I know Christmas and New Year can be a difficult time for many of you. Unfortunately, it’s also a time when support services can be closed or offer reduced hours. Here’s a guide to getting the support you need over during the Christmas period.
Support each other
One good place to get support is right here on the Sue Ryder Online Community. As ever, this site is available 24/7 for you to share your feelings and support each other through this difficult time of year. To see what people have already posted, check out this round-up of recent conversations about coping with Christmas: Coping with Christmas: round-up of conversations
The Sue Ryder team will be checking the site daily, so you can still let us know about any issues by clicking the ‘flag’ button under a post or emailing online.community@sueryder.org.
However, we will have limited cover on weekends and bank holidays, so we will prioritise urgent issues, and might take longer than normal to get back to you at these times.
Helplines
The Cruse Bereavement Care helpline is open every day over Christmas if you need someone to talk to. Call 0808 808 1677 . See full details of Christmas opening times.
The Samaritans are open 24/7 all year round on 116 123 - call for supportive and non-judgemental listening if you need to talk about anything that’s bothering you.
Medical help
If you are under the care of a healthcare team, check whether they have an out-of-hours contact number for any medical issues over the Christmas period. All GP services will have emergency cover details - please use your regular GP number to obtain out of hours contact details. For non-emergency advice, you can also call NHS 111.
In a medical emergency please dial 999.