Additional support available for vulnerable | News
Additional support available for vulnerable
If you are considered as clinically extremely vulnerable, and need additional help, you can register for support from the government, and be entitled to a weekly shopping box of essentials.
The following is a list of people who are considered to be clinically extremely vulnerable.
1. Solid organ transplant recipients
2. People with specific cancers:
- people with cancer who are undergoing active chemotherapy or radical radiotherapy for lung cancer
- people with cancers of the blood or bone marrow such as leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma who are at any stage of treatment
- people having immunotherapy or other continuing antibody treatments for cancer
- people having other targeted cancer treatments which can affect the immune system, such as protein kinase inhibitors or PARP inhibitors
- people who have had bone marrow or stem cell transplants in the last 6 months, or who are still taking immunosuppression drugs. People with severe respiratory conditions including all cystic fibrosis, severe asthma and severe COPD.
3. People with rare diseases and inborn errors of metabolism that significantly increase the risk of infections (such as SCID, homozygous sickle cell).
4. People on immunosuppression therapies sufficient to significantly increase risk of infection.
5. Women who are pregnant with significant heart disease, congenital or acquired.
If you are in this group of people you will receive a letter from the government urging you to stay at home for a period of 12 weeks.
If you are in this group and do not have a support network of family and friends to help you get essential supplies, you can register for support from the government https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus-extremely-vulnerable or call 0800 0288327.
Many councils have also set up Covid-19 Community Hubs for vulnerable people who need support to allow them to stay at home. These are people who are unable to receive essential supplies by online deliveries or through family, friends and neighbours. If you are, or know someone who needs food, medical supplies or other support please register using the link to your local council below: