Dear ,

 

The government has significantly stepped up what it is asking us all to do to protect ourselves and others from the spread of Coronavirus.

 

We urge all members to keep up to date with the advice from government, and your Trust or employer as appropriate, which is changing on a daily basis.

 

The latest advice from the Government is available here and the latest advice on staying at home if you or a member of your family has any symptoms, however mild, is here.

Advice for health professionals can be found here. This includes advice relating to clinical and non-clinical settings, such as schools.

Advice for businesses and employers can be found here.

This is a very challenging time, in which we having to think about changes to our practice to best support our patients and their families, whilst ensuring that we practice in a way that ensures their safety and our own. 

In addition to the advice we sent out last Friday, which you can see here, our Independent Practice Group has put together advice that addresses some of the issues that come up specifically in relation to work with children and young people and their parents. This can be seen here.

We are aware that some members may see their livelihood affected, and online working and supervision may be very helpful in this regard. Continuing supervision at this time will be a great support. If members have difficulties using technology they should be aware that many platforms, such as Zoom, are setting up additional support services; members can also turn to each other and to professional support services for assistance.

Members are sharing concerns and ideas on the ACP Facebook page, with input from our CEO, our Social Media Lead, the Independent Practice Group Lead and others. The page is a closed community of ACP members. To join this:

• Create a Facebook account at www.facebook.com. You don’t have to use your real name and if you use a different-from-usual email address no-one can search for you. See instructions on how to create a Facebook account here.

• You then need to join the ACP group. You won’t find us by searching for it – you need to email us at socialmedia@childpsychotherapy.org.uk, giving the email address you used to create your account and we can then send you an invitation to join.