Eligibility for support
Check In and Chat and Check In and Chat Plus
Check In and Chat and Check In and Chat Plus are preventative activities to support people who need a telephone chat and some encouragement to improve their wellbeing.
These activities provide friendly conversation. Where the volunteer judges this to be appropriate they will work with the evidence-based NHS 5 steps to mental wellbeing, to help people to explore positive changes they could make. It is essential that the person being referred understands and agrees to the support which you are requesting on their behalf.
These volunteer activities are not designed to be treatment services and therefore you should not refer anyone with complex vulnerabilities or needs into this scheme. Please use your discretion as an approved referrer to decide whether it is appropriate to refer a person for support from a volunteer.
Examples where this service is not appropriate for:
- People with complex mental health problems
- People who are known to be suicidal
- People with severe cognitive impairment
- People with drug addiction or alcohol dependency.
Community Response
Community Response is an activity to support people waiting to be admitted to hospital or those who have just been discharged with the collection and delivery of food shopping and essential items and/or prescriptions and medications.
The support is also available to carers and to people with health conditions where there is a current health need.
Volunteers are not to permitted to support with any other activities outside of this or enter people’s homes to support with unpacking of shopping or any other tasks. Volunteers can support either as a one-off or once a week for a maximum of 6 weeks.
Pick Up and Deliver
Pick Up and Deliver is an activity to support the NHS and individual patients who have been newly discharged from hospital to home or are being cared for on a virtual ward.
This could be collecting from a hospital and delivering medicine or monitoring equipment to a person’s home, returning any undelivered items, or supporting the movement of equipment between NHS sites.
Volunteers are not permitted to support with any other activities outside of this or enter people’s homes to support with the setting up of equipment. Volunteers can support with urgent one-off tasks, or support with multiple deliveries during a scheduled shift.
Community pharmacies are not able to utilise this support. Please take note of the different schedules of controlled drugs.
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Page last reviewed: 16 November 2023
