We welcome enquiries from any source and operate a 24 hour helpline. Callers may remain anonymous and we frequently also receive calls from colleagues or members of the family of a doctor who is experiencing problems. The majority of our calls are from doctors who think they may have a problem.
Through our helpline and other contacts, we encourage doctors, dentists, medical & dental students to accept that they have a treatable condition and to offer advice about treatment options. We facilitate introduction to other doctors & dentists who are in recovery from active addiction and can give advice on adopting a lifestyle that will minimise the chances of relapse.
Whereas we do not offer individual clinical assessment or treatment, we are usually able to suggest appropriate resources. Many of these are by nature, based on personal experiences, which include introduction to the BDDG (British Doctors and Dentists Group) through which the caller can be introduced to a local doctor who has been in the same situation and is now sober and drug-free.
Since most of our members and trustees have personal experience of addiction, it often transpires that following a chat a helpline caller who rang at someone else's suggestion, not believing they had a problem, will actually come to realise that they actually do have a serious issue, and become willing to act. It is safe to say that someone does not usually end up calling an addiction-specific helpline either by accident, or because their life is going well.
We do not offer help for mental health problems other than addiction but may be able to offer avenues for help where addiction may co-exist with these problems.
We respect the usual standards of confidentiality found in clinical settings and recovery fellowships, and thus do not pass on information to third parties without consent of the individual concerned.
Helpline callers may remain anonymous if they wish, without compromising the standard of help offered.
Calls to our 0370 number are usually charged at the same local rates as 01 or 02 numbers from landlines and mobiles.