Citizens Advice Cardiff and Vale have launched a new service at University Hospital Llandough providing help and support to people to improve their health and wellbeing.
The service will run every Wednesday in the Patient Experience Room, adjacent to the Dining Room at University Hospital Llandough and appointments can be booked through a dedicated line – 02920 871016.
The service will be available to anyone who requires support and advice on problems including welfare benefit, debt, housing, employment, discrimination and consumer issues.
Jane Rowlands-Mellor, Lead Nurse Patient Experience at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board said; “There are a number of issues that can cause undue stress to our patients, families and staff members potentially affecting their health. By having Citizens Advice staff available on site at our hospitals providing support and advice, it could alleviate some of the stresses that can have an adverse effect on their wellbeing.”
Citizens Advice Cardiff and Vale provides free, independent, confidential and impartial advice to everybody regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age, nationality or other characteristics to include clients with mental health issues.
Support is available through their website, face-to-face, webchat and email, and phone based advice sessions, casework, representation and training.
Abbie Morgan O’Sullivan, Projects Manager for Citizens Advice Cardiff and Vale said; “As an organisation we campaign nationally and locally to influence and improve policies and practices across the private, public and not-for-profit sectors.
“We deliver local authority and Welsh Government funded advice services from our main offices in Cardiff Central Library and Broad Street, Barry, plus we provide services from 18 outreach sessions across Cardiff and the Vale of which University Hospital Llandough will be a new one.
“We are committed to supporting people and last year we helped clients deal with 40,582 problems, and for every £1 spent on the service, we benefited our clients by £10.94.”
The Better Advice: Better Lives project is funded by Welsh Government and is made up of 3 strands: Better Advice: Better Health, providing advice to individuals that experience wider health problems linked to their issue; Children’s Disability Benefit Take-Up, providing advice to families with children with additional needs; Council Tax and Housing Benefit Take-Up, providing advice to increase the take-up of these benefits.
