Terms and Conditions of Peer Support

Please read these Terms and Conditions carefully before participating in this service. These terms of service govern your access to, and use of Pregnancy Sickness Support’s peer support service. This service is for your use only on the condition you agree to the terms of use set below. If you do not agree to all the terms of use, please do not apply for the peer support service as any participation in this service will constitute acceptance of this agreement.

Please also read our privacy policy. Any participation in this service will constitute acceptance of our privacy policy.

OUR COMMITMENTS

Pregnancy Sickness Support’s (PSS) Peer support service is defined as a relationship between a volunteer recruited by PSS and a service user (“you”/ “your”) for ongoing emotional support via text/WhatsApp/phone call and/or email. You can access this service at any point during, and for the duration of your pregnancy.

We commit to the volunteer peer supporter having undergone the appropriate training set out by PSS to undertake the role of peer supporter.

We commit to the volunteer peer supporter being made aware of the appropriate policies such as safeguarding, confidentiality, GDPR and privacy to undertake the role of peer supporter.

We commit to match you with a volunteer peer supporter within 5 working days of your application. This may take longer if you do not respond to the support teams request for further information or attend an initial interview with the Helpline Support Manager.

The volunteer peer supporter will contact you within 48 hours of PSS-HQ making a match for you.

We aim to match a volunteer peer supporter to you based on similar experiences and/or background. We can match based on location if you prefer.

YOUR COMMITMENTS

In return for our commitment to provide the service we require you to make the below commitments to us.
You will undertake an initial consultation/interview with the Helpline Support Manager or Volunteer Manager.
You agree to communicate respectfully with your peer supporter.
You agree not to ask a peer supporter for money, gifts, or other means of financial or material support.
You agree to contact your peer supporter a minimum of once a month, if no contact is made for longer than two months then we reserve the right to terminate the service.

MANAGING EXPECTATIONS

Whilst our service is there for emotional support, peer support does not replace other talking therapies or treatments. If you feel you would benefit from mental health support, please speak to your GP or midwife who can make a referral to the peri-natal mental health team.

The peer supporter is a volunteer, this is an unpaid role. They will not be available at all hours. There may be a delay in their replies to you, but please be reassured that this is likely due to the peer supporter having their own life and work commitments and they will endeavour to reply to you within 24-48 hours.

Upon commencing your peer support, your peer supporter will let you know of any time boundaries before you begin. If you feel you have consistently waited longer than a reasonable amount of time for a reply, then a group support chat might be more appropriate, and this is something that we can arrange.

While every effort is made to make a good match for you, we do understand some peer support matches do not work out and we can rematch you if this is the case.

In these circumstances, we can match you with another volunteer or again look to a group chat environment. To make changes to your peer support arrangements please contact volunteer@pregnancysicknesssupport.org.uk

If you would like to make a complaint about the peer support service, please contact the Volunteer Manager at volunteer@pregnancysicknesssupport.org.uk If your complaint involves the Volunteer Manager please contact the CEO, charlotte@pregnancysicknesssupport.org.uk

TERMINATION OF SERVICE

If you wish to end your peer support, please contact either the Helpline Support Manager or the Volunteer Manager. If there has been no contact from you for two months, we reserve the right to end your peer support.

SAFEGUARDING & CONFIDENTIALITY

Service Users, when given a safe space to explore their inner world, disclose personal information about their health and well-being, which, in some cases, can raise safeguarding concerns. Often, they reach out to us at a very vulnerable stage in their life. It is our responsibility to hold that safe space and walk alongside Service Users on their journey. To ensure we are working safely we must however recognise our own personal and professional limits and work strictly within the remits. This may mean that in some instances Service Users will need to sensitively be referred on to an appropriate other.

Having policies and procedures to safeguard adults and children is a legal requirement under the Care Act 2014. The procedures set out in our Safeguarding Policy enables the charity to respond, report and record any safeguarding concerns in an appropriate and timely manner. We take any concerns regarding people’s mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing seriously and endeavour to follow the protocol in this policy to safeguard both adults and children. This is essential for the prevention of harm and abuse.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE AGREEING TO PEER SUPPORT

We may report a safeguarding concern if we believe a child or vulnerable adult is at risk of or experiencing abuse, neglect, or exploitation, and they are unable to protect themselves due to their age or care needs. If we encounter such a situation, including cases involving domestic violence or a parent’s inability to care for children due to physical or mental health issues, we will follow our safeguarding procedures as follows;

1. Immediate risks will be reported to emergency services, while other non-immediate threats to life will be handled as follows;

2. There should be a conversation with the adult at the earliest opportunity to establish their views. This should include whether they see the issue as a cause for concern and what they want to happen including actions they might want taken or want to take themselves. If the adult agrees that a safeguarding concern should be raised, we will ask what they want to be achieved from this and if they do not agree, the reasons for this. If the safeguarding concern involves a child we will handle this as follows;

3. Local authority children’s social care is responsible for clarifying referral processes and acts as the primary contact for safeguarding concerns involving children, including those in secure youth establishments. We will make contact with them and be advised on how best to make a referral, gain parental consent to do so and work with you to support the child, immediate family and other family members.

Before any referral is made we have a clear procedure that PSS Staff, Trustees and Volunteers must adhere to. We have kept this simple. We ask our volunteers (peer supporters) to contact us directly for points 2 & 3 above. Volunteers are not expected to make a referral to any local authority services. However, they are expected to respond and report in point 1 above.

Once a safeguarding concern has been raised by a Staff member, Trustee or Volunteer – the PSS Safeguarding team, which is made up of a Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO), Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and one other member of the safeguarding team (Counselling Clinical Lead or Support Team member) will make the decision to refer after we have gained consent from either the adult or parental consent on behalf of the child.

There are times when we may decide not to gain consent, as follows:

A. If it places the adult in significant harm or;

B. It places a child/young person in significant harm

In these two instances we will clearly record why we decided to refer without consent.

C. As per point 2 above if there is an immediate risk to life then we will respond and report to the emergency services without consent.

Please be reassured that we want to support our service users and will work with you to do this.

For more information please contact the CEO, Charlotte Howden charlotte@pregnancysicknesssupport.org.uk

By agreeing to take part in our Peer Support service you agree to these Terms & Conditions.