COVID-19 resources for health and care workers

If you’re in immediate physical danger or have a medical emergency, call 999 now.

24/7 coronavirus support: A North East Lincolnshire service offering professional, confidential advice to anyone who has seen COVID-19 affect their mental health. Key workers get fast-tracked access to support from mental health professionals. Call (01472) 256256 (option 3)

Samaritans: Whatever you’re going through, you can call or email Samaritans any time for free. Call 116 123

CALM: The Campaign Against Living Miserably is leading a movement against suicide, the single biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK and the cause of 18 deaths every day. Call 0800 58 58 58

Five ways to wellbeing: The New Economics Foundation have developed these five steps to looking after your wellbeing: connect with people, be physically active, learn new skills, give to others and pay attention to the present moment.

NHS in Mind: NHS in Mind promote self-help techniques designed to help NHS staff alleviate and combat high anxiety, panic and fatigue. These include short videos to guide staff through; breathing exercises, pausing to connect with your environment and help with sleep.

Local Government Organisation: The LGA and the NHS have developed a Health and Wellbeing information for Care Staff colourful booklet including advice, tips and tools on how to manage stress and wellbeing.

NHS mental wellbeing audio guides: The NHS have put together a series of audio guides to help you learn to control your anxiety.

Ted Talks: Andy Puddicombe talks about the importance of self-care and mindfulness.

Help for Heroes: This Field Guide to Self-Care is for the men and women working tirelessly in our hospitals right now. Help for Heroes have developed this resource with empathy and experience, and hope that it’s a useful resource for our healthcare heroes, and for anyone else who may be feeling stressed or anxious during these difficult times.

The Kings Fund: The Kings Fund have collected some resources to support mental health of staff working in the health and care sector including an NHS Employers toolkit.

Every Mind Matters: This Public Health England campaign shares hints and tips developed with experts and approved by the NHS.

Orcha Apps Library: This library lists thousands of NHS-approved health apps by condition, making it quick and easy for you to find support.

We're all looking at supporting the mental health and wellbeing of our colleagues. The British Psychology Society (BPS) suggest the LOOK-LISTEN-LINK approach:

• Be empowered to keep a watchful eye over those you work with
• Check in with them either face-to-face or over video-calls
• Signpost them to services and/or speak to line managers

It is important to remember that not everyone needs psychological support. But for some it can be extremely valuable.

Mental Health Foundation have put together some great tips on how you can support someone who is struggling while Samaritans also have advice on how to support someone you're worried about.

If you’re in a mental health crisis and need urgent help, call the Single Point of Access on (01472) 256256 and select option 3. They are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Alternatively, you can call NHS 111 free from a landline or mobile phone.

The 24/7 coronavirus support service offers professional advice to anyone in North East Lincolnshire who has seen COVID-19 affect their mental health in any way. Key workers get fast-tracked support. Just call (01472) 256256 and select option 3.

Open Minds offers a range of talking therapies aimed at helping you to deal with stress or anxiety. You can self-refer to Open Minds online.

Safespace provides instant support if you’re vulnerable and need assistance with your mental health out-of-hours. You can speak to the team using Zoom or by calling in via telephone, between 5.30pm and 11pm, Monday to Friday.

We're sharing our own articles with some top tips on how you can look after yourself and avoid burnout.

You can find them here.