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Welfare & financial assistance for medical & healthcare professionals

The following is a list of contacts which all healthcare professionals may find to be useful. They cover those organisations who provide welfare or financial assistance either to healthcare professionals only or to the public as a whole.

You can also find, on a separate page, a list of Deaneries who are responsible for the management and delivery of postgraduate medical education and for the continuing professional development of all doctors and dentists.

Alcoholics Anonymous

Alcoholics Anonymous say of themeslves that they are a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for A.A. membership – they are self-supporting through contributions. They are not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organisation or institution and their primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.

Website: www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk
National Helpline: 0845 769 7555
Email: help@alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk
Address: Alcoholics Anonymous, PO Box 1, 10 Toft Green, York YO1 7NJ

BMA Charities Trust Fund

The BMA Charities Trust Fund can provide grants to doctors and their dependents in times of crisis.

Typically, the fund offers financial help to:

• working doctors, to pay General Medical Council (GMC) registration fees and medical defence insurance.
• doctors who are not working and facing debt. The fund can also refer doctors worried about debt to a licensed debt counsellor for free advice.
• refugee and asylum-seeking doctors, with taking the Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board (PLAB) exams.
medical students taking medicine as a second degree, who do not have access to the NHS Bursary Scheme.

The fund also gives grants to other charities that support doctors.

Telephone: 020 7383 6142
Email: bmacharities@bma.org.uk

BMA Counselling Service

BMA Counselling is staffed by professional telephone counsellors 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They are all members of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and are bound by strict codes of confidentiality and ethical practice.

Doctors can get ongoing counselling and can arrange regular appointments. There is no restriction on the number of calls they can make and, having spoken to a counsellor, they can ask to speak to that person again.

Telephone: 08459 200 169 (calls charged at local rates)

British Doctors and Dentists Group

The British Doctors’ and Dentists’ Group, formed in 1973, is a mutual support society for doctors and dentists who are recovering, or wish to recover, from addiction to or dependency on alcohol or other drugs.

Membership is restricted to qualified medical and dental practitioners, and medical and dental students at the discretion of local secretaries, and normal medical ethics regarding confidentiality apply strictly within the group.

BDDG National Secretary:

Website: www.bddg.org
Email: jpsecbddg@gmx.co.uk
Tel: 0779 2819 966

Cameron Fund

The Cameron Fund can provide help and assistance to GPs and/or their dependents by providing one-off grants/loans, regular ongoing support and student awards for children of beneficiaries.

Website: www.cameronfund.org.uk
Tel:
020 7388 0796

Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education

The Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE) is a not-for-profit organisation, offering continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities. Based at the University of Manchester, it is part of the Workforce Academy within the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. It is funded by the Department of Health to provide CPD opportunities to all pharmacists and pharmacy technicians providing NHS services in England.

Address:
Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education
1st floor, Stopford Building,
The University of Manchester,
Oxford Road, Manchester
M13 9PT

Email: info@cppe.ac.uk
Telephone: 0161 778 4000
Fax: 0161 778 4030
Website: www.cppe.ac.uk/

CET Queries for Opticians

Cetoptics is the dedicated website for registrants to manage their CET portfolio and maintain a record of their completed CET points. The website is run by Vantage Technologies, who administer the CET Scheme on behalf of the GOC.

Address:
Vantage Technologies Ltd
Vantage House
Rother Valley Way
Sheffield
S20 3RW

Tel: 0114 247 9500 or 0870 749 4650
Website: www.cetoptics.com

Consumer Credit Counselling Service

This service offer an immediate assessment of your situation is given along with self-help material and the offer of a counselling interview which consists of a full review of the credit and debit situation.

Address:
CCCS
Wade House
Merrion Centre
Leeds LS2 8NG
Email: contactus@cccs.co.uk
Website: www.cccs.co.uk

Doctors.net.uk

Doctors.net.uk is the largest and most active network of GMC authenticated doctors in the UK. It is a trusted channel for information, communication and education and is used by more than 40,000 doctors every day. It offers assistance to GMC registered doctors by providing support through their online discussion forum. They also provide access to online educational material that can assist with CPD.

