Signposting
Offering you signposting, so you can talk to the right person about a particular health issue or seek guidance from the correct organisation. We'll help you out.
- British Heart Foundation
- Diabetes UK
- Asthma UK
- NHS Choices
- Age UK
- Macmillan Cancer Support
- Mind
- Mental Health UK
- Patient Advice and Liason Service (PALS)
- Citizen’s Advice
- NHS111
British Heart Foundation
Our vision is a world without heart and circulatory diseases. We raise money to research cures and treatments, so we can beat heartbreak forever. British Heart Foundation fund research to beat the world’s biggest killers. They fund over £100 million of research each year into all heart and circulatory diseases and the things that cause them. Heart diseases. Stroke. Vascular Dementia. Diabetes. They’re all connected, and they’re all under our microscope.
Research has given us machines that can restart hearts, the ability to fix arteries in tiny babies, the power to give someone a heart they weren’t born with, and so much more. But heart and circulatory diseases still kill 1 in 4 in the UK, they cause heartbreak on every street. And that’s why our work is as urgent and vital as ever.
Thanks to our research, today more people than ever survive heart and circulatory diseases. But these conditions still cause heartbreak for millions of families - killing 1 in 4 people. We will change that. We research heart diseases because they all have one thing in common - they stop your heart working properly. From heart failure to congenital defects, research is happening now.
Link to Main WebsiteDiabetes UK
We are Diabetes UK. Our vision is a world where diabetes can do no harm. Diabetes affects more people than any other serious health condition in the UK. More than dementia and cancer combined. That means we need to take action now.
We are 300,000 supporters, 5,000 volunteers and 6,000 healthcare professionals working together to face the challenge of diabetes. From care and support to prevention, campaigning, fundraising and research, we’re tackling the fastest-growing health threat in the UK.
There are currently 4.6 million people in the UK living with diabetes, and 12.3 million more at increased risk of getting Type 2 diabetes. Those diagnosed face the risk of life-changing, and life-limiting, complications, unless they are given the very best care and the support they need to manage their condition well. As a society we need to work together now – and take action now – to fund critical research, improve healthcare and treatment, and prevent yet more people developing this potentially life-threatening condition.
As the UK’s leading diabetes charity, our mission is that by bringing people together to work in partnership, we will support those living with diabetes, prevent Type 2 diabetes, make research breakthroughs, and ultimately find a cure.
Link to Main WebsiteAsthma UK
Asthma UK has a long history, stretching all the way back to 1927, when the Asthma Research Council was founded after the Earl of Limerick wrote to The Times. Today Asthma UK is a membership-based charity with a current membership of approximately 5,200. Council sets the strategic direction of the charity, ensuring the charity achieves its objectives whilst upholding the charity’s values.
Asthma UK is governed by a Council of Trustees and is chaired by Professor Robert Wilson. We fund world-class research, we provide expert advice and support, and we campaign for change on the issues that affect people with asthma.
We work to stop asthma attacks and, ultimately, cure asthma by funding world leading research and scientists, campaigning for change and supporting people with asthma to reduce their risk of a potentially life threatening asthma attack
Link to Main WebsiteNHS Choices
With more than 48 million visits per month, the NHS website is the UK's biggest health website, accounting for a quarter of all health-related web traffic. We strive to be a world-leading multichannel service for everyone engaging with the NHS and social care.
The NHS website provides an award-winning, comprehensive health information service with thousands of articles, videos and tools, helping you make the best choices about your health and lifestyle, as well as making the most of NHS and social care services in England.
Our service search helps you find, choose and compare health, support and social care services in England. We also publish reviews and ratings across health and social care services. Where possible, we offer online transactional services that should make your interaction with the NHS much simpler. The NHS website also publishes daily analysis of the health-related news stories hitting the headlines.
Link to Main WebsiteAge UK
Age UK is the country's largest charity dedicated to helping everyone make the most of later life. The over-60s is the fastest-growing group in society and there are more of us than ever before. Ageing is not an illness, but it can be challenging. At Age UK we provide services and support at a national and local level to inspire, enable and support older people. We stand up and speak for all those who have reached later life, and also protect the long-term interests of future generations.
Age UK's vision is to make the UK a great place to grow older. We do this by inspiring, supporting and enabling in a number of ways. We help millions of people to know their rights and make the best choices for later life. We put people in control of the care they receive, while sharing best practice to improve services. We tackle loneliness, get older people active, and support people to stay independent for longer.
We run campaigns and conduct research to help make later life better for older people today and tomorrow. We help the network to offer vital community support by providing unrestricted income, helping it raise money, and working together to improve quality. Age UK’s international charity delivers our work in some of the poorest countries around the world.
Link to Main WebsiteMacmillan Cancer Support
At Macmillan, we know how a cancer diagnosis can affect everything. So we’ll help you find your best way through. From advice about money and work, to someone who’ll listen if you just want to talk, we’re here when you need us most.
