THE new Samaritans office in Edinburgh was yesterday formally opened by Scotland's rugby captain Rob Wainwright.
The Edinburgh branch is the second oldest in the UK and was founded in 1959, six years after Chad Varah set the first one in central London. Dr Wainwright, an Army general practitioner, said: ``The health service would not function without the many voluntary organisations that offer support to people.
``It is often quite scary for patients with worries that they are embarrassed about to come in and tell their GP across a table, face to face. Talking to someone on the phone is a lot easier. The anonymity and easy access of the Samaritans make them an ideal body for people to contact.'' Each year the branch deals with 35,000 calls, and it had previously been based up several flights of stairs in the city's Frederick Street.
Branch chairman Graham Tennyson said the move to Torphichen Street offered more comfortable premises and better access for people coming in during the day.
It is staffed by 100 unpaid volunteers. Mr Tennyson said although there had been problems with recruitment, appeals for more volunteers were now starting to bear fruit.
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