Dear Friends,
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I would first like to join our CEO, Colin Bland, in expressing my gratitude for your support for this initiative and to welcome you as a friend of Sporting Chance.
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I would like to update you on the excellent work that has been taking place in our Clinical Department in what have been challenging but rewarding times.
Over the last couple of years, I have been incredibly impressed with the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The work from the Sporting Chance clinical staff, triage team, residential practitioners and wider consultants has been simply outstanding. All have been passionate about ensuring that sportspeople have been able to access and receive the best treatment available and have worked extremely hard to make this happen.
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Our triage team, Rosie and Claire, have been invaluable assets and have provided a professional, friendly outlet for athletes to reach out and open the door to support. In quieter times, they have been proactive in supporting our services and other departments, while sometimes been inundated with calls to the helpline – always treating every person they speak to with respect, empathy and kindness, and a desire to help them find solutions to the problems they are facing.
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Our team at the residential clinic have made some really positive and effective changes to our delivery there, including the introduction of a new timetable for clients in treatment which is working well and producing excellent outcomes. I’m particularly delighted with the number of sportspeople we have been able to support in residential treatment this year, considering the restrictions that we have faced at various times.
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We’ve also welcomed various new members of staff at the clinic who have made a positive impact. In our York office, we have also benefitted from the presence of additional clinical expertise and support, which makes an enormous difference to both our clinical and educational work.
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I’d also like to thank all of the therapists on our network, who have adapted really well in modifying their approach to ensure our clients can still access the top-quality service they need. It hasn’t been an easy task to transition from the preferred route of face-to-face sessions to remote online meetings and back again (often with restrictions) but the feedback from our clients has been overwhelmingly positive.
While on the subject of online meetings, I’d also like to celebrate the innovation of our team in creating mutual aid groups for current and former clients in recovery from addiction that are easy to access, well attended and treatment focused.
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A challenging period has seen us and our clients not only survive but thrive and everybody reading this will play a part in ensuring that continues.
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Thank you.
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Craig