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Care leavers | Health and wellbeing

We want to help you to have live a happy and healthy life. If you are worried about your health you need to get the right advice and treatment.

We understand that getting the help you need can be daunting, but you can always speak to us about these things in confidence.

Our Personal Advisors are good people to talk to about getting help with your physical and mental health. We can provide the support you need or point you to the right people and services to contact for help.

Where to go for help

Healthy lifestyle

Your health is important. We will encourage you to participate in activities to keep you healthy and enjoy a varied diet. We will help you access advice about diet, stopping smoking and if needed, help deal with substance use.

Prescriptions

We will support meeting some of the costs in relation to prescriptions up to the age of 21.

Pharmacy

A local pharmacist is able to advise on common illnesses such as sore throats, coughs, colds, tummy troubles and aches and pains. Pharmacy teams can also help with cutting down on alcohol, advice on safe sex and emergency contraception.

Many pharmacies are open until late and at weekends. You don’t need an appointment, you can just walk in. You can Google pharmacies near you.

Most local pharmacies have private consultation rooms. Your pharmacist can also talk to you confidentially without anything being noted in your medical records, which some people may prefer.

GP

If you need to go to a GP you will need to make an appointment. Each surgery will have its own system so it is important you check their website for information about how to make an appointment. When you have an appointment you will need to consider the following:

  • GPs spend an average of 8 to 10 minutes with each patient.
  • Before you see the GP, write a list of problems, starting with the most important. List your symptoms, so you don’t forget them. Write down when they started.
  • If you have a complicated problem, you might need to ask for a longer appointment when you book.
  • Be honest about what you think may be causing the problem, and don’t be embarrassed. Your doctor will have seen and heard it all before.

NHS 111

You should contact NHS 111  if you have an urgent medical problem and you are not sure what to do.

A&E

The local A&E department is at the Diana Princess of Wales Hospital on Scartho Road. Only visit A&E in serious circumstances. To find out when you should go to A&E read the NHS  website.

Care leaver health team

The CLA and Care Leaver Health Team are based at Diana Princess of Wales hospital in Grimsby and they offer a support and sign posting service to care leavers.

If you have any concerns regarding any aspect of your health or you need support or advice and would like to talk to a health professional you can contact the team on 03033 305383 or by email on [email protected].

Need help to understand

If you have received advice or a letter from the hospital and do not understand it, talk to your Personal Advisor and ask them to explain it. They might be able to help explain or even attend an appointment with you.

Northern Lincolnshire Integrated Sexual Health Service offer free and confidential sexual health services including information and advice on all contraception and sexual transmitted infections (STIs) testing and treatment. To contact them call 0300 330 1122 or go to The Sexual Health Hub .

If you would like to talk to someone about drug or alcohol, then ‘We Are With You’ provide free, confidential support to people who have issues with drugs, alcohol or mental health.

Contact them by phone on 01472 806890 or go to With You North East Lincolnshire.

If you have previously been seen by a dentist we may need to help you find a new dentist before you are 18. It is important that you keep going to the dentist to prevent problems with your teeth, not just because there are problems.

We may help you with your dental costs up to the age of 21.

If you need emergency treatment you will need to contact your usual dentist. If they are unable to provide an emergency service you can ring NHS 111, who can put you in touch with an urgent dental service. Emergency appointments are chargeable and will only treat the emergency. If other treatment is needed your normal dentist will have to do this.

Young Minds Matter

Up to the age of 18 Young Minds Matters provides dedicated support to children in care. There are other options available if you are over 18.

If you would like more information go to the Young Minds Matter .

Self-help menu

Use the Self-help menu resources to learn from anything that comes your way.

Kooth is available for all children and young people aged 11-25 years. It is a safe, confidential and non-stigmatized way for young people to receive free counselling, advice and support on-line.  It is staffed by fully trained and qualified counsellors and available until 10pm each night, and weekends from 6pm – 10pm, 365 days per year; it provides a confidential and instant access service for young people. This includes;

  • A chat function for a young person to drop in to speak to a readily available counsellor
  • A messaging function for you to contact the service
  • Information, activities and self-care tools and resources on the site for you to download.

Go to the Kooth  website.

Open minds provide a range of approaches for people over the age of 16. These include cognitive behavioural therapy that looks at thoughts and feelings, mindfulness to help reduce stress, counselling to help cope with difficult life events.

Contact open minds

Open Minds, Grimsby

Address: 7-9 Osborne Street, Grimsby, DN31 1EY

Telephone: 01472 625100

Open Minds, Cleethorpes

Address: 13-15 Grimsby Road, Cleethorpes, DN35 7AQ

Telephone: 01472 252760

At One is a lottery funded project aimed at providing interventions to improve the mental health and wellbeing of young people between the ages of 18 and 24 living in North East Lincolnshire.

They provide either individual or group work support. The project provides the opportunity to participate in activities intended to reduce anxiety in a social setting, challenge negative thinking, promote positivity and learning around issues that can impact positively on mental wellbeing.

The Wellbeing service is free and confidential to anyone over the age of 18. They aim to support you to address the barriers preventing you living a healthy and happy life.

They will assist you set your personal wellbeing goals. Support can be over the phone, face to face or online. Examples of the areas they can help with include; stopping smoking, healthy eating, weight management and physical activity.

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: 01472 325500

Website: Wellbeing service

Facebook: Live Well NEL

The Staying Close project is designed to provide an additional link for young people leaving residential care. You will be able to choose someone to spend time with you. This is a vital way to show how important you are. The project provides additional health and wellbeing support.

We can provide a card to allow access to local leisure centres run by Lincs Inspire for access to gyms and swimming pools.

Your card can be used at the following sites:

Family time

We will agree some funding for visits with family members, but only if agreed as part of your Pathway Plan. You will need to talk to your leaving care advisor about family time.

important

Ask for help

If you can’t find the help you need in our local offer or you just need some more information then you can get in touch using our Care Leavers support request form .

Related content

Pathway Plan

Accommodation options

Education, training and jobs

Managing your money

Getting involved

Becoming a parent

Contact details

Children in care and new futures team, Civic Offices, Knoll Street, Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, DN358LN

Contact us: Care Leavers support request  

Telephone: 01472 325232

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