Parents and carers across Oxfordshire have new online help for dealing with common childhood conditions.

The Oxfordshire Healthier Together website: oxfordshire-healthiertogether.nhs.uk provides parents with clear guidance on what action to take when their child is unwell and links to local services and resources for professionals.

Designed by parents, GPs and paediatricians, the Healthier Together App provides clear, reliable advice from the NHS and is designed to be a handy guide, accessible at home or on the go. It offers an easy-to-use self-triage assessment for parents and carers when their child is unwell to ensure the most appropriate healthcare setting when it is needed.

Patients at GP practices which have joined the app will be able to send a message directly to their surgery with information about their child's symptoms. The aim is to encourage parents to use the app to give them greater confidence when caring for an unwell child.

Dr Ed Capo-Bianco, a local GP, and part of the Healthier Together Project Team for Oxfordshire said: “I’m excited to see the launch of Healthier Together across Oxfordshire, giving patients and their parents / carers reliable and consistent advice, in an easy to understand way. This will help empower them to manage common childhood illnesses themselves where appropriate and help them find the right care at the right time and place.

“Not only will Healthier Together support patients and their parents / carers, but also healthcare services by ensuring that patients are directed to the right service first time.”