As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic some operations and procedures have been delayed.

We understand that this has caused concern and anxiety for many who are waiting treatment.

The NHS is working hard to get people seen as quickly as possible.

You are likely to have a number of questions as you (or someone you care for) are waiting for medical treatment.

The Lancashire #Set For Surgery website has a list of frequently asked questions for you to read through you can view them here on their website.

Support

We want to support you the best we can and are working together with colleagues throughout Lancashire. Even though this can be a frustrating time, there are things you can do to improve your health and wellbeing while waiting. We have pulled together key information about services and organisations in Lancashire. These may be of use whilst you are waiting.

These services are already supporting thousands of Lancashire's diverse population.

They are helping people quit smoking, achieve a healthier weight, be more physically active, manage their drug or alcohol problems better, deal with emotional and mental health problems,  get sexual health support, plus many other things.

• Useful local contacts for Central and West Lancashire residents

  Citizen’s Advice Bureau

  Free advice service to inform people of their rights and responsibilities. Specialist advice is available for disabled people and their carers such as money advice, employment, housing and homelessness.
  Leyland Telephone: 01772 424 282
  Tuesday and Thursday 9.30am to 4pm
  Chorley Telephone: 01257 279 807
  Monday, Wednesday and Friday 9.30am to 4pm
  Email: advice@chorleycab.cabnet.org

  Chorley and South Ribble Welfare Rights Service

  Free confidential advice and help with benefit problems. They no longer assist with filling out forms.
  Chorley Information and Advice Centre
  Telephone: 01257 517 272
  Email: Leyland@lancswelfarerights.com

  Clayton Brook Community House

  A local charity offering a wide range of services and sessions including counselling, P.A.C.T, job search help, parenting courses, Tai Chi plus much more.

  Address: 61-63 Tunley Holme, PR5 8ES
  Telephone: 01772 698 074
  Email: cbchouse@hotmail.co.uk
  Website: ww.cbch.org.uk

  Lancashire Wellbeing Service (Lancashire County Council)

  Support and information service on practical matters such as; Health and fitness, home and garden, home and community safety, learning and leisure, finance, mobility, transport, community groups and involvement, relationships and families, employment volunteering and training.

  Telephone: 03450 138 208 (N-Compass)
  Website: www.lancashire.gov.uk

  Marriage Care

  A national charity specialising in couple’s relationships by offering relationship education initiatives, marriage preparation services and relationship counselling.

  Telephone: 0800 389 3801 to find your nearest centre
  Website: www.marriagecare.org.uk

  Relate

  Relate offers advice, relationship counselling, sex therapy, workshops, mediation, consultations and support face-to-face, by phone and through the website.

  Address: Hughes House, 160 Garstang Rd, Fulwood, Preston, PR2 8NB
  Telephone: 01772 717 597
  Website: www.relate.org.uk

  Trust House Lancashire

  Provide specialist support services to women, men and children affected by rape and sexual abuse in Lancashire.

  Telephone: 01772 825 288
  Email: support@trusthouselancs.org

  The Women’s Centre

  Offers a confidential listening service, free counselling, legal advice, weekly relaxation sessions, information and a variety of courses e.g. stress management or assertiveness.

  Open Tuesday and Friday 10am to 3pm. Open at other times for courses.

  Telephone: 01257 265 342
  Email: chorleywomen@btconnect.com

  Cruse Bereavement Care

  Helps people through one of the most painful times in life – with bereavement support and information

  Telephone: 01772 433 645
  Website: www.cruse.org.uk

  Mindsmatter

  Mindsmatter offer a variety of services suited to your needs. A range of interactive and non-interactive courses to help you manage stress, anxiety and low mood.

  Preston Telephone: 01772 773 437
  Chorley and South Ribble Telephone: 01772 643 168
  West Lancashire Telephone: 01695 684 177
  Visit the MindsMatter website

  Central Lancashire Haven

  The haven is a welcoming and non-judgemental places for individuals struggling socially and emotionally with life challenges or who are in crisis.

  Our team of professionals and volunteers offer interactive one-to-one and group support.

  Address: The Haven, Blanche Street, Preston, PR2 2RL

  Telephone: 0330 008 3672

  Veteran’s Gateway

  A single point of access for veterans to access local services. Includes information on the Covenant and the Lancashire Armed Forces Hub. 

  Visit our Military Veterans Service page.

