I am extremely vulnerable

If you are in the extremely vulnerable group and you need to stay at home, please do so.

If you have no food at home, please call us on 07856 080194.

We are a community resource set up to help all of our local community at difficult times. We want to help all those in the Craven area.

Usually you will need a referral to access the Food Bank. Due to COVID-19 you can now access the Food Bank without a referral in the first instance.

We will ask you a few questions to ensure you get the best possible support and to see if there is any other help you can access.

Letters are being sent out and should be received by 30 March 2020. We also expect doctors and hospitals to add more patients to the list as they have not been able to identify everyone. You should continue to follow advice for shielded patients on nhs.uk. If you have not received a letter by Monday 30 March contact your GP or clinical specialist for advice.

If you are concerned about how you will shop for food in the next few days, please call North Yorkshire County Council on 01609 780780. They can advise you on what help is available and put you in touch with a local voluntary group who will help you.

Please note that we are not coordinating any food parcels as part of the government effort. If you have any queries about these please call 01609 780780.

If you are in financial difficulty and cannot afford your shopping, please call us on 07856 080194. It is also worth calling the County Council on 01609 780780 as they may be able to assist you. Please also see our Useful Information page for more agencies and other sources of help and support.

More information

1.5m clinically vulnerable people have been advised by the NHS to stay at home for 12 weeks and be shielded from coronavirus. 900,000 vulnerable people have received letters from the NHS giving them guidance last week. More letters are due to be sent out this week.

Here is the list of the medical conditions that mean you should be at home:

1. People who have had an organ transplant who remain on long term immune suppression therapy
2. People with specific cancers - people:
   • with cancer who are undergoing active chemotherapy or radical radiotherapy for lung cancer
   • with cancers of the blood or bone marrow such as leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma who are at any stage of treatment
   • having immunotherapy or other continuing antibody treatments for cancer
   • having other targeted cancer treatments which can affect the immune system, such as protein kinase inhibitors or PARP inhibitors
   • who have had bone marrow or stem cell transplants in the last 6 months, or who are still taking immunosuppression drugs
3. People with severe respiratory conditions including all cystic fibrosis, severe asthma and severe COPD. Severe asthmatics are those who are frequently prescribed high dose steroid tablets.
4. People with rare diseases and inborn errors of metabolism that significantly increase the risk of infections (such as SCID, homozygous sickle cell)
5. People on immunosuppression therapies sufficient to significantly increase risk of infection
6. People who are pregnant with significant congenital heart disease.

This link will take you to an easy-read version of the advice given:

• https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/875126/Easy_read_guidance_on_shielding_March_2020.pdf