Coronavirus - information for our service users and visitors

• You must wear a face mask or face covering whenever visiting one of our wards. If you do not have one just ask a member of staff for one. 
• The number of visitors is limited to one close family contact or someone important to the service user. If it is possible to maintain social distancing throughout the visit, a second additional visitor may be permitted under certain circumstances. This will be at the discretion of the ward. 
• Your visit may be shorter than normal to ensure we limit the number of visitors on the ward at one time. This will also give our staff time to clean any areas you have visited before the next visitor arrives. 
• Before your visit you will be asked if you have any symptoms of Coronavirus, and if you have any you will be asked not to attend and you should self-isolate at home for 14 days and organise a test. 
• You must  adhere to social distancing at all times during your visit. 
• Visits that require more than one visitor, for example children with an accompanying adult, require special consideration and you should speak to the ward to make appropriate arrangements. 
• If a face-to-face visit is not practical we will support you to do a virtual visit so you can still keep in touch with your loved one. 

Due to Tier 3 restrictions Birch Avenue is temporarily closed to visitors. If you have any queries about visiting a loved one please contact the team at Birch Avenue directly. 

(updated 23 October 2020)

Due to Tier 3 restrictions Buckwood View is temporarily closed to visitors. If you have any queries about visiting a loved one please contact the team at Buckwood View directly. 

(updated 23 October 2020)

Due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic we have made some changes to our visiting arrangements for Edmund Road. 

We are limiting the number of face-to-face appointments we are offering for safety reasons. All appointments will be risk assessed before you are invited to a face-to-face appointment. 

If you are asked to come to Edmund Road please follow the guidance in your appointment letter. 

You can find out more about the changes we have made to our services during the pandemic at shsc.nhs.uk/coronavirus

The Community Learning Disability Team are only carrying out essential face-to-face appointments with service users.

If you or a loved one have a pre-booked appointment you will be contacted by the team and wherever possible they will carry out your appointment via telephone. 

The Eating Disorder Service have made some changes to the way they are running the service at the moment. 

The majority of their appointments are currently being carried out over the phone or by video conference using a website called 'Attend Anywhere'.

The Day Service face-to-face sessions have also been temporarily put on hold, with the service being carried out over the phone. 

You can find out more about the changes made to the service, including how to access Attend Anywhere appointments, by visiting the Eating Disorder Service page. 

The Electroconvulsive Therapy service has been temporarily closed in light of the Coronavirus outbreak. 

The Gender Identity Clinic currently cannot offer face-to face appointments at the present time. If you currently have an appointment booked, a member of our team will contact you to discuss whether you'd prefer to carry out your appointment over the phone, via a video chat or to reschedule your appointment. 

Unfortunately, we will not be able to sign off and consent for hormones or surgery over the phone, these appointment types will be rescheduled as a priority as soon as face-to-face appointments resume.

If you wish to cancel your upcoming appointment, you will not be penalised and you will be rescheduled as soon as normal clinical activities resume.

We are able to respond to your queries relating to referrals or appointments or any other queries, by emailing the clinic at porterbrook@shsc.nhs.uk or phoning 01142716671.

Please note that if we contact you via telephone the number will appear as 'private number' or 'no caller ID'. 

We will respond to urgent enquiries and concerns as soon as we can. As we are running a limited service we thank you for your patience and understanding during this period.

We hope you all remain safe and healthy during this exceptionally uncertain time.

The Health Inclusion Team have moved towards telephone support wherever possible.

They are helping service users with signposting to extra Government support, including advice on things like parenting through the coronavirus outbreak and caring for your baby. 

Face-to-face appointments will only be carried out if an assessment has been carried out that deems it absolutely necessary. 

There's also some really helpful information for migrants available here. 

If you're a parent and you have any concerns about your baby during the COVID-19 outbreak The Lullaby Trust have released an app called 'Baby Check' which gives you some simple checks you can do if your baby is showing signs of the illness. 

Our Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) team have cancelled all face-to-face and group appointments for the foreseeable future and are instead offering telephone assessments and treatments to all service users. 

IAPT have also launched a new course called 'Coping with COVID' that is specially designed to help support anyone who is feeling stressed, anxious or worried during lockdown. 

The course is open to anyone living or working in Sheffield and will be held online so you can take part from the safety of home.

To find out more about the course visit iaptsheffield.shsc.nhs.uk or call 0114 226 4380. 

The Memory Service has cancelled all face-to-face appointments for the foreseeable future. 

The Memory Service's Help and Advice line is still open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm for existing service users and carers, or for anyone who has recently been referred by their GP for assessment.

If you have worries about dementia medication, or are concerned about your own or your loved ones memory, you've noticed a deterioration or just want some advice you can give the team a call on 0114 2718585.
 

The Neuro Case Management Service is open to referrals, however the team have adapted their working practices to accommodate a reduction in available resources and to ensure we safeguard those who are most vulnerable within our care.

The support they offer may be conducted by phone or video chat, or face-to-face if absolutely necessary following an appropriate risk assessment. It is sometimes the case that we can manage care provision by liaising with those already involved in a care pathway without having to conduct a home visit.     

All referrals will continue to be triaged and assessed for complexity and need and a care plan will be identified following this.  

If you have any queries regarding a referral then please do not hesitate to contact the team on 0114 271 1237.

Our service remains open to referrals, however, we have adapted our working practices to ensure we safeguard those who are most vulnerable within our care,  for example making more use of telephone and video calls for appointments and reducing face to face appointments. Our outpatient clinic has recently reopened and is mainly offering physiotherapy appointments.

All referrals will continue to be processed. We will make contact to discuss individual needs and whether these can be best met within our team, and by which therapists. When possible, we will provide written guidance and information on resources to assist with management of their condition whilst awaiting the start of direct intervention.

The support we offer may be conducted by phone or video conferencing, however, we will offer a face-to-face visit if necessary following an appropriate risk assessment. This may be for example a person who is at immediate risk of falls, has difficulty swallowing, a breakdown of carer support and prevention of hospital admission, or support on discharge from hospital with things like eating, drinking and swallowing.

If you have any queries regarding a referral then please do not hesitate to contact us on 0114 271 1237.

Due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic we have made some changes to our visiting arrangements for Edmund Road. 

We are limiting the number of face-to-face appointments we are offering for safety reasons. All appointments will be risk assessed before you are invited to a face-to-face appointment. 

If you are asked to come to Edmund Road please follow the guidance in your appointment letter. 

You can find out more about the changes we have made to our services during the pandemic at shsc.nhs.uk/coronavirus

Due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic we have made some changes to our visiting arrangements for Edmund Road. 

We are limiting the number of face-to-face appointments we are offering for safety reasons. All appointments will be risk assessed before you are invited to a face-to-face appointment. 

If you are asked to come to Edmund Road please follow the guidance in your appointment letter. 

You can find out more about the changes we have made to our services during the pandemic at shsc.nhs.uk/coronavirus

We have written to everyone currently being supported by the Recovery Service North and Recovery Service South to outline temporary changes we have to make to the delivery of our services. 

To ensure we protect our service users and staff we have suspended all non-essential face-to-face and group contact. Depots will continue to be administered by the team as long as you do not have any symptoms associated with Coronavirus.

The teams will continue to maintain a duty service to support you in times of crisis, and we will be contacting you frequently to maintain contact and hopefully ease any anxieties you may have about this evolving situation. 

If you are currently taking part in research with the Trust the National Institute of Health Research has produced some handy guidance to help you keep safe during the pandemic.

To find out more click here. 

The Sheffield Adult Autism and Neurodevelopmental Service (SAANS) is currently offering appointments by telephone or video call. The service is not open for service users to attend in person. 

Our telephone line (0114 271 6964) is open from 8.30am to 12pm, and 2pm to 4.30pm. Please bear with us during these periods as the phone lines may be busy. 

Autism alert card

If you, a family member or friend may benefit from an autism alert card. The card is for people living with autism and learning disabilities in South Yorkshire and will make it easier to navigate social and stressful situations.

The card will prove very useful given the current circumstances and you can use it to communicate with emergency services more effectively. 

To sign up for free email Autism_Alert_Card@southyorks.pnn.police.uk

Our service is still open to referrals, however, we are working to a revised service model due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

We continue to offer appointments, however, support may be conducted by phone or video conferencing, or face-to-face if absolutely necessary following an appropriate risk assessment. Face-to-face appointments may be at the client's home or at the Long Term Neurological Conditions (LTNC) Upperthorpe building.

