/get-help-if-a-crash-victim/talk-to-my-caseworker - BRAKE – Bereavement support and advice for those bereaved through a road traffic accident
https://www.good-thinking.uk/bereavement- Good Thinking UK – Culturally sensitive support & Faith-Based Bereavement Resources -
https://www.childbereavementuk.org/Listing/Category/helping-a-young-person - Child Bereavement UK – Helping a bereaved young person - a set of videos to enhance your understanding
https://www.hopeagain.org.uk/ - Hope Again (CRUSE Bereavement Support for Young People)
https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/mental-health/bereavement/autistic-adults - Bereavement - a guide for autistic adults
https://abcgrief.co.uk/about/ Bereavement Support for Adults Bereaved as Children (ABC) ABC Grief focuses on the nuances and complexity of unresolved childhood grief that is experienced by adults and the challenges that accompany this
https://www.thegoodgrieftrust.org/need-know-info/from-us-to-you/pop-up-good-grief-cafes/- The Good Grief Trust – Virtual Grief Cafes for those who need informal support from people who understand
https://thenbs.org/ National Bereavement Service - A resource that supports & guides people through the practical elements of grief
Fertility, pregnancy loss or death of a baby support
The Fertility Network UK offer a wide range of resources and support related to fertility; whether you are trying to conceive, going through treatment or living without children Fertility Network (fertilitynetworkuk.org)
Sands - Offer resources and support for anyone affected by pregnancy loss or the death of a baby - Sands | Saving babies' lives. Supporting bereaved families.
The Daisy Network is a charity for women experiencing premature ovarian insufficiency (early menopause) Charity for Women with POI | The Daisy Network
Long Covid
General Summary Information on long Covid:
www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/long-term-effects-of-coronavirus-long-covid/
This is the site that has information on all aspects of long Covid, including returning to work after Covid, information for family members etc:
www.yourcovidrecovery.nhs.uk/
Your Covid Recovery - Supporting Recovery for Long Covid
Long Covid clinics:
www.england.nhs.uk/2020/12/long-covid-patients-to-get-help-at-more-than-60-clinics/
Post-Covid-Syndrome-breathing-final
The Covid Struggles List
A list of the common experiences and dilemmas described by staff in a mental health and disability setting in the wake of the pandemic, and suggestions of what can help, written by Dr Steve Jefferis, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, CNTW Cognitive Analytic Therapy Service, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The Covid Struggles List
Financial Advice and Support
Durham Money Advice Centre
Durham Money Advice Centre (DMAC) is a face to face service offering free confidential help for anyone struggling with debt or managing their money. They offer advice on debt management, budgeting and benefits. They will even help fill in forms. Home visits are available.
Contact details: office@moneyadvicedurham.org.uk
Telephone: 0191 303 7514
Newcastle
Money Advice Newcastle East | MINE (minebyker.co.uk)
Northumberland
Northumberland County Council - Benefits & support
Sunderland
The Money Advice Service | Sunderland Information Point
Gateshead
Financial advice - Gateshead Council
South Tyneside
Money and debt advice - South Tyneside Council
North Tees and Hartlepool
Hardship Advice and Support for Residents | Hardship Advice and Support for Residents | Hartlepool Borough Council
Financial help for families
Financial help if you have children - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Working Families | Cost of Living Support for Families - Working Families
Benefits and financial support for families - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Heating/Electric/Water bills advice and support
Grants and benefits to help you pay your energy bills - Citizens Advice
Get help if you can't afford your energy bills | Ofgem
Understanding your gas or electricity bill | Centre for Sustainable Energy (cse.org.uk)
You can't afford to top up your prepayment meter - Citizens Advice
Financial support (nwl.co.uk)
Debt management
Community Money Advice County Durham | Durham Christian Partnership (durhamcp.org.uk)
Debt advice | Free debt advice | National Debtline | National Debtline
http://www.mindlinecumbria.org/
Citizens Advice Bureau Contact Details across the Region
County Durham
Contact us - Citizens Advice County Durham
Darlington
Free Confidential Advice | Citizens Advice Darlington, Redcar and Cleveland (citizensadvicedrc.org.uk)
Newcastle
Citizens Advice Newcastle - Citizens Advice Newcastle (citizensadvice-newcastle.org.uk)
North Cumbria
Citizens Advice Carlisle and Eden – Free, Impartial, Independent and Confidential Advice in Carlisle and Eden (cac-e.org.uk)
Citizens Advice Allerdale | Free, impartial, confidential advice
Gateshead
Home - Citizens Advice Gateshead
Northumberland
Citizens Advice Northumberland - Free, confidential and impartial advice
North Tees
Stockton & District Advice & Information Service - Citizens Advice Stockton (stockton-cab.co.uk)
Hartlepool
Citizens Advice Hartlepool - The charity for your community.
