A new helpline will go live tomorrow (Tuesday, April 14), offering support for vulnerable people facing “significant challenges” during coronavirus lockdown.
The move was announced by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon during her daily Covid-19 briefing, and will provide support for those who are not in the shielded group and so currently receiving bespoke care.
The hotline will be available instead to elderly people over 70, people with disabilities, those who require support from mental health services, those who are pregnant and people who receive a flu jab every year as a result of other conditions.
Available during daytime hours, it will provide those who fall into the categories above and who don’t have family support or access to the internet with food, medicine, emotional support and links to social services.
The First Minister said the new service “provides people who are vulnerable with another way of getting essential help”, adding it is “for those who don’t have other means of support - we don’t want people falling through the net”.
The freephone number is 0800 111 4000 and it will be operational from Tuesday, April 14.
For more on today's briefing, follow our live blog coverage which has all the latest coronavirus news.
