Lanarkshire Services

Due to ongoing coronavirus (also known as COVID-19) developments, we have taken the decision to suspend our in-person support and testing services across Scotland. That means our Glasgow, Inverness and Edinburgh offices will now be closed until further notice.

However, our residential support centre, Waverley Care Milestone, will remain open with a reduced service, taking no new admissions.

We will be continuing to provide support to people who need it by phone, text, and email, and through our live chat service.

Full information on the impact of coronavirus on our services is available here.

HIV and hepatitis B don't discriminate. And we all have sexual health. That’s why our services are as diverse as the people we support.

If you need help with HIV, hepatitis B or sexual health in Lanarkshire, we’re here to support you in whatever ways you need.

Our services are flexible to your needs and we can meet you in a place that is comfortable for you. We offer a safe, welcoming environment where you can talk openly without judgement or stigma.

We offer a range of one to one support services across Lanarkshire including:

• helping you cope with a new diagnosis, think positively about the future and understand treatment
• helping you to improve your mental health and wellbeing and empowering you to cope with life’s ups and downs in a safe, supportive environment 
• helping you to look after your physical health and wellbeing, manage HIV and hepatitis B treatment and access local complementary therapies
• helping you to set goals, learn new skills, and access training, employment and education
• supporting you with everyday activities such as getting to appointments, managing daily tasks and adhering to HIV or hepatitis B treatment
• how to talk to your family, friends and others about HIV, hepatitis B and sexual health
• Linking you up with other services that can help you live well with HIV and hepatitis B, such as housing, money management, immigration and asylum services

If you want to find out how we can support you or, to speak with a member of our team, get in touch. 

Disclosing or telling other people that you have HIV or hepatitis B can be a scary time for anyone. 

There’s a lot to think about, from figuring out who to tell, to thinking about how and when to tell them.

We’re here to support you every step of the way, using our 30 years experience to give you the advice and support you need throughout your journey. 

As part of this, our team in Lanarkshire can also support your family, friends and others to better understand HIV, hepatitis B and sexual health.

If you would like to find out how we can support you, your family, friends or others, get in touch with us for more information. 

We offer HIV, hepatitis B and sexual health advice to anyone living in Greater Glasgow, and can also provide advice on lots of topics related to these issues.  

Our team can support you with:

• how to cope with a new diagnosis, think positively about the future and understand treatment
• how to talk to family, friends and others about HIV, hepatitis B and sexual health
• how HIV, hepatitis B and sexual health can impact on your mental health and wellbeing and, how to cope with life's ups and downs 
• how to take care of your physical health and wellbeing when living with HIV or hepatitis B
• understanding, managing and adhering to HIV and hepatitis B treatment 
• how to set goals and get involved in training, employment and education
• where to get additional support for issues related to HIV, hepatitis B and sexual health, such as housing, money management, addiction support, immigration and asylum services

Our team can also provide you with specialist advice on:

• Faith, HIV and wellbeing 

For more information or, to speak with a member of our team, get in touch. 

We offer HIV, hepatitis C and hepatitis B dried blood spot testing to anyone who wants to know their status in Lanarkshire. 

We also provide HIV rapid tests for:

• people from African communities

Getting tested is quick and painless, and is available for free. If you’ve got any worries or concerns you can read our guides to HIV testing here and hepatitis C testing here. 

If you're thinking about getting an HIV, hepatitis C or hepatitis B test, you can speak with a member of our team to find out what options you have available. Get in touch. 

We offer two regular groups based in Lanarkshire:

• Regular support group for people living with HIV 
• Regular support group for people living with hepatitis B

If you would like to attend our groups, contact our office for more information.

We offer a range of tailored training and awareness sessions for community groups and professionals across Lanarkshire.

All of our training is free and we are happy to deliver sessions in the community or at our nearest office in Glasgow.

Training and awareness session topics include:

• Blood Borne Virus Awareness
• Sexual Health Awareness
• GP and Medical Practitioner training
• Working with Churches and Faith Leaders

If you're interested in arranging a training or awareness session, you can get in touch with us for more information.

Living with HIV can affect just about every aspect of your life. Sometimes it’s good to talk to someone who can relate.

At Waverley Care, we can put you in touch with one of our peer mentors – trained volunteers who have lived experience of HIV, who can help you work through some of the challenges you may be facing in your day-to-day life.