Right from the moment you’re diagnosed, through your treatment and beyond, we’re a source of support, giving you the energy and inspiration to help you feel more like yourself. We are millions of people affected by cancer, supporters, professionals, volunteers, and campaigners. Together we are all Macmillan.
We take the time to understand you as a person, so that we can provide the support, tools and inspiration you need to find your best way through. We do it like this because we understand everyone's cancer journey is unique. Macmillan’s research helps us, and others, understand the needs and experiences of people affected by cancer, to develop and influence better care and services.
We are millions of supporters, professionals, volunteers and campaigners. Together we make sure you’re treated like a person – not just a patient – and have the support you need to live life as fully as you can. Meet the people who make Macmillan. From the supporters who give their time, to the professionals there for people affected by cancer and their families.
Link to Main WebsiteMind
We won't give up until everyone experiencing a mental health problem gets support and respect. We provide advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. We campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding. We won't give up until everyone experiencing a mental health problem gets support and respect.
Every year, one in four of us will experience a mental health problem. But hundreds of thousands of people are still struggling. We believe no-one should have to face a mental health problem alone. We’ll listen, give you support and advice, and fight your corner.
It’s the next stage in our journey towards our ultimate ambition of support and respect for everyone with a mental health problem. Since launching our previous strategy in 2012 we’ve seen some significant changes in mental health. In just four years, public attitudes are improving, support is growing and mental health is high on the political agenda.
Because of Mind, millions more people have access to advice and support thanks to our information and services nationally and locally, in England and Wales. We’re building on change, but we know there is much more to do.
Link to Main WebsiteMental Health UK
Our vision is for a world with good mental health for all. Our mission is to help people understand, protect and sustain their mental health. Prevention is at the heart of what we do, because the best way to deal with a crisis is to prevent it from happening in the first place.
Our vision is for a world with good mental health for all. Our mission is to help people to thrive through understanding, protecting and sustaining their mental health. Good mental health is fundamental to thriving in life. It is the essence of who we are and how we experience the world. Yet, compared to physical health, so little is commonly known about mental ill health and how to prevent it. That must change.
The Mental Health Foundation is the UK’s charity for everyone’s mental health. With prevention at the heart of what we do, we aim to find and address the sources of mental health problems.
We must make the same progress for the health of our minds that we have achieved for the health of our bodies. And when we do, we will look back and think that this was our time’s greatest contribution to human flourishing. The Mental Health Foundation is a UK charity that relies on public donations and grant funding to deliver and campaign for good mental health for all.
Link to Main WebsitePatient Advice and Liason Service (PALS)
The Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) offers confidential advice, support and information on health-related matters. They provide a point of contact for patients, their families and their carers. You can find officers from PALS in your local hospital.
- PALS provides help in many ways. For example, it can:
- help you with health-related questions
- help resolve concerns or problems when you're using the NHS
- tell you how to get more involved in your own healthcare
PALS can give you information about:
- the NHS
- the NHS complaints procedure, including how to get independent help if you want to make a complaint
- support groups outside the NHS
PALS also helps to improve the NHS by listening to your concerns and suggestions.
Link to Main WebsiteCitizen’s Advice
We aim to provide the advice people need for the problems they face and improve the policies and practices that affect people's lives. We provide free, independent, confidential and impartial advice to everyone on their rights and responsibilities. We value diversity, promote equality and challenge discrimination.
Citizens Advice provides free, confidential and independent advice to help people overcome their problems. We are a voice for our clients and consumers on the issues that matter to them. We value diversity, champion equality and challenge discrimination. We're here for everyone.
We helped 2.6 million people face to face, over the phone, by email and webchat in 2017-18. There were also 25 million visits to our online advice pages*, with 34 million pages viewed. You can see the issues people are looking at on our website right now. We help with everything from money issues to problems at work, housing to consumer rights. Sometimes a person has more than one problem, and often they are linked. We tackle issues in the round making sure people get all of the support they need. *based on pageviews of at least 30 seconds.
Link to Main WebsiteNHS111
NHS 111 is much more than a helpline – if you're worried about an urgent medical concern, you can call 111 to speak to a fully trained adviser. Depending on the situation, the NHS 111 team can connect you to a nurse, emergency dentist or even a GP, and can arrange face-to-face appointments if they think you need one. NHS 111 advisers can also assess if you need an ambulance and send one immediately if necessary.
The NHS 111 service is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by a team of fully trained advisers. They will ask questions to assess your symptoms and, depending on the situation, will then:
- give you self-care advice
- connect you to a nurse,emergency dentist or GP
- book you a face-to-face appointment
- send an ambulance directly,if necessary
- direct you to the local service that can help you best with your concern
Calls to 111 are recorded. All calls and the records created are maintained securely, and will only be shared with others directly involved with your care. Information recorded during the call will be shared with other professionals directly involved in your care. Some of it will also be shared with NHS Digital to improve NHS 111 and 999 services.
Link to Main Website