Support & Awareness

In Time of Bereavement

In the unfortunate event that a person has passed away, there are things that must be done in the first few days;

  • Get a medical certificate from your GP or hospital doctor (this is necessary to register the death).
  • Register the death within 5 days (8 days in Scotland). You will then receive the necessary documents for the funeral.
  • Make the necessary funeral arrangements.

Register the Death

If the death has been reported to the coroner (or Procurator Fiscal in Scotland) they must give permission before registering the death.

You can register the death if you are a relative, a witness to the death, a hospital administrator or the person making the arrangements with the funeral directors.

You can use the ‘Register a Death’ page on the gov.UK website that will guide you through the process. This will also explain the registration process for Scotland and Northern Ireland.


Arrange the Funeral

The funeral can usually only take place after death is registered. Most people use a funeral director, though you can arrange a funeral yourself.


Funeral Directors

Choose a funeral director who’s a member of one of the following:

  • National Association of Funeral Directors.
  • National Federation of Funeral Directors.
  • Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors.

These organisations have codes of practice – they must give you a price list when asked.

Arranging the funeral yourself.

Contact the Cemeteries and Crematorium Department of your local council to arrange a funeral yourself.


Funeral Costs

Funeral costs can include:

  • Funeral director fees.
  • Things the funeral director pay for on your behalf (called ‘disbursements’ or ‘third-party’ costs), for example, crematorium or cemetery fees, or a newspaper announcement about the death.
  • Local authority burial or cremation fees.

Funeral directors may list all these costs in their quotes.

Social Prescribing

Your doctor isn’t the only person who can help you feel better. You can improve your health and wellbeing through social prescribing. Contacting the service will give you the opportunity to meet a community connector who can spend time with you exploring what activities and local support could improve your health and wellbeing.

It is easy to access, either talk to your GP or surgery staff. Or you can simply give us a ring on 0161 339 2345 or visit us online at https://www.actiontogether.org.uk/oldham-social-prescribing

Our directory of services can be found here: https://www.actiontogether.org.uk/community-activities/community-activity-directory.

Safeguarding Adults & Children

Everyone at Littletown Family Medical Practice is committed to the safeguarding and welfare of vulnerable adults and children, we take these matters very seriously and have implemented numerous measures to ensure the safety of our patients.

We welcome any information that helps us to protect any of these people. All our staff are trained to be able to respond appropriately and in confidence. If you have any concerns regarding a patient we encourage you to speak to any member of our staff with your concerns. Below you can also find other services that will be able to offer advice.

Modern Day Slavery

What is Human Trafficking?

Human trafficking is modern-day slavery and involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labour or commercial sex act. Millions of men, women, and children are trafficked into forced labour situations and into the sex trade worldwide. Many of these victims are lured from their homes with false promises of well-paying jobs; instead, they are forced or coerced into prostitution, domestic servitude, or other types of forced labour. Victims are found in legitimate and illegitimate labour industries, including sweatshops, massage parlours, agricultural fields, restaurants, hotels, and domestic service. Human trafficking is different from human smuggling. Trafficking is exploitation-based and does not require movement across borders or any type of transportation.


Who are the Victims? Who is at Risk?

Trafficking victims can be any age, race, gender, or nationality. Trafficking victims can be men or women, young or old, American or from abroad, with or without Legal status. Traffickers prey on victims with little or no social safety net. They look for victims who are vulnerable because of their illegal immigration status, limited English proficiency, and those who may be in vulnerable situations due to economic hardship, political instability, natural disasters, or other causes. The indicators listed are just a few that may alert you to a potential human trafficking situation. No single indicator is necessarily proof of human trafficking.


How do I Identify Human Trafficking?

Human trafficking is often “hidden in plain sight.” There are a number of red flags, or indicators, which can help alert you to human trafficking. Recognizing the signs is the first step in identifying victims.

Some Indicators Concerning a Potential Victim Include:

Behaviour or Physical State:

  • Does the victim act fearful, anxious, depressed, submissive, tense, or nervous/paranoid?
  • Does the victim defer to another person to speak for him or her?
  • Does the victim show signs of physical and/or sexual abuse, physical restraint, confinement, or torture?
  • Has the victim been harmed or deprived of food, water, sleep, medical care, or other life necessities?
  • Does the victim have few or no personal possessions?

Social Behaviour:

  • Can the victim freely contact friends or family?
  • Is the victim allowed to socialize or attend religious services?
  • Does the victim have freedom of movement?
  • Has the victim or family been threatened with harm if the victim attempts to escape?