If you need support with HIV, peer support can help you in a variety of ways including:

• Thinking positively about the future
• Disclosing you HIV or hepatitis C status to family, friends and others
• Increasing your confidence and self-esteem
• Feeling less isolated
• Living well with HIV or hepatitis C and managing treatment 

In Lanarkshire, we offer the following kinds of peer support:

• HIV peer support over the phone
• HIV peer support groups
• HIV one-to-one peer support
• Telephone Peer support for HIV positive mothers

If you would like to access peer support or, become a Peer Mentor, get in touch with us for advice.

If you're an HIV positive Mum, we'll support you throughout your pregnancy journey.  

Post-birth, we'll continue to be there to support you. We'll help you access to any information you might need - as well as making sure you have a supply of milk for babies up to one year.

Are you eligible for our Infant Formula Feed Milk Programme?

To access our Infant Formula Milk Programme, you must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• HIV positive (non-means-tested - this means all HIV positive mothers can access this programme)
• Linked into the Brownlee Clinic or Monklands HIV clinic for treatment and care and; reside in these areas
• Be in the second trimester of your pregnancy or, have transferred into either of the clinics and, have a child who is under 12 months of age

What you need to know about being referred to our Infant Formula Feed Milk Programme:

You must be referred through Brownlee or Monklands HIV clinics, and your referral will be sent to our project worker at Waverley Care.

As part of the programme, we will supply you with the following equipment and products:

• A 12 months’ supply of free milk formula per child (in line with national and local infant nutrition guidelines and standards)
• A free starter pack will be provided at your first appointment, which includes:
  1. An electrical steamer steriliser
  2. 4 X 900g tins of formula milk of their choice
  3. 2 feeding bottles
  4. 1 cleaning brushes

We will provide you with a maximum of 4 tins of free milk formula every month until the child’s first birthday.

Please note: In case of any allergies, intolerances or other adverse problems with baby infant formula, you can consult with your health visitor to make sure the baby infant formula is right for your baby. Once you reach a decision with your health visitor, our project worker can be notified and they will then place new order for the change of milk formula.

Our Chinese Health Project worker, Benny Cheng, works with local people and groups in Lanarkshire to provide information about hepatitis B, and can help them to get tested, vaccinated and treated.

Benny also supports Chinese people to enjoy better health, by helping them to find and use local health services.

Find out more about the work of the Chinese Health Project here.

This work is funded by the Lanarkshire Blood Borne Viruses Network.

Do you have some spare time to help us smash stigma? Why not get involved in volunteering.

Every day, our amazing volunteers support our work in all sorts of ways, helping make a huge difference to people across Scotland affected by HIV and hepatitis C, and promoting good sexual health.

As if that wasn’t enough of a reason to get involved, volunteering also gives you the chance to gain new skills, get work experience and meet new people.

You can find out more about volunteering with us, including information about how to apply, here. 

In Lanarkshire, we offer a range of opportunities for you to get involved in volunteering, including:

• Outreach - Opportunites to help the delivery of HIV and hepatitis B prevention messages and distributing condoms in community settings, as well as supporting community events.
• Group Support - Group support volunteers spend a few hours each week being involved in one of our support groups. This involves being part of the group, chatting to people, making sure the space is safe and confidential and getting involved with the planning and delivering of the group activities and events. This role requires a long-term commitment.
• Peer Support and Peer Mentoring - Peer Mentors are individuals who are living with HIV or hepatitis C, or who have cleared hepatitis C, who are able to use their experience to support others. Support is provided face-to-face or over the phone. Specific training is provided for this role.  
• Complementary Therapists - We have volunteers who offer complementary therapies on a weekly basis. Many of our service users benefit from the opportunity to relax and improve their wellbeing. Applications from therapists are welcome.
• Fundraising - Our work is only possible thanks to the generosity of supporters across Scotland. We have lots of opportunities for volunteers to get involved in fundraising, from bucket collections and sponsorship to helping out at events and administrative tasks. If you’re interested in volunteering in fundraising, find out more here or get in touch with the team on 0131 556 9710.

Waverley Care Lanarkshire

12 Queens Crescent
Glasgow
G4 9AS

T: 0141 332 2520

Nathan Mwesigwa
M: 07853041130

Benny Cheng
M: 07596 519821