New East Sussex NHS app helps people get the right care at the right time
The local NHS has launched an innovative new website and mobile phone app to help people in East Sussex understand where they should go for treatment, especially when they are not sure what to do or who to contact.
The Health Help Now web app can be found online at www.healthhelpnow-nhs.net and is free to everyone who lives and works in East Sussex. It helps people check their symptoms and find the best place for treatment – showing which services near them are open. It will help people to know when to go to A&E, and when not to.
It is being launched by Hastings and Rother Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Eastbourne, Hailsham and Seaford CCG and High Weald Lewes Havens CCG. A spokesperson said: “Health Help Now means our local community will be able to find the most appropriate help fast when they need it.
“We hope people will find this easy-to-use web app helps them to determine when to go to A&E and when to go elsewhere. Around 40 per cent of people who attend A&E leave without any treatment. We hope that by using this web app, patients will become more aware of other services better able to meet their needs. This may save them a long wait in A&E and should help to take the pressure off A&E, especially over the busy winter period.”
Health Help Now breaks down symptoms by age –baby, child, teenager, adult and older adult. This is to make it easier for people to find the right treatment for them. It is thought to be the most detailed and sophisticated local NHS web app in the country.
Health Help Now has been developed with input from local GPs, hospital doctors, paramedics and other health professionals.
After clicking on age, symptoms and location, people are presented with a list of suggestions for treatment. The most suitable choice for most people is listed first and the other suggestions follow in order. It shows the nearest services and is time sensitive so details whether services are open or closed and provides a map of their location.
Health Help Now also offers advice – such as where to buy children’s medication when pharmacies are closed – and links to other useful websites. The ground-breaking, easy-to-use web app works on smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktop computers.
The web app is available via the website www.healthhelpnow-nhs.net and can be saved to your phone, tablet or computer for easy use. Anyone who doesn’t have internet access is advised to dial NHS 111 for urgent healthcare advice 24 hours a day.
