What is ChatHealth?
ChatHealth is a confidential text messaging service enabling students to contact healthcare professionals about a range of issues including emotional health and wellbeing, relationships, smoking, stress and anxiety, self-esteem, bullying, smoking, drugs and alcohol and sexual health.
Who runs the service and who is it for?
ChatHealth is funded by the local authorities in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire and run by our School Nursing team. Children and young people aged 11-19 can use the service to seek advice from our health professionals.
ChatHealth is provided alongside existing School Nursing services to enable more people to access support outside of school hours.
When can I access it?
The service launched on April 25, 2022, and is open on Mondays to Fridays from 9am-5pm, excluding bank holidays. It is available during term times and school holidays.
We aim to reply to you within one working day and you should get an immediate bounce-back to confirm we received your text.
Texts will not be seen outside of normal working hours. If you need help before you hear back from us, contact a member of school staff or your doctor. Out of hours, service users will get a bounce back message with information about what to do in an emergency and details of alternative sources of help locally.
Is it confidential?
We do not usually inform parents, teachers or anyone else if you contact the school nurse. We might inform someone if we are concerned about your safety, but we would usually speak to you first. Your messages are stored and can be seen by other healthcare staff who follow the same confidentiality rules.
Messaging information:
The ChatHealth number is 07312 263093.
Our text number does not receive voice calls or MMS picture messages. We support messaging from UK mobile numbers only (which does not include messages sent from landlines, international mobile numbers and some 'number masking' mobile apps). Prevent the school nurse from sending messages to you by texting STOP to our number. Messages are charged at your usual rate.
How can I find out more about ChatHealth?
ChatHealth was first launched by Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust in 2013 and it has now been adopted by more than 53 organisations. To find out more, visit the ChatHealth website at https://chathealth.nhs.uk/