It can be extremely stressful when you or your child is unwell. We know that there is a huge amount of information available at your fingertips, but finding something that provides clear and accurate information is not always easy!
The resources on the Healthier Together website have been developed in partnership between parents and healthcare professionals from across Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. You'll find clear information on common illnesses, including advice on what serious 'red-flag' signs to look out for, where to seek help if required, what you should do to keep comfortable and how long symptoms are likely to last.
Most importantly, the resources are used not only by parents but also by healthcare professionals. This means that you will receive consistently high quality care, irrespective of which healthcare provider you take them to see as their advice is likely to mirror that on the Healthier Together website. Reducing unnecessary variation between professionals improves the overall quality of care and reduces the anxiety that inconsistent advice can generate.
The programme has also been rolled out across many other parts of the UK and is currently supporting nearly 5 million children and young people.
For more information about the vision of Healthier Together, you can listen to a podcast by clicking here.
To view the Healthier Together Strategy for 2024, click here.
To view the Healthier Together strategy for 2023, click here
To view the Healthier Together strategy for 2022, click here
To view the Healthier Together strategy for 2021, click here.
To view the Healthier Together strategy for 2020, click here.
To view the Healthier Together strategy for 2019, click here.
To view the Healthier Together strategy for 2018, click here.
We have actively listened to the views of parents/carers accessing the service as well as the healthcare professionals delivering urgent care paediatric services. By working together we aim to improve how care is delivered to children and young people in Wessex.
"We have been through a month or more of our child (now almost 15 months) being ill with several virus infections and a number of visits to the doctors. It has been a very stressful and worrying time. I have just come across this website (picked up the leaflet from our doctors surgery) and it is BRILLIANT. Simple, reassuring and helpful. THANK YOU."
"It’s like a mini doctor for you at home, that’s how it is, that’s how I see it. It gives all information, what should I do, in what cases I need to go to hospital or how I can treat my baby at home."
"It's so clear isn't it? It's simple, it's in your face, you start at the bottom, you tick them off and you go up and start ticking them off and say, okay, this is the point I've got to, we need to go to the doctor or, oh, we've got pain or diarrhoea but no vomiting and nothing else so we're all right. No, I think that's really well laid out and really clear."
"He had been struggling to eat for two or three days, and it was clearly stated on the website that don’t worry about babies not eating, little and often might be a better way than standard meals. That kind of put my mind at rest actually yesterday, because I was getting a little bit stressed that he wasn’t eating the meals in the times that he usually did. Yesterday I changed my strategy and I was feeding him bits here and there, and he ended up eating the same amount, but it was a lot less stressful for me and probably for (name of baby) as well."
"We felt reassured that, 'oh actually, my baby's okay, to keep it at home for two, three days, I don't need to panic, or....' It's very good"
