Children and young people in Plymouth are set to benefit from two new dedicated websites which will provide topical health messages and advice via interactive and creative tools.
Health for Kids and Health for Teens will cover subjects that promote health and wellbeing, with the aim of educating and helping young people to make the right choices and teach children about their health in a fun and engaging way.
The websites, which go live today, have been launched by Livewell Southwest, the provider of integrated physical and NHS mental health services and adult social care in Plymouth, which supports people to lead independent, healthy lives.
The social enterprise’s Children, Young People and Families Service works to provide children and young people with the best start in life – at home, at school and in the wider community.
Livewell is working in partnership with Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, (LPT) who came up with the original concept and design of the websites. LPT had lots of input from children and young people about how the websites should look, what colours they liked, and what they’d prefer to see on the sites.
Sara Kirkup, Children’s Professional Lead at Livewell Southwest, said: “We’re delighted to work with LPT and have this opportunity to launch local area pages for Plymouth on the Health for Teens and Kids websites.
“The sites not only give children and young people helpful health and wellbeing guidance, but can be accessed by parents, carers and teachers to utilise the variety of resources available such as interactive games, signpost to other local health services or download relevant information materials.
“People can also search for contact details of their Public Health Nursing Teams.”
Health for Teens is aimed at those aged 11 to 19 years of age, and features information on:
- Text your School Nurse
- Mental health support during COVID-19
- Dental health and finding a dentist
- Support and wellbeing
Health for Kids is aimed at those aged four to 11 years of age, and their grown-ups. As well as a range of interactive games for little ones, the site will contain information on:
- Mental health support for new parents
- Online breastfeeding support group for mums
- Devon DadPad, an app for new dads
- Common childhood illnesses
Both websites also have plenty of helpful reminders of Livewell’s secure text messaging service, ChatHealth.
ChatHealth allows parents, carers and young people in Plymouth to send messages to a dedicated number. Texts are responded to by the Livewell Southwest Health Visiting and School Nursing Team within one working day.