  KEY Under 25’s Housing Support Team

  They help under 25s with housing issues, can arrange supported living and can do mediation to help with trying to keep them with parents. 

  Telephone: 01772 678 979

  Lancashire Mind

  Provides information for individuals, carers and families experiencing emotional or mental health problems.

  Address: 80-82 Devonshire Road, Chorley, PR7 2DR
  Telephone: 01257 231 660
  Email: admin@lancashiremind.org.uk
  Website: www.lancashiremind.org.uk

• National support services

  NHS 111

  Telephone: 111 (24 hours a day, seven days a week)
  Website: 111.nhs.uk

  NHS Helpline

  Telephone: 0800 915 4640 (9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday)

  Can provide details of help and support in your own area.

  MIND Ed

  Telephone: 0300 123 3393 (9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday)

  Can provide details of help and support in your own area.

  No Panic

  Telephone: 0844 967 4848 (10am to 10pm everyday)

  A helpline that helps people who suffer from panic.

  Papyrus Hopeline

  Telephone: 0800 068 41 41 (9am to midnight every day of the year. Weekends and bank holidays included)

  A helpline that helps people having thoughts of suicide or are concerned for a young person who might be you can contact HOPELINEUK for confidential support and practical advice.

  The Samaritans

  Telephone: 116 123 (24 hours, 365 days a year)

  Provide confidential emotional support for people who are experiencing feelings of distress.

  Rethink’s National Advice Service

  Telephone: 0300 5000 927 (10am to 2pm, Monday to Friday)

  Provides advice and information to people with severe mental illness, their families and carers.

• Useful websites

  Support Line - confidential emotional advice and support to assist people during a crisis.

  NHS Choices - Your health, your choices - information about conditions, treatments, local services and healthy lives.

• Mental Health Support

  In times of crisis, help is available

  If you need urgent help as you are in mental health distress, then there is always someone you can call.

  Our Mental Health Crisis Line is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by calling 0800 953 0110. It is staffed by trained mental health professionals who are able to provide assessment and referrals to appropriate services. Ring it if you need to access services or for advice about someone who needs treatment or support.

  We also have a Wellbeing Helpline and Texting Service, available Monday to Friday 7pm to 11pm and Saturday to Sunday 12pm to Midnight staffed by volunteers and those with lived experience, who can offer emotional support - ring if you want to chat about your mental health or are lonely. Contact the helpline on 0800 915 4640 or by texting Hello to 07860 022 846.

  When to contact social services

  If you have urgent concerns about someone's social circumstances, such as children and young people, vulnerable adults or people with learning difficulties, it may be more appropriate to call social services. Local government services such as housing services and social care services often run out-of-hours duty provisions.

   

   

  Accessing mental health support in Central and West Lancashire

  Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust provides 24 hour access to mental health care, advice, support and treatment. By calling 0800 0130 708, you can speak to a member of the team and discuss your current mental health needs.

  Who can access the mental health services?

  Anyone who lives across Central and West Lancashire who feels that they need urgent mental health care or has an enquiry about their routine care. Areas include the following, but this is not an exhaustive list:

  • Preston
  • Bamber Bridge
  • Euxton
  • Ormskirk
  • Chorley
  • Fulwood
  • Longton
  • Barton
  • Leyland
  • Hutton
  • Skelmersdale
  • Aughton

  You can contact us direct. You do not need to have used any mental health services before or previously been diagnosed with a mental health problem.

  Not only can you call us direct, a friend, carer or family member can also call the team if they are concerned for your wellbeing.

  You can also be referred by your GP, social care professional or a voluntary organisation.

  If you urgently need specialist advice, even if you have not been diagnosed with a mental health problem, you can still talk to a member of the team who can advise you.

  What kind of help can I expect?

  We will work with you, your family and other agencies to allow quick access to services that will support you.

  Our team is made up of qualified mental health clinicians and experienced support staff skilled in talking to people in distress and providing guidance to help you manage the situation and your feelings. They have information on all the health, social and voluntary services available to support you. They will be able to refer you or make you an appointment if it is needed.

  From our conversation with you, a member of the team may arrange for you to receive support over the phone or for a mental health practitioner to see you at home, at a GP practice or another mutually agreed place to allow us to gather further information about your current mental health needs. We can also offer you information about other services that could assist you at this time.

