Coronavirus – Humankind

Coronavirus

The health of the people who use our services, our staff and volunteers is always our top priority.

To help reduce the spread of the virus, we may need to reduce some of services or carry out appointments by phone or online. Your local service or worker will be able to let you know what that means for you in your local area.

Please read our COVID-19 risk assessment for details about how we are keeping our staff and service users safe.

We will keep updating this page when we have more information.

 

How to keep safe

The NHS website will provide you with the most up to date information and will be able to answer most of your questions.

All of our services have safety measures in place and would ask that you wear a mask when visiting us. Please remember to keep your distance, wear a mask and regularly wash your hands.

It can be a worrying time so looking after your mental health is even more important than ever, here are some tips if you are worried about coronavirus;

  • Connect with people regularly – talking to others can really help.
  • Support and help others – try to think of things you can do to help those around you
  • Do things that you enjoy – focus on your favourite hobby or learn something new

Visit the NHS website for more tips to help your mental wellbeing.

It is important to sleep well as it can reduce stress and make you feel less anxious. Here are some tips to help you get a better night’s sleep;

  • Try not to have caffeine or nicotine three hours before you go to bed
  • Avoid daytime naps or long periods of sitting or lying around
  • Try to have a regular bedtime routine

Take a look at our sleep hygiene factsheet for more tips.

If you need support or have any questions please get in touch with your local service.

 

Advice for anyone that is using drugs

  • Keep using your needle syringe provision– it’s important to keep supplies of clean injecting equipment. Check any changes to opening times of your usual service.
  • Naloxone– kits are available from your local drug and alcohol service and could save a life, please ask for one.
  • Changes to supply – expect a change in the street drugs that you buy. They may be different to what you are used so take extra care, for example, test with small doses first.
  • Safe storage – if you are storing more drugs keep them out of sight and locked away from others.
  • Online support groups – many of our services are offering online support groups and there are others such as Narcotics Anonymous. See below for more suggestions.

COVID-19 advice for people who use drugs

 

Advice for everyone who drinks alcohol

  • Slowly reduce – for some slowly reducing your alcohol drinking is safer than stopping suddenly.
  • Thiamine – it is important to take Thiamine tablets to reduce the harm that alcohol might be doing to your body. Find out more information on our factsheet.
  • Mixing – if you mix alcohol and other drugs such as, benzos (benzodiazepine/diazepam) or pregabalin (gabas) it risks stopping your breathing.
  • Withdrawal – if you find yourself without a supply of alcohol and experiencing withdrawal symptoms please download our COVID-19 advice for managing alcohol dependency for more information on how to stay safe.
  • Online support groups – many of our services are offering online groups and there are other online support groups that can help such as DrinkCoach or Alcoholics Anonymous.

 

Advice for managing alcohol dependency

If you are dependent on alcohol or think you might be download our leaflet with important information to help you stay safe during the coronavirus epidemic.

COVID-19 advice for people who drink alcohol

 

What to do if you have symptoms

You must NOT to come to our services or the community pharmacy if you think you might have symptoms. Instead please phone us and discuss with your key worker the best way to keep in touch with you.

Your service will be offering group work and one to one sessions over the phone, or online, talk to your service about what is available to you.

 

Online and telephone support

DrinkCoach

Alcoholics Anonymous

Narcotics Anonymous

Breaking Free Online

Cocaine Anonymous

Recovery Wrx

Drugfam

 

Useful links

NHS latest advice

Advice for people at high risk

Tips to help with anxiety

Sleep hygiene

Harm reduction advice for people who use drugs

Harm reduction advice for people who drink alcohol

Thiamine factsheet