Work Conditions and Immigration Status:

  • Does the victim work excessively long and/or unusual hours?
  • Is the victim a juvenile engaged in commercial sex?
  • Was the victim recruited for one purpose and forced to engage in some other job?
  • Is the victim’s salary being garnished to pay off a smuggling fee? (Paying off a smuggling fee alone is not considered trafficking.)
  • Has the victim been forced to perform sexual acts?
  • Has the victim been threatened with deportation or law enforcement action? Is the victim in possession of identification and travel documents; if not, who has control of the documents?

The National Referral Mechanism (NRM)

The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is a framework for identifying victims of human trafficking and ensuring they receive the appropriate protection and support. The NRM is also the mechanism through which the UKHTC collects data about victims. This information contributes to building a clearer picture of the scope of human trafficking in the UK. The NRM was introduced in 2009 to meet the UK’s obligations under the Council of European Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. At the core of every country’s NRM is the process of locating and identifying “potential victims of trafficking” (PVoT). The NRM grants a minimum 45-day reflection and recovery period for victims of human trafficking. Trained case owners decide whether individuals referred to them should be considered to be victims of trafficking according to the definition in the Council of Europe Convention.


  • 2,340 potential victims were referred to the National Referral Mechanism in 2014; a 34% increase in 2013.
  • Potential victims of trafficking were reported to be from 96 different countries of origin.
  • The most common exploitation type recorded for potential victims exploited as an adult was sexual exploitation.
  • The most prominent exploitation type recorded for potential victims first exploited as a minor, where known, was labour trafficking.
  • Potential victims originating from Albania represented 19% of all referrals to the NRM in 2014.

(Ref: National Referral Mechanism Statistics – End of Year Summary 2014).

If you suspect an adult has been trafficked please contact your local Police on 101

Domestic Abuse Awareness

Domestic Abuse Where to Turn

You can speak to any member of our team in the Practice about Domestic Abuse we are here to help and support you. 


Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme – Clare’s Law

Police forces are allowed to disclose information to a potential victim and have a duty to protect members of the public from domestic abuse.

A disclosure under the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (Clare’s Law) may be generated by a:

  • Right to know obligation on the police to disclose; or
  • Right to ask application from a member of the public.

For more information and to submit an application you can follow the link below:

Dementia – The Herbert Protocol

Dementia

If you have any concerns about yourself or loved ones please contact the GP surgery.


The Herbert Protocol – Safe & Found

Do you care for someone who has dementia and worry that they might go missing?

There is nothing more frightening or distressing than when a loved one, friend or neighbour fails to return when they should.

For people living with someone with dementia, this could be quite common and The Herbert Protocol could give you some peace of mind.

The Herbert Protocol is a national scheme being introduced locally by Greater Manchester Police and other agencies which encourage carers and family members to compile useful key information which could be used in the event of a person with dementia going missing.

Download the form and find out more at: 

https://www.met.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/daa/domestic-abuse/alpha2/request-information-under-clares-law/


Other Services That may be Useful

Dementia Friends

Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia Friends programme is the biggest ever initiative to change people’s perceptions of dementia. It aims to transform the way the nation thinks, acts and talks about the condition.

https://www.dementiafriends.org.uk/

Dementia United

Dementia United aims to improve the lived experience for people with dementia and reduce dependence on the health and social care system.

Rape & Sexual Abuse

Self Referral for Victims of Rape

SARC Services:

Saint Mary’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) provides a comprehensive and co-ordinated forensic, counselling and aftercare service to men, women and children living in the Greater Manchester and Cheshire area who have experienced rape or sexual assault, whether this has happened recently or in the past.

The service also offers help and advice to those who are supporting a friend or someone you may care for.

You can use our services without making a report to the police or we can support you if and when you want to speak to the police.

You can self-refer to this service by following the link below and going through the step-by-step guide in the ‘our services’ section or calling direct on 0161 276 6515.

Armed Forces & Veterans

We proudly support our Armed Forces & Veteran patients

Please let us know if you or your family member have ever served in the UK armed Forces so that we can best support your care needs.

For more information regarding services that are available for our Armed Forces and Vetran patients please take a look at the at the link below it includes information about how it works, hospital care, mental health services, rehabilitation services, welfare and support, priority NHS treatment and services available to those with physical injuries:

https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/military-healthcare/.

We have also attached a link to leaflet regarding the mental health care available including information about the services available to those who feel they are experiencing a mental health crisis.

https://assets.nhs.uk/prod/documents/673_NHS_Veterans_Mental_Health_leaflet_S23_Online_for_web.pdf.

