With panel of doctors, nurses and lawyers United Malayalee Organisation in forefront offering assistance to UK Malayalees

LONDON April 10: Along with rest of the world the United Kingdom too is fighting the Covid pandemic. The Malayalee diaspora professionals working within the NHS, key workers, essential services staff, volunteers, community organisations, art groups are all in the forefront doing with all their might to help the national cause along with keeping them and their family safe and healthy. It is a challenge day in day out for them to ensure the safety but they are relentless.

With no dearth of health professionals within the community, majority of them are aware and knowledgeable about the pandemic, and taking sensible precautions by not allowing the virus to inflict major harm on them.

Although the pandemic spread to the UK in January 2020 transmission within the UK was only confirmed in February, leading to an epidemic with a rapid increase in cases in March and continuing into April 2020.

Following the concerns raised within the community the United Malayalee Organisation in the UK has responded to it by coming out by setting up a panel of experts in various fields to provide a comprehensive advisory service to the UK Malayalee community.

The plan of action was set out in three phases – organise a group of medical team including doctors and nurses to provide advisory service, organise a team of volunteers who can give specialist advice in legal, financial, social and job related matters, and organise a call centre and phone number as helpline to contact the service.

United Malayalee Organisation has now implemented and put in place all the three services with help from professionals, community members, voluntary and private sector organisations and private business firms.

United Malayalee Organisation’s helpline number 02070626688 is the window to all the holistic services provided as part of its mutual aid programme titled ‘Wrap Around Service’.

A team of around 40 doctors and 10 specialist nurse managers has been put in place to address any clinical queries and give the community advice as per the guidelines given by Public Health England and Health Protection Scotland.

The doctors’ team includes General Practitioners, specialist consultants, paediatricians, mental health consultants, who will provide only common advice and guidance but no treatment or prescription.

All these doctors and nurses are doing this service on a voluntary basis during their break times without compromising to their official responsibilities to relevant NHS trusts they are employed with.

The process works like this. If someone ring the helpline number 02070626688, a call handler will ask you your name, place (not address), which service you require (clinical advice, specialist advice or wrap around service). Following this the call handler will seek the caller’s permission to share their details to one of the volunteers of the required group and then a call back will be arranged for a professional to ring them back. United Malayalee Organisation will adhere to a strict confidentiality policy and will never disclose the caller’s details in a group.

The second team of volunteers include  lawyers, financial consultants, social workers who will be able to give advice and assistance to those who require legal advice in regards to the their present visa status which includes both visit visa and work visa, students visa and their issues, job related matters and such.

United Malayalee Organisation has set up a group of medical team including doctors, nurses, along with a team of volunteers who can give specialist advice in matters related to health, finance, social, legal and job related matters.

The third group of volunteers are formed from the Malayalee community who will provide help, support and advice to people who is isolating themselves due to the symptoms of COVID 19 or diagnosed with it. Mainly, this service will inlclude delivering some over-counter essential medication, picking up and collecting prescriptions, post letters and do some essential shopping.

United Malayalee Organisation opened the helpline and mutual aid programme the Wrap Around Service on the 15th March and has given clinical advice to more than 586 callers as at the time of publishing this article.

United Malayalee Organisation has a strength of 580 volunteers nationwide to deliver the services offered and are still seeking volunteers to help each other in this crisis time.

United Malayalee Organisation has a Facebook group called United Malayalee Organisation and anyone willing to volunteer for can join the group and share their willingness and a member will be in contact with you.

United Malayalee Organisation is a community voluntary organisation in UK where any Malayalee individual can become a member by applying to it.

It is a not for profit organisation intended to deliver service to the betterment of the Malayalee community in UK regardless of their sex, profession, religious beliefs, political stand and social status.  United Malayalee Organisation welcomes everyone to be a part of this Fight Against COVID 19 and to win our battle.