Health and Emergency Services

The guide below explains how the NHS works:

How the NHS works - Ukrainian
How the NHS works - Russian
How the NHS works - English

Emergency Services

The UK emergency services ensure public safety and health, and available 24/7. Police, Fire and Ambulance can all be contacted in an emergency situation on the same number - 999.

Police - if a serious offence is in progress or in immediate danger - telephone 999
Ambulance - if someone’s life is at risk - telephone 999
Fire and rescue - if there is a fire - telephone 999

NHS Services

All Ukrainian arrivals are entitled to full and free access to the NHS. Below is a list of NHS services available to you.

All Ukrainian arrivals are entitled to full and free access to the NHS. You need to register with a GP surgery as soon as possible. You can decide where to register. It is usual to choose a GP surgery close to where you are living. Your GP is usually your first contact if you have a health problem. They can treat many conditions and give health advice. They can also refer you to other specialist NHS services. Find a GP on the NHS website.

The NHS is highlighting the importance of children and young people registering with a GP in particular, so they can access treatment, vaccinations, and mental health support.

To help individuals register with GPs, the NHS has developed bilingual registration forms and is reminding parents that proof of address or other forms of identification are not required when registering.

Located in many towns, qualified healthcare professionals can offer clinical advice and over-the-counter medicines for a range of minor illnesses, such as coughs, colds, sore throats, tummy trouble and aches and pains. This is also where you can get prescriptions once issued by the GP. Find your local pharmacy on the NHS website.

Some dentists offer NHS treatment and private treatment. You should try to register with a dentist as an NHS patient, although places are limited and may not be close to where you live. Inform them if you are in receipt of benefits as checks and some treatments may be free, other treatments are payable. Find a dentist on the NHS website.

Mental Health Support

We recognise that hosts and guests may need help understanding how to access healthcare services and in particular mental health services, and thought it might be helpful to highlight a few routes:

Via a GP practice: NHS mental health services in Lincolnshire are provided by Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (LPFT). GP surgeries will offer Ukrainian guests an initial health check; this will also include additional screening questions to identify if any further mental health support is required. GPs are available to speak to about mental health issues, and there are some mental health services that can only be accessed following a GP referral.
Self-referral: There are some mental health services in Lincolnshire that residents can self-refer to (it is helpful to still be registered with a GP though): Lincolnshire Talking Therapies - leaflets explaining the Talking Therapies service are available in English, Ukrainian and Russian. Healthy Minds Lincolnshire is a mental health service for children. There may also be support available to children through their school.
NHS UK website: The main NHS website has a How you can access NHS mental health services page where you can search for services available in your locality. This will loop back to some of the services mentioned above, but it should provide a comprehensive list of what can be accessed via the NHS in Lincolnshire.
Other Mental Health services: If you do not want to talk to a GP, there are other organisations that offer helplines to talk confidentially to a trained advisor. Some of them offer translation or interpreter services. Please see the national Homes for Ukraine guest and sponsor guidance for further details.

Other Services

There are a range of services available to you to benefit your Mental Health. Some of these are detailed below.

How Are You (H.A.Y.) Lincolnshire is a family of websites that brings together everything in the local community that boosts wellbeing.

Connecting with others, getting active, learning a new skill, being creative, seeking professional support, exploring the outdoors, volunteering – all of these things (and more) can improve our wellbeing. However, it isn’t always easy to know what is out there locally or to feel comfortable trying something new.

From yoga to singing, sports clubs to arts groups, or perhaps somewhere to talk or get a cup of tea, H.A.Y. Lincolnshire brings you ideas of local things to do to get a wellbeing boost, plus a wide range of local professional support.

Visit the H.A.Y. Lincolnshire website to find out more.

LPFT also run the Lincolnshire Wellbeing and Recovery College – they offer free courses about mental health, recovery and wellbeing. Courses are open to anyone aged 16 and over who lives or works in Lincolnshire.

You can find out about the courses they are running by looking at their timetable.

Shine Lincolnshire are a Lincolnshire charity that offers mental health services for adults.

The website Psychology Tools has translated a selection of trauma psychoeducation resources into Ukrainian and Russian, making them available for free for everyone to download and use. Visit the Psychology Tools website to view the resources.

Learn more about five ways to good mental wellbeing on the poster below, available in English, Ukrainian and Russian. Alongside various tips, the poster also links to a range of support services available to Lincolnshire residents.

Five ways to good mental wellbeing - English
Five ways to good mental wellbeing - Ukrainian
Five ways to good mental wellbeing - Russian

Beacon House, a specialist therapeutic service for young people, families and adults has released a series of resources for refugees and those supporting them. The resources are available to download in English, Ukrainian and Russian from the Beacon House website.

‘Doing What Matters in Times of Stress: An Illustrated Guide’ is a stress management guide for coping with adversity. The guide, from the World Health Organisation, aims to equip people with practical skills to help cope with stress. A few minutes each day are enough to practice the self-help techniques. The guide can be used alone or with the accompanying audio exercises.

Informed by evidence and extensive field testing, the guide is for anyone who experiences stress, wherever they live and whatever their circumstances.

The guide is available in English, Ukrainian and Russian.

Acts Trust are running Night Light Cafés at various locations around Lincolnshire - these are drop-in sessions for people who are experiencing mental health difficulties in their life. The cafes provide non-clinical support and signposting from 8pm-midnight throughout the week.

You can get in touch before you attend, or you can simply drop in and speak to someone. Further contact and location details are available on the Night Light Café website or you can make contact with them by telephoning 0300 011 1200 or by emailing nightlight@actstrust.org.uk.

Domestic Abuse

Domestic abuse is a serious crime in the UK. Domestic abuse does not only occur between couples. It can also involve wider family members, including parental abuse by an adolescent or grown child. It can exist between older siblings, or the wider extended family. It can affect anyone, regardless of age, social background, gender, religion, sexual orientation or ethnicity.

Domestic abuse usually occurs in the home and can take many forms:

physical abuse like hitting, kicking or hair pulling
emotional abuse like blackmail, mental torture and threats to disown a person or harm those they care about
controlling, for example, restricting a person’s movements or access to or contact with family or friends or preventing access to money or a chosen career
coercive behaviour for example threats, humiliation or intimidation that is used to harm, punish, frighten
it can be rape – being married or in a relationship doesn’t mean that a partner has the right to force sex against the will of the other

Domestic abuse is complex. It can go unidentified by agencies, families, friends, colleagues and even victims themselves. If you are worried about a relationship you are in, concerned about your own behaviour towards someone or concerned about someone you know then help is available in Lincolnshire.

for support to women, men and children experiencing or fleeing Domestic Abuse please contact EDAN Lincs 01522 510041 or email info@edanlincs.co.uk
help for anyone concerned about how they might be hurting, scaring or controlling their partner or ex partner please contact ‘Make a Change’ 01522 246616
for support and advice outside working hours please contact the National Domestic Abuse Helpline 0808 2000 247
in an emergency call the Police on 999 or for a non emergency 101

Racism and Discrimination

In the UK it is illegal to treat anyone differently because of their gender, race, religion, age, disability or sexual orientation.

Racism is unacceptable in the UK. It is a serious offence to injure, harass or verbally abuse someone because of their race or to damage their property for that reason. It is also against the law to stir up racial hatred. It is unacceptable to discriminate against another person because of their race, ethnicity or where they came from. You should not be treated any differently because of your race when applying for a job, looking for somewhere to live, using the National Health Service (NHS) or just buying something in a shop.

You should not experience racial harassment at work, school or in public (where other people make comments about your race or where you come from that are offensive or make you uncomfortable). If you or someone you know is the victim of racism. Do not try to deal with racism or racist attackers on your own. Get the authorities involved. If you try to resolve it on your own you could get hurt or even get into trouble with the police yourself. Do tell the authorities about it.

You can go to the police. If you don’t want to walk into a police station there are many ways you can report a racist crime; for example you can do it online.

Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue

In addition to emergency assistance, our teams can help with non-emergency assistance such as home safety advice, safe and well checks, smoke alarm advice. More information can be found on the home fire safety webpage.

Lincolnshire Police

The Police in the UK are there to protect the public, their rights and the law. The Police are there to help, you should not be afraid to approach them if you are a victim of a crime or see a crime happening. Their role is to:

protect life and property
prevent public disturbances
prevent and detect crimes

We want Lincolnshire to be the safest place to live, work and visit, and for everyone in our communities to be free from harassment and fear. We hope this will be your experience during your stay in Lincolnshire. We work with partners to reduce crime and improve the safety of people and the communities they live and work in. Our officers are friendly and approachable, so please talk to them if you need to.

If you do need to report a crime:

telephone 999 for a crime in progress and/or immediate risk of significant harm
telephone 101 for non-emergency or report online

Urgent Social Care Services (Lincolnshire County Council)

The welfare of you and your family is important to us, if you are in need of urgent assistance please note:

Adult Social Care –urgent social care intervention that cannot wait until the next working day: 01522 782155
Adult Safeguarding – where an adult may be experiencing abuse or neglect. Please note: If you believe a crime has been committed or there is an immediate risk of danger, call the police on 999 or 101
Children’s Services – immediate and significant risk of harm: 01522 782111, or if outside normal working hours: 01522 782333

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