Coronavirus helpline to keep going beyond crisis, Town Hall announces

Hackney Council has announced that its ‘I Need Help’ line, set up in response to the Covid emergency, will continue into the future as part of its preparations for any potential second wave of coronavirus.

The news was broken by health chief Cllr Chris Kennedy, who pledged that the phone service, which gives the council the ability to link with and protect people who are still shielding and direct them towards food suppliers and voluntary aid, will “carry on in some form”.

Policy and partnerships head Sonia Khan said that while the line, which has taken around 4,500 calls to date, was set up for those without internet who needed urgent help accessing food, it has now evolved to help those who isolated or have an additional need.

Khan added: “If it evolves into a health information line we need to think quite carefully about that, and where the health aspect starts and stops. In the context of a local outbreak, if somebody suddenly calls and tells us they need to self-isolate, that is something we’re talking to Public Health about as part of our local outbreak plan.

“To be honest, the way the NHS [system] was set up, it was more transactional. Through the volunteers at Volunteer Centre Hackney we’ve been able to build a relationship, whereas the NHS was very much based on an app and one-off help, which is why I think it’s not been used as much as they could have.

“But to be clear, you might give the wrong information if you’re not trained. If you’re stepping into health judgments that need to be made.”

Kennedy added: “[It is] that ability for us to scale up to help people who are shielding, especially if there is a second wave. We don’t want to scaremonger but when we talk to our colleagues in the wider health system this is something they’re afraid of, in all our preparations we are working out how we can best make sure we can flex up and down to help people.”

Jake Ferguson, CEO of voluntary sector organisation Hackney CVS, praised the line as potentially having “helpful ramifications”, adding in a meeting last week that his organisation would be talking to the council to see how the line could best be taken forward to link those in need with support services and volunteers.

Kennedy said: “Our most vulnerable residents have been the absolute priority during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, and this must remain the case as we begin to move to the next phase in our response.

“The huge number of calls we have received through the council’s helpline – from concerned neighbours, support organisations and residents themselves – makes clear the high level of need in the borough.

“While many people have had specific needs caused by the immediate pressures of lockdown, many more have revealed vulnerability that existed long before the pandemic started.

“We cannot simply turn off the tap on this support, and will be working alongside partner organisations – who have been pivotal in recent months – to look at how we evolve and maintain this type of support in the longer term.”

The coronavirus helpline, which can provide you and your family with the right support, guidance and assistance if you have been affected in any way as a result of the pandemic, can be reached on 020 8356 3111, 8am-5pm, Monday-Friday.

More information can be found at hackney.gov.uk/coronavirus-support