Bassetlaw Action Centre to re-open its Retford office in October

Business as usual completely stopped at the centre in March this year due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Face-to-face activity with clients stopped, the office was closed and around half of the staff began to work from home while the other half was furloughed.

The closure also meant services like staying well courses, IT classes and minibus trips stopped, while remaining services became telephone-based services.

However, two completely new areas of work were introduced to respond to local demand.

One of these was the safe and well check telephone calls, not only to establish that older and vulnerable clients were accessing all the help they need, but also to reduce social isolation amongst this vulnerable group.

The second was an essential shopping service for anyone in the at risk group that was unable to access their weekly supplies.

Both of these services proved to be a lifeline for many shielding clients in the local area.

Thankfully, a large range of services is now being reintroduced at the centre.

These include the community car scheme, which assists Bassetlaw residents who are unable to use public transport, the Get Out, Get Active (GOGA) program and the new walking tennis group.

The befriending service continues to be telephone based and it may be some time before minibus trips are re-started, but face-to-face appointments have now been introduced to clients in the stroke and neuro, housing and home support services.

Lynn Tupling, centre chief executive said “There have certainly been some challenges as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and I am delighted that our organisation has been able to respond in such a timely, proactive and innovative way to meet the needs of local people.

"I must acknowledge with grateful thanks both our staff and volunteers for their support and dedication at this time.”

The centre will re-open on October 5, for details c all 01777 709650 or click here.