Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare (HIOWH) NHS Foundation Trust’s 0-19 Health Visiting and School Nursing has been recognised with an award at a national digital conference.
The conference, hosted by Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, celebrated 10 years since the launch of ChatHealth, an anonymous text messaging health service used by parents and young people in Hampshire. Conversations are confidential and provide tailored health advice, information, and signposting.
The HIOWH 0-19 service won ‘Team of the Year award’ for the volume of messages received year on year. Popular conversation topics include toileting, sleep patterns and introducing solid foods to infants, meaning parents have an alternative to making GP appointments. Young people can also text in about their emotional wellbeing, substance use, exam stress, and more.
Laura Cruse, Clinical Digital Transformation Lead, said: “We are excited to have won this award, which recognises all the hard work our teams put into the ChatHealth Service. As a 0-19 service, we are dedicated to providing high-quality healthcare fit for the digital times we live in and plan to keep growing this.”
Throughout the conference there were numerous workshops to attend to help support service leads, including enhancing service user engagement and social media, reviewing data, and making the most of the digital offer.
Digitalisation is part of the NHS 10-year plan, as well as community and preventative focused healthcare.
ChatHealth is open Monday-Friday (excluding bank holidays). To start a conversation with an NHS healthcare professional, text the following:
Parents of 0-5-year-olds: Text 07520 615720
Parents of 5-19-year-olds: Text 07507 332417
11-19-year-olds: Text 07507 332160
Webchat: https://