Young people in West Cheshire are now able to receive mental and physical health support from health professionals online.
MyWell-being Online, launched by Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CWP), directly connects young people with local health professionals to discuss personal health issues without necessarily needing to be referred into clinical services.
The feature – which allows young people to get in touch with professionals with concerns such as low mood, exam stress and relationships – is being provided by the trust’s 5-19 Health and Well-being Service.
This service will expand the traditional ‘school nursing’ role to one that will have a stronger presence in the local community beyond school settings and support both mental and physical health issues.
Andy Styring, CWP’s director of operations, said: “We appreciate that communicating online is the way many young people engage with each other and the wider world. MyWell-being Online will support them to raise any concerns about their own health that otherwise they may not feel comfortable talking about, in a way that suits them.
“Everything about this new service has been co-designed by young people in West Cheshire. We’ve been into a number of local schools to discuss how they want to access health support, and the service has been shaped by their feedback.”
MyWell-being Online will be one tool within the 5-19 Health and Well-being Service’s wider online package, MyWell-being.org.uk is a website due for launch at the end of December. In addition to bringing local young people and health professionals together, MyWell-Being.org.uk also provides a digital hub of information about a host of health-related topics, such as staying safe, growing up and thoughts and feelings, with specific content for primary, secondary and 16+ ages, as well as resources for parents, carers and professionals.