Sunderland
Citizens Advice Sunderland | Sunderland Information Point
South Tyneside
http://www.southtynelca.net
National carer organisations
Carers together aims to support and connect carers in local communities.
Carers Trust
The Carers Trust is a charity for unpaid carers.
Carers UK
Carers UK is a charity that supports carers in the UK.
Carers Support across the region
Durham County Carers
Visit website at www.dccarers.org
Telephone: 0300 0051213
Email: admin@dccarers.org
Gateshead
Gateshead Carers Association
Cumbria
Carers Support Cumbria
Northumberland
Carers Northumberland - Carers, Charity, Nonprofit
North Tees and Hartlepool
Home - Hartlepool Carers
MIND Middlesbrough and Stockton
Carers and Families (middlesbroughandstocktonmind.org.uk)
North Tyneside
North Tyneside Carers' Centre | You can depend on us!
Sunderland
Home - Sunderland Carers Centre
Newcastle
Home - Newcastle Carers
Menopause Support
The Daisy Network is a charity for women experiencing premature ovarian insufficiency (early menopause) Charity for Women with POI | The Daisy Network
menopausesupport.co.uk – Supporting You Through Change
Menopause - Help and support - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
There are also menopause specialists who have experience in supporting anyone going through perimenopause and menopause.
Find a BMS-recognised Menopause Specialist - British Menopause Society (thebms.org.uk)
You can find out about the experience of the menopause, by listening to people share their personal stories on film here:
Menopause - Overview (healthtalk.org)
https://www.positivepause.co.uk/
Others useful resources:
HealthUnlocked – Connects people with the same health conditions to share experiences and get answers to questions.
Recovery College Online – A wide range of mental health and well-being information including over 40 free e-learning courses and Moral injury and Staff Wellbeing info.
Samaritans – National listening service for immediate support
Shout – SHOUT text support service. Text 85258.
Meetup – Connects people with activities in their local area
Wellbeing and coping – Rate your mood and make a well-being plan.
Staying Safe – For people experiencing suicidal thoughts, including safety plans
Relate – Relationship advice, including online counselling
National domestic abuse helpline
Mental Health at Work is an independent partnership which has a collection of resources for frontline staff.
Help for Heroes guide to self-care.
Mental Health at Work -Free resources that can be filtered by sector and locality.
NHS People: Stress and Burnout
Every Mind Matters: Stress and Burnout
How-to-Stay-Calm-in-a-Global-Pandemic-Free-ebook (002)
Every Life Matters 023 COVID booklet update Feb20 v2 sml
NHS Wales have produced a series of best practice videos to support staff, with thanks to Dr Julie Highfield, National Wellbeing Project Director for the Intensive Care Society, for permission to share them here. View them here on the NHS Wales website.
For NHS staff
A range of resources for all NHS staff, including how to access immediate support and free apps.
Coronavirus Staff Resilience Hub – This hub offers frontline staff in the NHS and care services help to manage their wellbeing and is aimed at all frontline staff of health and care service.
For primary care staff
Looking after you too – Free to access coaching resource for primary care staff.
NHS Practitioner Health
For care home staff
CARE Health and wellbeing support – For staff working in the care sector, including how to access immediate support and free apps
The Care Workers Charity – have a range of services for all staff working in the care sector.
For nurses, midwives and healthcare support workers
The RCN Foundation – offers support and resources for all nurses, midwives and healthcare support workers in any setting. See also RCN trauma-focused therapy flyer
COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and your mental wellbeing – Support for RCN members.
Covid-19: Are You OK? – Nursing Times articles and resources to support nurses working through the pandemic
For social care staff (including social workers, social prescribers, support workers)
For ambulance services staff
The Ambulance staff charity. – resources for all ambulance staff
NHS Employers – Head First – Mental health resource for ambulance service staff
New “Blue Light” mental health and wellbeing resource added to MindEd programme
A new resource to help “Blue Light” colleagues better support each other has been added to Health Education England elearning for healthcare (HEE elfh)’s MindEd programme.
Rates of distress and mental disorder in emergency services staff are known to be high. Collectively, “Blue Light” personnel and emergency responders have expressed a wish to be able to support each other better.
In response to this, Blue Light Services Building Staff Psychosocial Resilience and Wellbeing has been developed for professionals across all emergency services including ambulance, police, lifeboats, fire, search and rescue. The resource consists of 4 elearning sessions to help learners identify colleagues who are struggling and offer advice to better support one another and manage early distress.
