Useful contacts for advice and support
Legal advice and support
Advocate – Advocate is the operating name of the Bar Pro Bono Unit. The Bar Pro Bono Unit (BPBU) is the Bar’s national charity. They match make applicants with deserving cases with barristers who are willing to provide their services for free. They only assist those who are unable to obtain legal aid and cannot afford to pay. Advocate is an application based service which members of the public can access via referral from advice agencies, law centres, or their local MP. Advocate ensures that in each case, the barrister providing assistance is of the same expertise and experience as would be expected in a paying case. They are the sole pro bono charity to provide legal assistance in all areas of law, across all levels from tribunal through to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. Support from the Unit is not guaranteed but they will do their best to assist where possible.
You can contact Advocate by:
Telephone: 0207 092 3960
Email: enquiries@weareadvocate.org.uk
Website: weareadvocate.org.uk
Citizens advice – Citizens Advice provide free, independent, confidential and impartial advice to everyone on their rights and responsibilities.
They can provide advice on a range of topics including benefits, work, debt and money, consumer rights, family and housing, law and the courts, immigration and health matters. They value diversity, promote equality and challenge discrimination.
You can contact Citizens Advice by visiting one of their local branches in 3,500 locations or by:
Web chat: Citizens Advice web chat service
Telephone: England – 0800 144 8848 and Wales – 03444 772 020
Relay UK - if you can't hear or speak on the phone, you can type what you want to say: 18001 then 0800 144 8884
Website: citizensadvice.org.uk
Contact information for Northern Ireland: citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/northern-ireland/
Contact information for Scotland: cas.org.uk/about-us/contact-cas
Fitness to Practise Clinic – Legal Advice Centre (qmul.ac.uk) – The Queen Mary (University of London) Legal Advice Centre FtP Support Services provides free practical support and advice to nurses, midwives and nursing associates under investigation by the Nursing Midwifery Council (NMC) and the GDC.
They are a student led service that provides assistance to those who do not have Union representation and cannot afford private legal support. The students are supervised and assisted by lawyers with fitness to practise experience.
You can contact the Legal Advice Centre by:
Telephone: 020 7882 3931
Email: legal-advice-centre@qmul.ac.uk
Website: lac.qmul.ac.uk
Advicenow – A charity dedicated to ensuring that everyone has the knowledge confidence and skills they need to secure access to justice
You can contact by:
Website: Advicenow
Royal Courts of Justice Citizens Advice Service – Free legal advice for people with a court case in the civil and family courts in England and Wales.
You can contact the Royal Courts of Justice Citizens Advice Service by using the following methords, depending upon the nature of the case:
Civil matters by telephone: 0203 475 4373 between the hours of 2pm -4pm Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Family matters by email: familytriage@rcjadvice.org.uk.
Domestic Abuse by telephone: 0203 745 7707 or email us flows@rcjadvice.org.uk.
Website: Homepage | RCJ advice
Support through Court – A charity with provides emotional and practical support to individuals going through court proceedings.
You can contact Support Through Court by searching the link for the correct telephone number for your area Support Through Court
Website: Support Through Court
The Law Centres Network – How to find your local law centre. Law centre adviser are skilled to give advice to help solve a range of legal issues. The service they provide is free.
You can locate your Law Centre by looking at their website I am looking for advice (lawcentres.org.uk)
The Law Society – The Law Society find a solicitor is run by the Law Society. It’s a free service for anyone looking for information about organisations or people providing legal services in England and Wales that are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
You can find out more about find a Solicitor by looking at the Law Societies website. Website: Find a Solicitor - The Law Society
Financial advice and support
BDA Benevolent Fund – The BDA Benevolent Fund is an independent charity for dentists – both past and present – to ensure that dentists do not go unsupported in times of need or crisis.
Every year they help people who are in serious financial need as a result of illness, accident, unemployment or other adversity. They provide grants, interest-free loans and occasionally financial support with career transition. Each case is dealt with on an individual basis and the assistance they provide is tailored to each person's needs.
For further information, or to discuss an application in confidence, you can contact the BDA Benevolent Fund by:
Telephone: 020 7486 4994
Email: info@bdabenevolentfund.org.uk Website: bdabenevolentfund.org.uk
Turn2us – Turn2us is a national charity providing practical help to people who are struggling financially.