Address:
90 Milton Park
Abingdon
Oxon, OX14 4RY
E-mail: help@doctors.org.uk
Tel: 01235 828400
Fax: 01235 862791
Website: www.doctors.net.uk

Narcotics Anonymous

NA is a non-profit fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem. They are recovering addicts who meet regularly to help each other stay clean.

Address:
202 City Road
London
EC1V 2PH
England

Telephone: 020 7251 4007
Fax: 020 7251 4006
For help ring: 0300 999 1212

Website: www.ukna.org/

A free confidential helpline for people with debt problems in England, Wales and Scotland.

Telephone: 0808 808 4000

Website: www.nationaldebtline.co.uk

NHS Education for Scotland

NHS Education for Scotland are a special health board responsible for supporting NHS services in Scotland by developing and delivering education and training for those who work in NHSScotland.

Address:
Thistle House
91 Haymarket Terrace
EDINBURGH
EH12 5HD

Tel: 0131 313 8000
Fax: 0131 313 8001

General Enquiries: enquiries@nes.scot.nhs.uk

Website: www.nes.scot.nhs.uk

Pharmacist Support

Pharmacist Support is an independent charity working for pharmacists and their families, former pharmacists and pharmacy students to provide help and support in times of need.

Services provided include:

  • Listening Friends,
  • Specialist Advice Services,
  • Health Support Programme,
  • Grants and Financial Assistance,
  • Information, Enquiry and Signposting Service.

Address:
Pharmacist Support,
3rd Floor, The Pinnacle,
73-79 King Street,
Manchester M2 4NG

Freephone number: 0808 168 2233.

Listening Friends: 0808 168 5133
The Health Support Programme: 0808 168 5132

Emails: info@pharmacistsupport.org

Website: www.pharmacistsupport.org/

Royal Medical Benevolent Fund

The RMBF can offer support to all GMC registered doctors. This can be in the form of financial support if the doctor has little income or savings – for instance while retraining to return to work or if unable to work due to age, accident or illness. They can also offer advice and counselling.

Address:
Royal Medical Benevolent Fund
24 King’s Road
Wimbledon
London
SW19 8QN

Tel: 0208 540 9194

Email: help@rmbf.org

Website: www.rmbf.org

Samaritans

Address:
Chris,
Samaritans,
PO Box 9090,
Stirling FK8 2SA

Tel UK: 08457 90 90 90
Tel ROI: 1850 60 90 90

Email: jo@samaritans.org

Website: www.samaritans.org

Sick Doctor’s Trust

The Sick Doctors Trust is a wholly independent and confidential organisation, established in 1996, which offers support and help to doctors and medical students suffering any degree of dependence on drugs or alcohol. Their helpline is available 24 hours/day throughout the year and they are happy to deal with anonymous enquiries. Alternatively, they can be reached by email.

Tel: 0370 444 5163
Email: help@sick-doctors-trust.co.uk

Support for Doctors

An extremely useful site with a number of links to various organisations that can assist doctors with a variety of problems.

Website: www.support4doctors.org

Welsh Centre for Pharmacy Professional Education

The Wales Centre for Pharmacy Professional Education (WCPPE) works to motivate and support the pharmacy team, through the provision of learning and development opportunities, to enhance their competence to deliver high quality patient services in Wales.

Address:
8 North Road
Cathays
Cardiff
CF10 3DY

Tel: 029 2087 4784
Fax: 029 2087 4540

Email: wcppe@cardiff.ac.uk
Website: www.wcppe.org.uk/

National Debt Line

www.nationaldebtline.co.uk

A free confidential helpline for people with debt problems in England, Wales and Scotland.

Telephone: 0808 808 4000

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