I was at the BSAVA Congress yesterday, and I met a lovely lady at the Blue Cross stand. I have a link on Quietus Vet to the Blue Cross Support freephone number, and I wanted to know what their service consisted of.
Diane told me the line is staffed by very well trained volunteers. Their remit is to “support and sign-post” – which is modern-speak for listening and suggesting other resources.
They don’t counsel. They listen. Which is half the battle in my book. And they are monitored closely so they don’t stray from their own rules. And they have a maximum of 45 minutes to spend on any one call – which should be enough I reckon. Callers can always call back again, but they will get a different person.