Healthier Together – Improving the quality of care for Children and Young People in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin

NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Healthier Together website provides consistent, accurate and trustworthy healthcare advice for parents, carers, young people and professionals to help keep children and young people in the local area safe and achieve a healthy lifestyle.

The website has been a huge success and feedback from users has been positive. One such user is a children’s nursery in Newport, Family Nurseries. The nursery have said they are big advocates of the website and use the simple "traffic light" system as their first port of call when they have a poorly child in their nursery or need advice to offer to parents or carers. They use the website to guide their medically trained staff and direct the child's parent or carer to the right care at the right time and place for the symptoms a child is experiencing.

Lindsey Westwood, Nursey Director, commented: "The website is amazing – it’s so clear and easy to use. If we have any concerns regarding a child's health or safety, we go to the website and either search for the symptoms or use the concerned your child is unwell section, which has a simple traffic light system advising on the next best action."

"The website even has a section that advises if your child should go to school or nursery when presenting with certain symptoms. We always point our parents and carers to this so they can make an informed decision for their child's health."

Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Healthier Together is a free website developed by healthcare professionals to help parents and carers keep their children safe and healthy by providing clear advice and information. With the long wait times for local health services, the website can provide parents with an alternative way of helping to identify the support they need quickly and easily.

Dr Priya George, NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Clinical Lead for Mental Health and Children and Young People, has led the project from a clinical perspective, commented: "The Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Healthier Together website is an incredible local tool for healthcare colleagues, families and patients. It is a single resource for anyone concerned about childhood illnesses and even has the functionality to send text messages to the patient, parent or carer - easily giving them the information they need.

"The website has been designed as a self-care resource with a wide range of information leaflets and videos to support parents and carers of all our young people, from pregnancy through to adolescence, when your child is unwell."

The main goal of the Healthier Together website is to create a more integrated and effective healthcare system that focuses on prevention, early intervention, and improved coordination of services. By working together, the initiative aims to enhance the quality of healthcare services, reduce health inequalities, and promote healthier lifestyles among residents.

For more information, visit: https://stw-healthiertogether.nhs.uk/