The LTNC Upperthorpe building remains open for face-to-face appointments and has been adapted to provide a more Covid-secure environment. However, the number of clients able to access the building is restricted and therefore the availability of face-to-face appointments is limited. 

If you have any queries regarding a referral then please do not hesitate to contact us on 0114 271 1237.
 
We will continue to update this page with any changes to our current situation. 

The Sheffield Rotherham and Doncaster Perinatal Mental Health Service are continuing to offer support via telephone and Skype.

They are only carrying out face-to-face assessments where they are deemed essential. 

We understand this is already a difficult time, especially if you have children, but we are continuing to offer support and give you a place to talk.

Please note that if we contact you via telephone the number will be withheld, so please do answer it. We understand this can be difficult but if we cannot get through we will leave you a message with information on how to call us back. 

Below are some useful resources for any mums or families who are struggling:

• Netmums
• NCT
• Maternal Mental Health Alliance
• Tommy's
• Mind
• Baby Buddy

The Sheffield Treatment and Recovery Team (START) remain open but have made some changes to their service during the Coronavirus outbreak. If you need help for drug and alcohol use, you can still contact the service to arrange to talk to someone.

To protect service users and staff we are limiting the number of people who come into our buildings on Sidney Street and at the Fitzwilliam Centre. 

We are conducting most appointments over the telephone, but some people may be seen in person. If you have a face-to-face appointment, you will be sent a text message reminder with details of your appointment. You will be asked to wear a face mask and our staff will be wearing PPE. If you are due to attend a face-to-face appointment and you develop Coronavirus symptoms, please self-isolate and contact the service. Do not visit the building.

We are working with pharmacies to ensure any medication you have been prescribed is available and will not be disrupted should you need to self-isolate. Please remember if you have any medication to store it safely and out of the reach of children. 

If you need to speak to anyone from the START team you can reach them by calling 0114 305 0500 or by visiting the service pages listed below:

• Alcohol Service
• Non-Opiates Service
• Opiates Service

The Single Point of Access, Emotional Wellbeing Service and Out-of-Hours Team are currently conducting all routine assessments and follow up appointments via telephone.

The teams are working as quickly as possible to respond to people who in a crisis as soon as possible.

The courses run by our Short-Term Educational Programme (STEP) are now being delivered online rather than the normal face-to-face sessions we hold at The Circle. 

If you have any queries about a course you are currently attending, or would like to book onto an online course please call 0114 226 2660.

The Mood, Anxiety and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Psychotherapy Service (MAPPS) and Personality Disorder and Complex Trauma Service remain open but are having to make a number of changes to the way in which the services run and how appointments happen.

These include changing from face-to-face to telephone or video appointments, sessions happening less often or you being contacted by someone else in the team if the person you usually see is not available. Plans have been developed to provide some face-to-face appointments, but places for these will be limited and subject to Coronavirus restrictions. 

Some of our usual processes are taking longer than normal. If you have any specific queries please contact us on 0114 2716920.

If you have been referred to the service

We continue to review all referrals received and communicate with the person who referred you. If your referral is accepted we will send you a letter inviting you to contact us to let us know that you would like an appointment. Your name will then be added to the assessment waiting list and you will be asked to confirm how you would prefer the assessment to happen. We anticipate there being a significant wait for assessment for the foreseeable future.

If you are waiting for an assessment

If you have been offered an appointment for a face-to-face assessment you may have been contacted to let you know that this has been postponed. We will be contacting you to discuss possible alternative ways of completing your assessment, including telephone and videoconferencing but we understand that these may not be suitable for everyone. 
 
If you have told us you would like an assessment appointment but haven't yet been given one we will be in touch by letter or telephone to help discuss your options.

If you are waiting for therapy

We are currently offering video or telephone appointments so you will be contacted in writing offering you an appointment with the person you normally see for reviews. If they are not available we will offer you an appointment with someone else. 

We aim to be flexible and adjust to your individual needs and circumstances. Therefore, if video or telephone therapy is not suitable for you, we have some availability for face-to-face therapy. Due to Coronavirus restrictions these appointments are limited and we encourage anyone who has any concerns about video or telephone therapy to discuss it with their therapist. 

We have closed the respite bed at Wainwright Crescent. The other beds at Wainwright Crescent remain open. 

Due to Tier 3 restrictions Woodland View is temporarily closed to visitors. If you have any queries about visiting a loved one please contact the team at Woodland View directly. 

(updated 23 October 2020)