Welsh Government have provided us with a link to the Symptom Tracker app: 

The general population are being asked to log their daily symptoms to help build a clearer picture of how the virus is affecting people. The app is for everyone, not just those who are experiencing symptoms.

Developed by researchers at King’s College London the COVID-19 Symptom Tracker is already being used by more than 38,000 people in Wales, and over 2 million across the UK. People are using the app to track their daily health and any potential COVID-19 symptoms. It is also being used by healthcare and hospital workers.

Data from the COVID-19 Symptom Tracker app will be shared daily with the Welsh Government and NHS Wales. It will give early indications of where future hospital admissions are going to be. Accurate real time information is so important.

Here is the link to the app: https://covid.joinzoe.com

Please encourage everyone you know to use it. Thank you

This week we have been focusing on ensuring that our vital services can continue by running online training for staff who wouldn’t usually deliver needle exchange, so that they provide support to the teams that do. We have also been training up staff to be able to use online platforms to communicate with other staff as well as service users in the coming weeks.

Front-line staff have been identified as Key Workers, meaning that we will be able to still open needle exchanges whilst movement is limited.  Staff are being issued with paperwork to enable them to travel to work where it is necessary.

Here are some contact numbers you may find use

Childline: 0800 1111
Samaritans: 116 123
Domestic Violence Hotline: 0808 2000 247
Mind: 0300 123 3393
Age UK: 0800 169 6565

We haven’t updated for a few days but have been busy behind the scenes making sure that we are able to provide services in the changing landscape we are facing.  At the same time as dealing with the urgent needs that present themselves over the last week and into this week, we are also looking to plan for the long-term and considering how we can develop and grow to be able to provide the right service over the coming months.  We have lots of things that we are working on, which we hope to share over the next few weeks.

Some key updates

Needle exchanges are still operating across all of our areas.  Some may be closed on certain days when we cdon’t have enough staff to open- we advise service users to follow our social media pages or the page for your local service as any closures will be updated on there as early as possible. If in doubt, please call ahead to check if necessary.

We are developing a number of online options to supplement the phone support that we are offering all service users. Staff are being trained up to use apps such as Zoom and SKype, to be able to offer whatever we can.  If you have any ideas on how we could best support people digitally, please let us know via our contact page

We are adding resources daily to our self-help page.  Some are COVID-19 specific, some are around wellbeing and some are substance misuse specific. There is a wealth of information out there at the moment especially, so we don’t want to overload you, but if there is something you think we need to add to our self-help page, email info@barod.cymru or contact us via the contact page

Based on the updated UK Government guidelines, Barod has been in communication with our partners, commissioners and Welsh Government and we are taking the following steps to protect service users, staff and volunteers.

Our primary focus should be on continuing to provide vital services which have been agreed as:

• Needle Exchanges
• Prison leavers
• Prescribing Services
• Individuals at clinical risk

This means that as from 18th March 2020 most of this support will be provided virtually, through using telephones and computers.  All non-essential services will be suspended, including all training, groupwork, education sessions, etc.

Our Needle Exchanges will be open within the following bases from 10am to 3pm.  We aim to keep these open and running as long as we have staff available to deliver.  Please check with your local base before attending if you are unsure or travelling a long way. 

• Fagan’s House, Caerphilly
• Cru Glas, Ebbw Vale
• Lighthouse, Pontypool
• Citadel, Tredegar
• Oldway House, Merthyr Tydfil
• Engine House, Aberdare
• Vaughan St, Llanelli
• North Parade, Aberystwyth
• Mansel St, Swansea

We will keep our social media pages up to date with any changes to provision, so please follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates.

We are providing guidance to staff, service users and others, which takes into account the latest advice from Public Health Wales Welsh Government and the UK Government.

This means anyone who is displaying symptoms will be advised to self-isolate and we are encouraging effective hand-washing, social distancing, etc for all staff, service users and visitors.

We are working hard to ensure that essential services, such as needle exchange, remain open and accessible. 

To minimise risks to service users, staff and volunteers, we will be moving to telephone appointments and assessments wherever possible, to reduce the need for people to come into the office.

We will also be suspending some non-essential services such as: 

• Dry Blood Spot Testing
• Acupuncture
• Holistic Therapies
• Breathalysers
• Non-critical urine testing
• Non-critical clinical observations
• Non-critical face to face case management sessions
• Face to face assessments
• BBV vaccinations
• Drop-in group activities eg cooking, arts and craft etc
• All Service User groups
• Internal Training
• External Training