External Welfare Services
There are hundreds of services available outside of the University. Only a few are listed here. If you can't find something that suits you, your common room welfare officer or the Vice-President (Welfare and Equal Opportunities) in OUSU should be able to point you into the right direction.
Emergency services
Thames Valley Police Station in St Aldate's.In an emergency, dial 999. This is the common number for all three major
emergency services in the UK—Police, Fire and Ambulance. When you dial
999, you will be presented with these three choices and you simply ask for the
service you want. Give as much information as you can and do not hang up until
you are told to do so.
Bear in mind that 999 should be used only for serious emergencies such as:
- An urgent medical issue (Ambulance)
- Fire, which is, or likely to become, out of control (Fire)
- Emergency rescue, for example, a car accident (Fire)
- If you think a violent crime may take place, or has taken place (Police)
In some cases you will need to ask for more than one service.
John Radcliffe Accident and Emergency
The John Radcliffe (JR) is the local Accident and Emergency hospital located in Headington. It operates 24 hours a day to deal with emergency health issues. You should go to the JR if you have an injury such as a burn, bad cut, sports injury, road accident, broken bone, severe internal pain, medicinal overdose or alcohol poisoning, and the injury cannot be dealt with in college quickly enough. This list is not exhaustive, and if you are not sure then phone 01865 220213 and briefly describe what has happened.
- Accident and Emergency, Walk-In
Telephone: 01865 220213 - Accident and Emergency, Arrival by Ambulance
Telephone: 01865 220227 - Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT)
Telephone: 01865 311188 - Dental Emergency, Weekdays
Telephone: 01865 842609 - Dental Emergency, Weekends and Public Holidays
Telephone: 01865 201976
To get to the JR by public transport, you can take any one of the following bus numbers: 2, 7, 10, 13, 14, 41, 280 and 400. If you are uncertain about where to get off, simply ask the driver for advice.
Police
The local Police Force can offer a great deal of information and advice on law and crime prevention. If you are the victim of a crime, or lose any important property, you should report to the Police as soon as you can. Not only can the Police offer support in emergencies (for example, they can arrange a safe house if you have been attacked), but they can also use your report for investigation and crime prevention. The Police can be contacted 24 hours a day at 08458 505505. When you phone, tell them that you are calling from Oxford.
The Police force has two main stations in Oxford. The one on St Aldate's deals with emergencies, while the one on Cowley deals with more community-related projects. The Police also work with local groups such as the Terrence Higgins Trust (see below) and OUSU to reduce crime and raise awareness of crime prevention.
Citizens' Advice Bureau (CAB)
The Citizens' Advice Bureau is run by volunteers and offers free and confidential advice to members of the public on a wide range of issues. They can provide contact details for legal help and information about law and rights. There may be a waiting list if you want to visit in person. You can phone the CAB at 08701 264114.
Samaritans
The Samaritans is a confidential counselling service that is available to anyone, 24 hours a day. You can call them at 08457 909090 and talk about anything you want to, and they provide information about other services that you can refer to. You can also e-mail them at jo@samaritans.org if you prefer to write rather than talk.
Terrence Higgins Trust
Terrence Higgins Trust is a charity that provides support and information for the LGBT communities across Britain. They run local and national campaigns on important issues and provide a great deal of welfare support. The Trust's work include sexual health, HIV and AIDS awareness, counselling, as well as support for younger LGBT people and the Homophobia Awareness Liaison Team (HALT), which works to eradicate homophobia.