18 March 2020
Dear students, parents and carers
Service updates
We are writing to update you on our plans for the delivery of our services.
Following recent Government announcements, Health and Social Care Partnerships throughout the country have been meeting to identify action that is required to be taken to minimise the spread of COVID-19. Part of these measures include the closure of day service provision. Specifically, East Lothian and Midlothian councils have requested that Upmo closes our current service provision to students they currently fund. Therefore, we are taking action to close the following sites and service provision delivered from there:
Prestonpans temporary service closure – 20 March 2020 (4pm)
Gorebridge temporary service closure – 19 March 2020 (4pm)
We appreciate this is a difficult time for everyone involved with Upmo and we ask that you allow us to finalise our continuity plan for these sites and individual students over the next 48 hours. We are prioritising and working with the local authorities to look into potential alternative options for our students, particularly those who have more complex circumstances.
Currently students funded by The City of Edinburgh Council who attend St Margaret’s House and Links House can attend the service as normal. However, it is likely that Edinburgh will follow a similar course of action to other local authorities in coming days and we will be in touch as soon as we have further definitive detail.
In the meantime, we ask all students, parents and carers to please check emails, our website and Facebook on a daily basis to ensure you have the most up-to-date information.
On a practical point for students still attending our St. Margaret’s House site, please note that we will only be accepting cashless transactions in the café to avoid money-handling by students and staff as much as possible.
At present, we are unsure when Upmo’s normal service provision will re-commence due to the complex and changing nature of this pandemic. We will keep you all up to date with information as the situation develops.
Health
Please ensure you continue to follow the latest Government advice regarding your health; if you have a new of continuous cough, fever or high temperature then you must self-isolate for 14 days. This is also the case if you live with someone who has these symptoms.
In addition, if you have returned from a ‘high-risk’ area or have been in direct contact with a diagnosed person, you may not have symptoms but are advised to self-isolate for 14 days.
Please check the NHS website for the most up-to-date information
Reassurance
Staff at all levels throughout the organisation have pulled together during this unprecedented time to ensure the safe and enjoyable delivery of workshop and groups for our students. A significant number for pro-active measures have been implemented in the past few weeks and we continue to monitor and support our students, staff and sites on a daily basis. We are all deeply saddened by the actions we are having to take during these uncertain times but we understand the reasons why.
Thank you all for your time, patience and commitment as we work through the coming days and weeks ahead. Please keep checking our online information and we will ensure that we continue our open communication with you all. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you feel there is anything further we can do, or indeed if you have any queries, concerns or messages of support.
Kind regards
Eric Mitchell
(Interim Chief Executive, on behalf of the senior management team and all staff at Upmo)