Homelessness

Homeless Friendly

Homeless-Friendly encourages organisations to lead the way in creating a cultural shift in how we view those without a permanent home and remind them they are a pivotal part of our society.

Here at Littletown Family Medical Practice we are proud to say we are supporters of Homeless Friendly and by being supporters this means that we have made a pledge.


The Pledge

  • Help meet the needs of homeless people.
  • Speak to homeless people with understanding and compassion.
  • Examine our policies and procedures to ensure they are homeless–friendly.
  • Train our staff to fully meet the needs of homeless people.
  • Work with our partners and include and encourage them to care for the homeless.
  • Act as a hub for our community in their efforts to help the homeless.

If you are an organisation and would like to know more about this non profit social enterprise please feel free to follow the link below:


If you or anyone you know is at risk of becoming homeless then there are services in the Oldham area that may be able to offer help and advice. Facing homelessness is stressful and in many cases, by taking the right action straight away, your homelessness can be avoided. Please follow the link below to the Oldham Councils website for more information.


If you or anyone you know are already homeless then please take a look at the list below of Emergency telphone numbers and Drop in Centres in the Oldham area. 

Please remember that we do understand how difficult if may be to discuss your personal circumstances but we are here to help. If you do wish to speak to the GP regarding homelessness then please just contact the GP surgery or pop in to get more information. The first step is to talk about it. 


Emergency Telephone Numbers in Oldham

  • Social Services (out of hours): 0161 770 6936.
  • Homelessness (out of hours): 0800 988 7061
  • Police General Switchboard (24 hours): 101
  • Police emergencies (24 hours): 999

Drop-in Centres in Oldham

The Salvation Army

Drop-in centre for homeless people every Friday 10am – 1pm.

203 Roundthorn Road
Oldham
OL4 5LD

  • Free drinks and snacks.
  • Newspapers and board games.
  • A listening ear and someone to talk to.
  • Housing related advice.
  • Accept referrals for food parcels from outside agencies.

Failsworth Salvation Army Community Church

Not specifically aimed at homeless people (like the one at Roundthorn Road) but anyone who would otherwise be alone.

572 Oldham Road
Failsworth 
M35 9DQ
Phone: 0161 682 0070

  • Sometimes able to provide food parcels.
  • Café on Mondays from 12noon and often provide meals free of charge to people who are in need.

    Oldham Foodbank

    Emergency food for local people in crisis. Care professionals such as doctors, health visitors, social workers, CAB and police identify people in crisis and issue them with a foodbank voucher. 

    Foodbank clients bring their voucher to a foodbank centre where it can be redeemed for three days emergency food. Volunteers meet clients over a cup of tea or free hot meal and are able to signpost people to agencies able to solve the longer-term problem. Open Tuesday to Thursday 11am – 2pm. Friday 11am – 4pm.

    The Three crowns
    1-3 Manchester Street
    Oldham 
    OL1 1LE

    Phone: 0161 622 1061

    Oldham Foodbank website – http://oldham.foodbank.org.uk

    2 satellite Food Banks operate on a Monday between 11am – 2pm at South Chadderton Methodist Church, Thompson Lane, Chadderton OL9 8LX and Salvation Army, Shaw, OL2 8QY.


    Ancora Project

    The Ancora Project aims to provide immediate help and ongoing support to the people of Oldham who are experiencing crisis.

    People can access support by presenting at any of the hubs in person or by contacting Ancora by email or phone and arrange a meeting.

    For information on the times and locations of the Hubs, please view the latest rota:

    KeyRing website http://www.keyring.org/what-we-do/the-ancora-project

    Phone: 0161 669 5868

    Email: [email protected] 


    Hope Café

    Breakfast every Saturday 10am – 2pm. Free to the Homeless or anyone struggling financially.

    Elim Foursquare Church
    182 Greenacres Road
    Oldham 
    OL4 2BA


    Impact Community Church Foodshare Project

    Provide food parcels and furniture via self-referral. Monday 9:30am-1pm.

    The Old Bank
    358 Manchester Road
    Hollinwood 
    OL9 7NU


    FareShare Community Café

    Provides meals and food parcels for Homeless people and those struggling financially. Every Tuesday 11am-1pm.

    Chadderton Community Church
    Garforth Street
    Chadderton 
    OL9 6RW

    East Oldham Methodist Church
    28 Ripponden Road
    Oldham
    OL4 2RY

    Tuesdays 9am-10.30am