The 4 sessions, which each take approximately 30 to 40 minutes to complete, cover the following topics:
- Caring for Blue Light Teams - An Organisation-wide Approach
- Supporting Your Colleagues Effectively
- Staying Mentally Well - Spotting Warning Signs
- Effective Conversations With Our Peers
The sessions complement the existing Top Tips for Blue Light Staff which were developed earlier this year.
For more information and to access the sessions, please visit the Blue Light Services Building Staff Psychosocial Resilience and Wellbeing programme page.
MindEd is a free educational and training resource for mental health support. The variety of free resources aims to provide adults, across professions and organisations and including parents and carers, with the knowledge to support wellbeing, the understanding to identify young and older people at risk of a mental health condition and the confidence to act on their concern and, if needed, signpost to services that can help.
For more information about MindEd visit: https://www.minded.org.uk/.
Employee support services
CNTW
CNTW staff can call 0800 023 9324, available 24/7, 365 days a year.
NTW Solutions staff can access support through PAM Assist.
A wide range of resources is also available online including self-help workbooks, debt advice, a mental health app and more.
Click here for support from VIVUP
TEWV
Employee support services, including employee psychology support, Vivup and PAM assist, plus health and wellbeing page on staff intranet.
Mariposa and Papillon care home group
WPA, call 01823 625 278
Sanctuary care home group
Health Assured, call 0330 021 8754
MHA care home group
Care First, contact them through MPA.
North East and Cumbria Regional LMC
Available for all GP’s and practise managers in Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside, Sunderland and Teesside.
Validium Group, call: 0800 970 9040
Frontline Primary care
Looking after you too – individual coaching support offer for primary care staff.
County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
Employer Assistance Programme
To speak to a counsellor or advisor please call 0333 400 0545 and quote reference number 79967. (The confidential telephone counselling and legal information service operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year).
Or visit https://healthassuredeap.co.uk and enter 79967 in the username box and HomeLakePath in the password box.
Access up to 6 sessions of structured telephone, online or face to face counselling available.
South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust
EAP which provides a range of personal support service 24/7 including counselling, financial and legal advice – see staff intranet.
North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust
NT&H psychology – helpline – extension 22048 internal and 01429 522048 external
For leads and managers for advice – bookable slots with qualified psychological professional – extension 22049 internal and 01429 522049 external
South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
IMPACT, call 01642 573924 or email enquiries@impactonteesside.com
Occupational health, call 01642 282 482
Staff counselling service team – see Staff intranet
Medical psychology (for all aspects related to wellbeing at work), call 01642 854 758
Personal resilience and effectiveness coaching, call 01642 282 872
Trinity Holistic Centre kindness, call 01642 854 839
North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust
Talk Works – email: talktous@talk-works.org.uk or call 0191 490 9301 Talk Works
Occupational health team
In house psychological service
Help Hub via the intranet and access to a workplace app for use on mobile devices
The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Occupational Health Service: NUTH employees can access assessment for short-term Counselling, low–intensity CBT and psychology input, either via their manager or by confidential self-referral. Please contact OHS at newcastle.ohs@nhs.net to self-refer or for more information.
Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust
Occupational health department – access to 1:1 counselling and incident debriefing, call 0191 445 6162.
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Northumbria Healthcare Staff Wellbeing Portal
Occupational Health SPCS:
Wansbeck General Hospital: 01670 529 213 (Ext. 33213)
North Tyneside General Hospital: 0191 293 4373 (Ext. 4373)
Staff psychology and counselling service – can be contacted via the Occupational Health telephone numbers provided above or send an email query to: staffpsychology.counsellingservice@northumbria-healthcare.nhs.uk
North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust
Vivup – a confidential support and counselling service. It’s free and accessible 24 hours a day. They can give you advice and guidance on family difficulties, finances, bereavement, depression, stress and anxiety. Call 01252 784 540.
