During the winter local authorities provide emergency beds for people sleeping rough. This is activated when the temperature drops below a certain point for a certain amount of time (this may be applied differently across different local authorities and councils).

In Derbyshire, people need to approach their local council (rather than Derbyshire County Council) to access these provisions or to find out if these provisions have been put in place. If it is outside of the usual council opening hours, the Derbyshire Outreach Team should be contacted (details below).

• To contact the out of hours team: Derbyshire Outreach Team (DOT) - P3
• Out Of Hours number: 0808 1692 333
• Outreach Team e-mail: DOT@p3charity.org  
• Additional support during severe weather: Severe weather planning - Derbyshire County Council
• Updates from DCC on road closures, location of grit bins, changes to bin collections etc: Latest snow update - Derbyshire County Council

Every Friday throughout December 2024 staff wore Christmas jumpers/festive clothing to raise money for Shelter who are an amazing charity supporting housing problems and homelessness.

Because of this the practice was able to raise and donate £208.75.

A message from Shelter:

Thank you for your kind donation of £208.75 and for supporting Shelter this winter.

With your incredible gift, we can – and will – change things.

This winter, more families will be experiencing the sharp end of a broken housing system and standing up to housing injustice to demand safe and secure homes for their children. Throughout this they have you by their side, thanks to your generous donation.

Your support could provide advice that makes the difference between a secure home or the insecurity of temporary accommodation, through services like our emergency helpline. Because of you, families are getting urgent advice when they need it the most.

Thank you for giving hope to people facing the housing emergency.

• We know that people may be concerned about their own health following recent media coverage, so we have set up a new online resource for patients and the public to find help and support - https://nhs.uk/infected-blood-support
• Since 1991, all blood donated in the UK is screened and distributed by NHS Blood and Transplant following rigorous safety standards and testing to protect both donors and patients.
• Since testing has been introduced, the risk of getting an infection from a blood transfusion or blood products is very low. 
• All blood donors are screened at every donation and every donation is tested before it is sent to hospitals. Blood services and blood safety has been transformed, not only in terms of technological advances in testing but also in the way donors are recruited and checked they are safe to donate.
• Given the time that has elapsed since the last use of infected blood products, most of those who were directly affected have been identified and started appropriate treatment. However, there may be a small number of patients where this is not the case, and particularly where they are living with asymptomatic hepatitis C
• If you are concerned about a possible hepatitis C infection, you can book a home NHS test online. The tests are free and confidential. To receive a self-testing kit which can be quickly dispatched to your home visit hepctest.nhs.uk.
• Hepatitis B is also linked to infected blood, this usually clears up on its own without treatment, but could develop into chronic hepatitis B.  Patients can find out more information here - hepatitis B information
• HIV testing is also provided to anyone free of charge on the NHS.  Home testing and home sampling kits are also available.  You can find out more about HIV testing and the HIV testing services search tool on the NHS website.
• Patients who want more details about the safety of blood from donations in England can find more information here:  https://www.blood.co.uk/the-donation-process/further-information/your-safety/

The Surgery would like to invite you to use the NHS App

The new, simple and secure way to access a range of NHS services on your smartphone or tablet.

Download on App Store
Download on Google Play Store

Patients who are concerned that they may be at risk of hepatitis C can now do a simple test at home to find out if they have hepatitis C using the new hepatitis C testing website.