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COVID-19

Our plans to support you during the COVID-19 crisis

CDHN recognises the very challenging situation we all find ourselves in, so here are the four main ways in which we will be supporting our members and the wider community and voluntary sector.

Community Pharmacy

We have already reached out to all our currently funded Building Community-Pharmacy Partnership (BCPP) projects and made arrangements to contribute to their core costs to assist their sustainability in this very difficult period.

We have also taken on the role of co-ordinating the community and voluntary sector response to the pressures that Community Pharmacies are experiencing. CDHN will connect and support a network of community/voluntary sector groups to assist Community Pharmacy by coordinating volunteers for two specific tasks:

  • Volunteers drivers to deliver medications on behalf of Community Pharmacy.
  • Volunteer support to limit and control access to Community Pharmacy.

Please contact a member of the BCPP team to find out more or read more here. The FAQs are available here and provide useful information for those wishing to find out if the scheme is suitable for your community group.

COVID-19 ID Project

We will be working in partnership with FactCheckNI to deliver the COVID-19 ID project. The aim of the project is to improve people’s health literacy about COVID-19 by providing accurate and up-to-date information which will increase knowledge, understanding and confidence and enable people to make good health decisions.  

The objectives of the project are:

  1. To disseminate official COVID-19 information
  2. To fact check unofficial information about COVID-19
  3. To counteract misinformation and identify gaps in information for people in communities about COVID-19  
  4. To disseminate health literacy friendly COVID-19 information to CDHN’s networks
  5. To prioritise the dissemination of information about the role of pharmacies

Please contact us if:

  • You would like to receive official and fact-checked information 
  • You have seen information about COVID-19 that you think should be fact checked 
  • There is something you would like to know about COVID-19 and you cannot find it 

Please read more here

Click here for Fact Checked articles.

Membership Support

We will be in touch with our members by phone, email, survey and social media to check in with you, chat, offer advice and connect you into a range of opportunities for funding and other support. We will also, with your permission, collect the stories of your experience of COVID-19 and those of the people you support. The people in our communities who suffer inequality under normal circumstances are disproportionately affected by a pandemic of this nature. It is really important that we do not lose these stories and lived experiences – we plan to use them to influence and bring about much needed changes in policies and practice.

Representing your voice

CDHN is representing you in a number of different forums. We are a member of the Emergencies Leadership Group being led by the Department of Communities and raise your issues as you make us aware of them and broader issues relating to the impact of COVID-19 on people who are dealing with complicated and multiple issues in our communities. We are also continuing to lobby for flexible and appropriate funding arrangements for the duration of the pandemic.

Please stay safe in your communities.