Talking therapies (IAPT) services
Durham & Darlington
Talking Changes (TEWV) – Durham & Darlington (Currently prioritising staff) – 0191 333 3300 – Talking Changes website
North Tyneside
North Tyneside Talking Therapies – (Currently prioritising staff) – 0191 295 2775 – See page on Northumbria Healthcare website
Northumberland
Talking Matters Northumberland (Currently prioritise emergency services staff and have a label on IAPTUS to aid staff with this) – 0300 303 0700 – Talking Matters Northumberland website
Sunderland
Sunderland Psychological wellbeing service (currently prioritising staff) – 0191 566 5450 – See page on CNTW website
South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust – Gateshead talking therapies (prioritising all NHS staff, local authority staff, care home staff and teaching/school staff at present) – 0191 283 2541 – Gateshead Talking Therapies website
Newcastle
Talking Helps Newcastle – 0191 282 6600 – Talking Helps Newcastle website
South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust- South Tyneside lifecycle primary care mental health service (prioritising all NHS staff, local authority staff, care home staff and teaching/school staff at present) – 0191 283 2937 – South Tyneside Lifecycle Mental Health website
Cleveland & Teesside
Starfish Health and wellbeing Teesside – Cleveland & Teesside – 01642 672 987 – Starfish Health and wellbeing website
Impact on Teesside – Tees Valley – 01642 573924 – Impact on Teesside website
Cumbria
First step (CNTW) – Cumbria – 0191 246 6800 – See page on CNTW website
York and Selby
IAPT- York and Selby – 01904 556820 – IAPT York an Selby website
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire IAPT Service:
- Harrogate – 01423 852137
- Northallerton – 01609 768890
- Whitby, Scarborough and Ryedale – 01947 899 270
North Yorkshire IAPT website
Vale of York
Psychological therapies – Vale of York (TEWV) – York, Selby, Tadcaster or Easingwold – 01904 556 840 – see page on TEWV website
East Riding of Yorkshire
Insight Healthcare Talking therapies – East Riding of Yorkshire – 0300 555 0250 – Insight IAPT website
Crisis team contact numbers
Newcastle & Gateshead
- Phone: 0191 814 8899
- Freephone: 0800 652 2863
- Text number for people who are deaf or have communication difficulties: 07919 228 548.
Sunderland & South Tyneside
- Phone: 0303 123 1145
- Freephone: 0800 652 2867
- Text number for people who are deaf or have communication difficulties: 07889 036 280.
Northumberland & North Tyneside
- Phone: 0303 123 1146
- Freephone: 0800 652 2861
- Text number for people who are deaf or have communication difficulties: 07887 625 277.
North Cumbria – East & West
- Phone: 0300 123 9015
- Freephone: 0800 652 2865
- Text number for people who are deaf or have communication difficulties: 07795 656 226.
Tees, Esk and Wear Valley central
Freephone telephone number for all of area – 0800 0516 171. You will then be connected to local crisis service.
Alcohol and your wellbeing
Many people have found themselves drinking more during the pandemic, however, it is more important than ever before to look after our mental wellbeing and physical health, and cutting back on alcohol can help us do that.
Regularly drinking alcohol affects the chemistry of the brain and can increase the risk of depression. Increased consumption can also affect our sleep, make us feel more tired and sluggish, and trap people in a cycle of feeling low and more anxious as well as increasing our risk of heart disease, stroke and cancer.
The Chief Medical Officer recommends that to keep health risks from alcohol to a low level it is safest not to drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basis – see how many units you drink here: Units explained – Reduce My Risk.
If you are concerned about how much you or someone you know drinks there’s lots of help out there. You can speak to your GP, find your local alcohol support service on www.meccgateway.co.uk/nenc/services/Alcohol or contact the confidential Drinkline Freephone on 0300 123 1110.
For hints, tips and advice on alcohol and how it can affect your mental and physical health see Tips, advice and real stories – Reduce My Risk
For tools to help manage your alcohol consumption see: Support – Reduce My Risk
Drink Coach - Free confidential alcohol support for staff
The North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care System (NENC ICS) has launched an alcohol support service, available for all health and social care colleagues to access now.
The introduction of DrinkCoach enables all staff to access a completely confidential and simple-to-use platform, and makes use of the DrinkCoach Two Minute Test to evaluate and help you better understand your drinking and the associated risks, as well as access further support where needed.
DrinkCoach users can track the units, cost and calories of their drinking; create personalised plans to better manage intake and receive signposting to local support services.
Those who are identified as being at risk through the two-minute test will be able to access an online session with a DrinkCoach, and will be assisted with accessing suitable support. Amongst the support available is free access to a confidential 1:1 online coaching programme with qualified alcohol treatment specialists.
To begin your DrinkCoach journey, please take the two-minute alcohol test
Suicide prevention resources and sources of support
Guided by national policy and based on evidence of how best to prevent suicide and promote wellbeing and resilience, the aim of the North East and North Cumbria Suicide Prevention Network is to work together to take action to reduce suicide, so that fewer people die by suicide and we improve support for those affected. The Network’s key messages are:
Look after yourself – focusing on self-help support and broad mental health and wellbeing messages, we aim to help people to build resilience and to recognise when they may need more help and support.
Look out for others – we aim to help support people to have the confidence to be a listening ear for those around them, and to understand how everyone can play a part in suicide prevention.
Get help early – we aim to convey the message that suicide is preventable and that getting help early is key to ensuring more people access the support they need at the right time.
Visit the Network website www.stopsuicidenenc.org to access suicide and self-harm prevention resources and signposting to local and national sources of support for yourself or for others.
