Community Support Services
Alcohol and Substance Misuse Services
Sheffield Treatment and Recovery Team (START) is open for referrals for anyone over 18 wishing to access drug and/or alcohol support or treatment in Sheffield. This service provides support and treatment for all opiate drugs, non-opiate drugs and alcohol and can be accessed by self referral on 0114 3050500 or by e-mail sct-ctr.fitzwilliamcentrereferrals@nhs.net or for any enquiries.
Opening hours are currently 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday.
During COVID-19, most appointments will be undertaken over the phone to reduce the number of service users attending the building, although a small number of face-to-face appointments will be accommodated where there is a need for this.
For under-18s, support is available from The Corner.
.
Age UK
Age UK offers help via their Independent Living Coordinator (ILC) service. This is a three month package of support designed to help you and your family members to achieve your independence needs - whether that be aid and adaptations to your home, increased benefits where eligible, or connecting you up to local activities and transport.
For further information call Age UK on 0114 2502850 or e-mail enquiries@ageuksheffield.org.uk. Alternatively, you can ask you GP to refer you at your next appointment.
.
Housing Letters and Letters of GP Support
GP Letters of Support
The Practice committed to supporting our patients. However, when applying for benefits, housing, passes, adjustments or any other matter where medical conditions may be relevant, we will only supply this information when approached formally by a third party for a factual report.
We will not supply letters of support directly to patients. Please do not book an appointment to request this.
This is not a reflection on the Practice support of the claimant, but requests should be received from the third party with the patients’ formal consent.
We will only complete factual responses. We are not able to give an opinion. If in doubt we will refuse to complete the request and may offer to issue a copy of medical records instead with your consent.
Please be aware that a charge will apply for any completed requests, and this will be passed on to the requesting persons/service, as this does not fall within our NHS contract.
Housing Applications
We do not provide letters for housing, so please do not request these. Whilst we appreciate that housing problems can be stressful, this is a matter for the council housing office, and not an appropriate use of a GP appointment. If the council requires additional medical information, they will send a specific form to the GP surgery. You will need to provide your written consent for this.
If you are intending to apply for a council home for health reasons you do not need to send a letter from the GP. The Council will write, in confidence, to your doctor if further information is required.
GPs receive frequent requests for medical letters and reports in support of housing applications from a variety of sources – the local authority, housing associations, directly from patients and from patients via Citizens Advice Bureau. The arrangements for seeking GP reports and for payment vary from local authority area to local authority area, and even when clearly agreed are often not implemented by local authority staff. However all requests should come via the Council or Housing Association and not the patient.
Information in support an application based on health grounds should be supplied by the applicant using a form provided by the Housing Department (self-assessment). This should not require any input from the GP/practice.
Only if additional information is required, should the Housing Department Medical Officer obtain it from the applicant’s doctor, preferably using a standard form, provided the patient has given written consent. The Medical Officer should seek information which is only available to the GP, for example:
- the diagnosis;
- severity of the illness;
- medication
We understand that patients are often wrongly advised to get a letter from their GP, and if needed, we can supply you with a letter outlining the above that you can show to anyone wrongly directing you to us for such documentation.
.
Occupational Health Therapist
As part of the Hillsborough Primary Care Network, the Practice is able to refer to a local Occupation Health Therapist. They are here to help patients who may be considered frail to magage their day-to-day activities and promote their health and well-being.
If you are over-65 and are either housebound or struggle to attend for appointments, we may be able to arrange for them to visit you at home. They will assess you and your home, and be able to make suggestins or refer on to other services that may be able to help.
If you feel that you may benefit from this service, please contact the Practice on 0114 305 1030 for us to make a referral on your behalf.
.