Coronavirus Pandemic - important update

With a public health emergency as grave as the one we face, particularly as many of the people we see on a daily basis are in the most vulnerable category, and as we are still only just learning about this virus, it had become clear that it would be irresponsible to create opportunities for transmission to occur.

What this means in practice:

• All outreach events (including coffee mornings, Demo Days, social groups, day trips) are cancelled with immediate effect until further notice.
• We will not be conducting any home visits.
• We will not be accepting any external visitors into the office (including volunteers).

However, we are by no means closed for business. This means that:

• Our office will still be manned during our usual office hours (09.30 – 13.30 Monday to Thursday), although there will only be one staff member in at a time.
• We will deal with referrals that would usually involve a home visit to the best of our ability over the phone and by post (e.g. taking Talking Books referrals over the phone and sending out players).
• We will still be available to provide support and advice over the phone, and will be increasing telephone befriending as much as we can as we appreciate people will not be getting out and about as much as usual. If you would like to add your name to our befriending list (where a volunteer will phone you regularly), please get in touch and we will allocate someone to you as soon as we have availability.
• Our Friends on the Phone service is still available and if you would like to be linked in with other people by phone, please let us know. This would be a good option for people who usually come to our coffee mornings, or who would like to make new friends.
• We will still be working hard behind the scenes planning for when things return to normal.

Please stay safe and well, and if you have any questions, please call us on 01924 215555 or email admin@wdsa.org.uk.