You can contact Turn2us by:
Telephone: 0808 802 2000, 9.00 am - 5.00 pm Mondays-Fridays. All calls are free from a UK landline and from most mobiles. If you are calling from a mobile, please check with your network provider.
Contact form: our contact form
In writing: Turn2us, Hythe House, 200 Shepherds Bush Road, London W6 7NL.
A Text Relay service is available for those who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Website Link Fighting UK Poverty - Turn2us
Gingerbread (single parents) – Gingerbread is a leading national charity working with single parent families. It provides expert advice, practical support and campaigns for single mums and dads.
You can contact Gingerbread by Telephone: 0808 802 0925 Website: Home - Gingerbread
Health and wellbeing advice and support
Alcoholic anonymous – Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism.
The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for AA membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions.
You can contact AA by
Telephone: 0800 9177 650
Phone number for Ireland: 0035318420700
Email: help@aamail.org
Website: alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk
The Balint Society – The Balint Society helps all health and social care professionals gain a better understanding of the emotional content of their relationship with patients or clients.
You can contact the Balint Society by visiting their website
Website: The Balint Society
British doctors and dentist group – The British Doctors and Dentists Group (BDDG) is a mutual / self-help group of doctors and dentists who are recovering from chemical addiction – alcohol and / or drugs (prescription and non-prescription). There are around 800 members in the United Kingdom meeting in 18 active groups – most groups meet monthly for mutual support, to discuss alcohol and drug related problems affecting us personally and professionally, to maintain our own sobriety and to offer help to the still suffering doctor and dentist, and to their families.
You can contact BDDG by:
Email: bddg@btinternet.com
Website: bddg.org
Confidental - Confidental provides emotional first aid for dentists in distress.
You can contact Confidental by: :
Website: Confidental | Emotional First Aid for Dentists (confidental-helpline.org)
Carers Uk – As the UK's only national membership charity for carers, Carers UK is both a supportive community and a movement for change. For the past 50 years they have been driven by carers raising their voices together to call for change and seek recognition and support.
Looking after someone can be a rewarding experience but it can also be lonely and bewildering. At these times, you need people around you who really understand caring. They can help by sharing experiences and offering support. Guided by a Board of Trustees that is primarily made up of carers, they are rooted in the real experiences of their members and they are here to make life better for carers.
You can contact Carers UK by:
UK Telephone: 020 7378 4999
Wales Telephone: 029 2081 1370
Scotland Telephone: 0141 445 3070
NI Telephone: 028 9043 9843
Email: info@carersuk.org
Website: carersuk.org
Dentists’ Health Support Programme (DHSP) – DHSP provides dentists, dental care professionals and students with free advice and support on alcohol, drugs, eating disorders and other health issues. They offer students and dental professionals who are in difficulty an opportunity to remedy their problems.
If you are concerned about yourself or a colleague, you can contact DHSP by:
Telephone: 020 7224 4671
Email: dentistsprogramme@gmail.com
Website: dentistshealthsupporttrust.org
Dental Mentors UK – Dental Mentors UK (DMUK) provides support for all dental professionals who mentor and/or provide Development Advisers support in the UK to dental registrants, including those who are subject to GDC fitness to practise investigation. DMUK maintain online directories for dental team members looking to find their perfect mentor or development adviser. Members of DMUK charge fees for the support they provide, occasionally pro bono support is available.
You can contact Dental Mentors UK by
Telephone +44(0)7500017845 or +44(0)7814830080
Email info@dentalmentorsuk.com
Send a message Contact Us - Dental Mentors UK
LinkedIn Dental Mentors UK | LinkedIn
Website About Dental Dentors - Dental Mentors UK
Dyspraxia UK – Dyspraxia UK is a specialist Occupational Therapy service focused on supporting people with symptoms of Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), which is commonly known as Dyspraxia. DCD affects between 6 and 10% of the UK population, around two to three people out of a class of 30. Our team can provide an up-to-date motor skills assessment and provide support in improving manual dexterity and precision.
You can contact Dyspraxia UK by:
Telephone: 01223 967 897 (Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm)
Email: enquiries@dyspraxiauk.com
Website: dyspraxiauk.com
Mind – When you're experiencing a mental health problem, supportive and reliable information can change your life. That's what we do. We empower people to understand their condition and the choices available to them through:
- Our Infoline which offers callers confidential help for the price of a local call
- Our Legal Line which provides information on mental health related law to the public, service users, family members/carers, mental health professionals and mental health advocates
- o Our award-winning publications and website, now certified by the Information Standard.