  
  The team is supported by clinicians from specialist areas of care such as:

  • Children’s and young people’s mental health services
  • Learning disabilities services
  • Eating disorder services
  • Older people’s services

  The team recognise that some people need to be seen quickly and in these cases we will aim to provide a telephone response within an hour and, if needed, a face-to-face appointment that same day. The mental health practitioner who attends will help you to work out what support you need and be able to give you advice and information. If they think that you need extra support and help from mental health services they will be able to organise this for you.

  How do I contact the Service?

  You can contact the team by calling 0800 0130 708. The team are available 24 hours a day, including weekends and bank holidays.

  If you are part of the deaf community and need to access Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust’s mental health services whether for urgent or routine care, the support of a BSL interpreter is available and they will help you to communicate with our call handlers or mental health practitioners. 

Are You Set for Surgery?

Having some treatments or an operation can affect your body for several months afterwards. Several common factors can reduce your body’s ability to deal with the stress of these. The effect of all these factors is that you may be at an increased risk of complications following your operation or treatment this could be a prolonged hospital stay and problems when you leave hospital (such as reduced independence).

What do I need to do?
Put simply, exercising more, eating more healthily and adopting healthier behaviours can help to:

• reduce the length of your stay in hospital
• reduce complications
• enhance your recovery
• in some cases, avoid the need for an operation completely

Your GP, consultant or member of your healthcare team will be able to advise you what steps you can take in improve your health and wellbeing leading up to (and following) your treatment or operation.

• Stop Smoking

  Stopping smoking is one of the healthiest choices you can make, help is available on the links below

  Quit Squad provides face to face stop smoking support in the following areas:

  • Lancaster and Morecambe
  • Fylde and Wyre
  • Pendle and Ribble Valley
  • Preston
  • Chorley and South Ribble
  • Rossendale and Hyndburn
  • Burnley
  • Skelmersdale, Ormskirk, Tarleton

  If you want to stop smoking, you can also contact Smokefree Lancashire on Freephone 08081962638.https://www.smokefreelancashire.org.uk/

  Smoking Cessation Clinic - Preston Area

  A list of clinics to access support can be found at https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/other-services/Smoking-cessation-clinic/Preston/Results/557/-2.703/53.763/636/17260?distance=25

  Smoking Cessation Clinic - Chorley Area

  And in the Chorley area https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/other-services/Smoking-cessation-clinic/Chorley/Results/557/-2.633/53.654/636/4495?distance=25

   

   

• Drugs and Alcohol

  Alcohol can have many effects on the body, but importantly it can reduce the liver’s ability to produce the building blocks necessary for healing.

  Make sure you are drinking within the recommended limits, or lower, to improve your body’s ability to heal after surgery.

  Cutting back on alcohol can be a really effective way to improve your health, boost your energy, lose weight and save money. Any reduction in the amount you drink every week will be beneficial – and with the right support, it’s easier than you think.

  Find tips on cutting down (www.nhs.uk) or download the free Drink Free Days app to get started.

  Get medical advice before you stop drinking if you have physical withdrawal symptoms (like shaking, sweating or feeling anxious until you have your first drink of the day). It can be dangerous to stop drinking too quickly without proper help.

  There’s lots of alcohol support available via the NHS website or you can find your local alcohol support service here.

• Physical Activity

  Increasing your physical activity is one of the best things you can do, both in terms of preparing for surgery, and generally - you can find links to some of your local options below

  Preston

  West View Better Health Leisure Centre https://www.better.org.uk/leisure-centre/preston/west-view-better-health-leisure-centre

  Fulwood Leisure Centre https://www.better.org.uk/leisure-centre/preston/fulwood-leisure-centre

  Uclan Students - Sir Tom Finney Sports Centre https://www.uclan.ac.uk/facilities/sports-centre

  South Ribble

  Leyland Leisure Centre https://www.southribbleleisure.com/leyland

  Bamber Bridge Leisure Centre https://www.southribbleleisure.com/bamber_bridge

  Penwortham Leisure Centre https://www.southribbleleisure.com/penwortham

  Chorley

  All Seasons Leisure Centre https://chorleyleisure.com/allseasons

  Brinscall Swimming Pool https://chorleyleisure.com/Brinscallpool

  Clayton Green Sports Centre https://chorleyleisure.com/ClaytonGreen

  Westway Sports Hub https://chorleyleisure.com/westway