As a surgery we are proud to have been designated a ‘Safer Place’ location. The Safer Places Scheme is a voluntary scheme which assists vulnerable people with learning disabilities, autism and dementia to feel safer when travelling independently. The confidence to travel independently assists vulnerable people in maintaining their independent living skills and also helps with their overall well-being.
Premises that are open to the public, e.g. shops, offices, stations and public buildings are asked to become Safer Places, and are recognised by the Safer Places logo.
Vulnerable people who are members of the Safer Places Scheme carry a Safer Places Card with them. This card will include their name as well as the name and contact details of up to three people who can be contacted in the event that support is required.
If a vulnerable person arrives at any one of our surgery sites feeling unwell, confused, lost, or having been a victim of crime, a member of our team will assist them and will contact one of the people named on the back of the Safer Places Card and/or the emergency services, if required, and will allow the vulnerable person to wait on the premises until the named person and/or emergency services arrive.
There is also a free-to-use Safe Places Apps which shows all of the Safe Places available in your local area. The App is free to use by anyone with a smart phone and is available to download from your preferred App Store. The App has a function called 'Get Me To My Nearest Safe Place Now' (Panic Button) which immediately directs the vulnerable person to the nearest open Safe Place. If no Safe Place is located within a 15-minute walk it will automatically offer to call the non-emergency 101 number to get help over the phone. The App is also currently being developed to be voice activated, so those who may traditionally struggle to use an App or those with visual impairments can be directed to a Safe Place by simply talking to their phones.
For further information please visit: https://www.safeplaces.org.uk/. You can also contact the Safer Places scheme on 0345 8 503 503.