You can contact Mind by:
Telephone: 0300 123 3393. Our lines are open 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday (except for bank holidays).
Text: 86463
Email: info@mind.org.uk
If you or someone else is in danger, call 999 or go to A&E now
If you need help urgently for your mental health, but it's not an emergency, get help from NHS 111 online or call 111
You can find more information about the NHS Mental Health services by looking at their website.
Website: Mental health services - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Narcotics Anonymous – Narcotics Anonymous (NA) is a non-profit fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs has become a major problem. They are recovering addicts who meet regularly to help each other stay clean. It is a programme of complete abstinence from all drugs. There is only one requirement for membership, the desire to stop using.
They are not affiliated with any other organisations, have no initiation fees or dues, no pledges to sign, no promises to make to anyone. They are not connected with any political, religious or law enforcement groups, and are under no surveillance at any time.
You can contact NA by:
Telephone: 0300 999 1212
Website: ukna.org
Practitioner Advice and Support Scheme (PASS) – The concept of PASS has been in existence for the past two decades and was introduced to help those dentists who for one reason or another were in need of additional support. It was first designed for those dentists in difficulty to be supported or mentored by experienced colleagues within the same region where they worked and its intention has remained broadly the same.
In most situations it is coordinated and facilitated by Local Dental Committees (LDC) and over the past few years PASS has become an important additional tool in the efforts to address the burgeoning number of complaints or performance issues that colleagues are facing.
Dentists in need of support may self-refer to the PASS coordinator or more commonly be referred to the scheme by the NHS England Area Team Performance Advisory Group. When a colleague has entered the process they are initially assessed and then passed to a member of the PASS team for the most appropriate support. This may simply be signposting but might involve a series of one to one mentoring meetings or perhaps onward referral to Health Education England or medical support.
Funding streams will vary from one scheme to another but there may well be an initial contribution towards the costs from the LDC with further costs being met by the mentee.
The ambition of a PASS is to be able to rehabilitate the dentist in difficulty such that they can continue in practice with their confidence restored and able to further contribute in an effective way within the profession.
Find your Local Dental Committee: Call 020 7935 0875 or
email: advice.enquiries@bda.org.
Rethink Mental Illness – A charity which provides support to those who experience mental illness and whose who care for them.
You can contact Rethink Mental Illness by
Freephone: 0808 801 0525
Website: We are Rethink Mental Illness
Sane – A national out of hours mental health helpline offering specialist emotional support and guidance and information to anyone affected by mental illness, including family, friends and carers.
You can contact Sane by
Telephone: 07984 967 708. If you call this number, you will be asked to leave your first name and a contact number, and Sane will call you back as soon as practicable.
Website: SANEline services - SANE
Samaritans – You can talk to Samaritans at any time about anything that is troubling you. Anything that is disclosed to Samaritans is completely confidential.
They can help you explore your options, understand your problems better, or just be there to listen.
Samaritans are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
You can contact Samaritans by:
Telephone: 116 123 (this number is free to call)
Email: jo@samaritans.org
Write to: Freepost RSRB-KKBY-CYJK, PO Box 9090, Stirling, FK8 2SA
Visit your local Samaritans branch. Find your local branch here and for more information visit samaritans.org
Shout – If you are struggling to cope and need to talk, you can talk to a Shout volunteer day or night.
You can contact Shout by:
Shout 85258 – is a free, confidential, anonymous text support service. You can text from wherever you are in the UK.
Link Get help - free, 24/7, confidential mental health text support service | Shout 85258 (giveusashout.org)
Wellbeing Support for the Dental Team – Back in February 2020 stakeholders from dentistry and beyond came together to discuss the well-being of dentists and their teams.
Following this a small group of dedicated colleagues have been collaborating to bring together well-being resources available to the dental team into a single signposting document.
It outlines how to assess your own mental health and wellbeing and provides resources for self-care, including the range of organisations available to support you.
For further information, and to download the guide please visit the Wellbeing Support for the Dental Team website:
Young Minds - A charity which provides support to young people experiencing difficulties with their mental health.
You can contact Young Minds by:
Website YoungMinds | Mental Health Charity For Children And Young People | YoungMinds
Digital Support
AbilityNet – AbilityNet supports anyone living with any disability or impairment to use technology to achieve their goals at home or work and in education.
Link My Computer My Way adds accessibility to your site | AbilityNet